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PROGRESSIVE APPROACHES TO TI.IE WORK AT I{AND CRU ELTY I NVESTIGATIONS Ten TopTipsfor Good Ph otog ra p hy, Vid eo g ra p hy Document incidents oJ animal cruelty and neglect more eJJectioely by f ollowing tbese belpJul bints. By Ceoffrey L. Handy { ruelty investigators lor the -) Check with local prosecutors Thilor the mix of photographs g - ? SPCA ol Texas in Dallas have Zo and ludges to find out what J o and video to the case at hand. Ltaken to wearing basebali they like and what they dont. Ask Photographs (or "stills") are general- caps on the job. No, they're not be- questions: Do they have any special ly best for stark images, whereas ing unprofessional. Instead, they're requirements or preferences, such as video is best lor capt.uring move- practicing how to use $2,000 worth including dates on photographs, re- ments and sounds. For a ten-month- of undercover surveillance equip- quiring certification by the devel- old German shepherd with a chain ment purchased with a donation oper that the photos were not al- embedded in her neck, for example, from Mary Kay Cosmetics. The tered in any way, or a preference that a few color stills are your best bet. equipment includes a video camera at least one photograph shows the For an animal who vocalizes his dis- small enough to fit inside a baseball investigator on the scene? (To be on tress, supplement the stills with a cap and a f-inch Magnavox televi- the safe side, you should take those minute or two of video. For animal sion with built-in VCR that operates steps anyway.) Also, find out ahead collector cases, shoot video of ani- off a car cigarette lighter. of time whether the courtroom is mals running around in squalid con- Certainly, advanced technology equipped with video and other ditions (remember to bring your own Mske notes is a good friend to the cruelty in- equipment necessary to show your lighting), and add stills of individual about vestigator. In no area of investiga- taped evidence, don't just assume animals, piles of feces, and other importont tions is this more true than in record- that it is. signs of neglect. If you can't take detoils while ing the results of cruelty and neglect. both a camera and camcorder with at the scene, As an investigator, you probably of- you, remember that a 35-millimeter ond plon your ten wish you had the ability to make camera is still the preferred tool for video+oking prosecutors and actually feel ludges recording the results of cruelty and strategy for a moment the suffering of an an- neglect. Video should supplement carefully. imal. Thanks to photography and stills, not replace them. r videography, you can at least make them see and sometimes hear that suffering. And the ability to do this can mean the difference between winning and losing a case. Fortunately, unlike high-tech sur- veillance equipment, a camera and camcorder (used if not new) are within the budgets of most humane agencies. Once you have them, the trick is learning how to use them ef- fectively. Here are some tips: 'l Practice, practice, practice. I . Shoot several rolls of Iilm, wrire z down the various film speeds and i: settings you use, and review the € prints to see what worked and what oe didn't. Practice videotaping and then play back the tape. And remember 'e I the old saying: Vhen all else fails, read the instructions. Animal Sheltering /January-February tgg6 M A For stills. use a combination questing a search or seizure warrant. f) Plan your video-taking strate- 1. of color iilm and black-and- But the pictures are usually of poor 6. ,, carefully. Plan your moves white film. Most investigators use photographic quahty, so you should in advance, move the camera slowly color print film because it best de- not use instant cameras to document and steadily, and use the camcorder's picts situations as they are and vivid- the case. Camcorders are also help- playback feature to make sure the ly shows animals suffering from open ful early in an investigation. lighting is adequate. Avoid the com- flesh wounds. Black-and-white im- mon mistake of panning and zoom- ages, on the other hand, are Partic- a For stills. use a 35-millimeter ing too quickly and frequently. Re- ularly effective for revealing condi- O r camera to document the case. member that jokes or inflammatory tions such as protruding ribs and for Because of the high-quality images remarks made in frustration may be depicting the bleak "mood" of cruel- they produce, 35-mm cameras re- recorded and can prove extremely ty and neglect. They're also preferred main the investigator's camera of damaging to both your credibility by local newspapers. choice for just about all documenta- and your case. Al1 the stills and tion purposes. 400-speed film is con- videotapes you take for a case be- f Use an instant camera (or sidered the most versatile for shoot- come part of the evidence. ) c camcorder) during the Prelim- ing in a variety of lighting conditions. inary stages of an investigation. Po- If plenty of hght is available, use 200- ,n Shoot "wide" shots first and laroid'"' or other instant cameras are speedfilm oreven 100-speedfilm to Y . "tight" shots second. This great for the early stages of an in- provide sharper detail. means that you should start by tak- vestigation-such as for getting pic- ing photographs or video of the tures right away to show a superior -7 Don't scrimp on the number of broad scene first (such as the outside officer or to show a judge when re- / . stills you shoot. By taking plen- of a house or an entire backyard or ty of photos, you can field), then take progressively more I 9 choose the best ones to detailed shots of the situation and the i present your case. Save animals in it. Similarly, when pho- your an animal with a visible i money by asking tographing photo processor to pro- wound, take a picture of the animal, E proof sheets (also then shoot close-ups of the actual a vide called contact sheets) so wound. Iti also a good idea to write that you can review the down important details about each images and select the scene or animal you photograph so best ones to print. that you'll remember them later. Eight-by-ten-inch prints are the best size to use 1 n \il/hen photographing indi- in court because they I Lrl . vidual animals rescued in a For before-and-ofter are easy to handle and multiple-animal cruelty case, posi- shots, photogroph show the most detail for tion each animal consistently. This onimals in similor judges and juries. makes it possible, after the animals positions ond lighting have been rehabilitated, to photo- for more dromatic ond graph them in the same position and powerful reolistic comparison. general lighting for a before- and-after effect. In addition, have someone hold a card next to each an- imal containing information such as the date and the identification num- ber assigned to the animal. (Vrite clearly with a broad-tipped marker so that the words will be legible in the photo.) If possible, use a camera that records dates on the photographs; this technology is especially effective for before-and-after shots. For details on tbese tips and more, read afiicles on pbotograpby and oideogra- z9 tbe t pby in the April and May tost issues oJ Shelter Sense. To obtain copies oJ these ,' articles, simply write, call, Jax, or e-mail s g Animal Sheltering mag azine and ask J o r them E Animal Sheltering / January-February 1996 li.

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