Why Scene Photographs Record Body Position Before Examination

Saukko and Knight describe photographing the body in its original position before closer examination. These images preserve its relationship to nearby surfaces and objects before the examination changes the view.

When photographs show different positions, the sequence helps explain which images record the initial scene and which were taken during examination. That context can prevent a later view from being mistaken for an original observation.

Saukko and Knight, Knight’s Forensic Pathology, 3rd ed. (2004), p. 6