In photography, where should you begin taking crime scene photos?

• A. Start with wide-angle shots first
• B. From far away and move closer
• C. Take close-up photos first
• D. Photograph only the most obvious evidence

Answer: (B)

Documenting a crime scene effectively starts with establishing the overall context before focusing on details. Beginning from a distance and then moving in handles two essential goals: you capture the scene’s layout and how items relate to each other, and you preserve scale and relationships for later analysis. Wide, distant shots show where everything sits, entry points, surrounding environment, lighting, and the spatial connections between evidence. As you approach, you systematically capture closer views and specific details, keeping the context intact so investigators can reconstruct what happened. Jumping straight to close-ups can obscure where items are in relation to the scene, and photographing only the most obvious evidence risks missing other clues.