This manual has been written for journalists, NGO workers and other individuals for whom photography could be useful to support their work. It is not a guide to taking better pictures, but how to use the camera for evidence gathering.

It gives an overview of how photography can be used as part of an investigation or to support a story.

Photographs can add weight to your story by supporting other material or capturing information from written documents. Many of the techniques outlined below have been borrowed from crime scene photography and there is particular reference to photographing arms and ammunitions.

Foreign correspondents in conflict or post-conflict areas are often confronted with all kinds of weapons, ammunition, remnants and ordnance that may constitute essential pieces of evidence. Section two of this guide intends to brief journalists with little or no experience with weapons on how to best take pictures of them. It will focus on Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW), and on their ammunition, because those might be the type most likely to be encountered by journalists in conflict areas. Nevertheless, it will also talk briefly about explosive ordnance. As for the equipment, a point-and-shoot camera with flash will do it.

Most importantly however, whatever your situation, it’s about keeping yourself, and those around you, safe.

More information: a review by the Global Investigative Journalism Network. Investigative Photography: Supporting a story with images.

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