Photos with Tripods, Flash, and Polarizers, 2 hours with Thomas Vadnais
DATE: Friday, 31 May 2024
TIME: 12 noon - 2 pm EDT (GMT-4)
COST: Free for NAPARS member; $5 for non-members
LOCATION: Worldwide Via Zoom
ACTAR: This event has been approved for 2 CEUs by ACTAR. Signing in with i-Attend during the show will be required, so get i-Attend on your phone in advance, per the ACTAR info page here: https://actar.org/ceu/earning
Registered attendees will be able to request an attendance certificate during the show.
SUMMARY:
Almost every AR investigation and reconstruction requires us to make photographs for documentation, analysis (including photogrammetry), demonstration, and to use as exhibits in reports, depositions, and trials. Three tools—tripods, polarizers, and flash—help ensure you create consistent, accurate, good quality, and useful photographs.
-1- Tripods: Features to look for.
How tall should they be?
Uses: steady camera
level camera
low light or long exposures
when you need to be in the photo
before and after photos
multiple photos from same position
focus stacking.
Choosing a tripod head.
-2- Polarizers: Reduce glare and enrich saturation.
Only filter whose effects you can’t replicate in Photoshop.
Useful for almost all site and vehicle inspections.
Especially critical for documenting tire marks.
Can bring out details on vehicles you can’t see with the naked eye.
-3- Flash: Using ambient, full flash, or fill flash.
Add light where it’s needed.
Show textures.
Reduce excessive contrast.
Freeze motion.
Multiple flashes bring out details in shadows.
OUR SPEAKER:
For more than 40 years, Tom has been providing litigation-oriented consulting engineering services in tire failures and applications, forensic photography, and vehicle accident reconstruction. He runs https://vadnaisengineering.com/ operating out of the Atlanta area, but he travels nationwide for his clients.
