The 3 Fs of Spotting Photo Fraud
With advances in digital imaging continually increasing, so has increases in photographic fraud. The field of photo forensics has emerged to help restore and regain some trust in digital photographs. There are a variety of tools experts can use to help determine the history of a photograph. These tools have been characterized into one of three main categories: files, footprints, and flaws, the three Fs. The application of forensic tools in these categories can help verify the authenticity of a photo or detect photographic fraud. The first category, files, relies on the packaging of the image into a file and relates to the format used to save the photo. The footprints category relies on the photo’s collection of pixels, defined by numerical values that represent individual colors. Every editing operation that was done to the photograph leaves behind statistical traces. The last category focuses on flaws of the image, errors made while trying to manipulate factors of a photograph including shadows, lighting, and reflections.
Source: Evidence Technology Magazine
[Abstract by ForensIQ intern, Andrea Williams]
Citation: Connor, K., & Farid, H. (2013, March-April). The 3 Fs of spotting photo fraud. Evidence Technology Magazine, 11(2), 16-19. Retrieved from http://www.evidencemagazine.com/v11n2.htm
