My project is a photographic reconstruction of an event that never happened. I am creating a visual “case file” of an imaginary crime scene set within an abandoned location. My work explores the thin line between a documentary record and a staged drama. By photographing mundane objects like a discarded number plate, a shattered window, a rusted tool, as if they are vital forensic evidence, I am asking the viewer to piece together a narrative from the debris left behind.
The centrepiece of the work is the “body” under a white sheet. This act of concealment is more powerful than showing the crime itself; it represents the “absurd” finality of death in a place that has already been forgotten. I want the audience to feel like they have arrived at the scene five minutes after the police have left, tasked with solving a mystery through the “odd energy” of a silent, decaying site
This was https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/collection/works/?group_accession=547.1996.1-13
Finding an Appropriate Site
For my next shoot I wanted find a location which looks like a place where you might find a dumped body. This was an abandond gypsy site in the Swanley area, in which the atmosphere really set in with my theme of crime.
This location worked well with my theme because the abandoned atmosphere immediately suggested secrecy, danger, and the possibility that something violent could have taken place there. The broken structures, abandond items and sense of neglect made the space feel naturally tied to criminal activity, which supports my investigation into staged scenes that appear disturbingly real. By shooting in a place that already carries a heavy mood, I was able to push the tension further and create images that feel as though they belong to a larger, hidden narrative. The site helped me explore how environment alone can imply a story, strengthening my aim of blurring the line between fiction and reality within my work.
The abandoned fridge in the middle of an overgrown field instantly reminded me of a possible crime scene. The setting feels isolated and forgotten, which adds to the sense of something suspicious or hidden having happened there. I wanted this shoot to feel more realistic than my last one in the school, so I looked at a location that naturally looked like it could be linked to crime rather than relying on staging. By photographing real discarded objects in a real neglected space, the image feels more believable and grounded. This helps strengthen the atmosphere I’m trying to create. The natural lighting, especially the long shadows and low sun, helped create a more authentic and gritty atmosphere, making the scene feel even more believable and in the sense of realism i wanted to create.
In my images, I wanted it to feel more like evidence than a scene. I used harsh natural light to bring out the rough textures of the broken objects and the mess around them, which makes the image feel uncomfortable and real. The framing is quite tight and cluttered, so the viewer isn’t given much context and has to focus on what’s in front of them. Editing it in black and white removes makes the photos look real and colder, almost like a forensic photograph. I like how this forces the viewer to question what’s happened here rather than being shown it directly, which links to my theme of control and tension.
In these photos the details of my photographs that I feel suggest evidence of a crime without showing the event itself. The broken objects and scattered debris imply a struggle has taken place, suggesting something happened suddenly or violently. The tight framing removes any wider context, making the scene feel controlled and limiting what the viewer can understand, similar to how evidence is often isolated in investigations. But in other ways I want to make the photos feel wide to better link to my personal investigations and movies. The lighting highlights textures and damage, drawing attention to specific marks and surfaces.
Body
In these images, I photographed a body wrapped in white fabric and placed within a natural outdoor setting, using black and white to create a cinematic and unsettling atmosphere. I was inspired by crime films such as The Godfather and similar, where violence is often implied rather than shown directly. By obscuring the body and avoiding graphic detail, I aimed to suggest death and wrongdoing in a subtle way, allowing the viewer to piece together the narrative themselves. The strong contrast between the white fabric and the dark surroundings links to my theme of crime photography making the images feel realistic, similar to scenes found in classic gangster films. For my next shoot I would take more photos in landscape settings.
In these images, I staged the white fabric to suggest the presence of a dead body, using familiar crime scene imagery without showing anything graphic. The shape and placement of the fabric are meant to resemble a body covering, which immediately suggests death and something serious having taken place. I chose to imply this rather than show it directly, as I wanted the viewer to imagine what has happened and piece the narrative together themselves.
The scene is intentionally staged, which gave me full control over how the body is presented and how much information the viewer is given. By placing thesheet outdoors partially hiding it with branches and shadows, I aimed to create a sense secrecy. Shooting the images in black and white helped remove distraction and made the scene feel colder and fits into my theme.
Locations
Eltham High Street – 10 Orangery Ln
51°26’12.1″N 0°08’03.7″E – bexley playing fields
51°24’55.3″N 0°01’07.3″W – Beckenham Cricket Club
The Site
For this shoot, I visited the locations I had planned and researched above to test whether they were suitable for my crime scene photography. However, I was only able to properly access the Eltham location, as the other sites were blocked off or not accessible on the day. Despite this, the Eltham site still worked well for my project due to its quiet atmosphere and lack of people, which helped create a sense of isolation. Being able to physically explore the space also allowed me to think more carefully about framing, angles, and where evidence-style details could be placed. This visit helped me understand how location plays an important role in controlling mood and tension within my images.
When taking these images, I wanted them to feel more cinematic rather than purely documentary. I took inspiration from films such as The Godfather and other films directed by Martin Scorsese, particularly in the way they use framing, atmosphere, and lighting to build tension and power. I aimed to make each image feel like a still taken from a film, suggesting a wider narrative beyond the frame. Shooting in landscape helped reinforce this idea, as it allowed me to include more of the environment and create a stronger sense of place. This wider framing also makes the images feel more controlled and deliberate, similar to how scenes are carefully composed in cinema.
For this photo, I wanted to have a different editing style than the previous image, so I pushed the contrast further to create a harsher less distorted image. The middle image focuses on the discarded image, which helps suggest that something has already happened rather than showing it directly. I framed the shot to remove any sense of context, making the image feel closed in. By using black and white and increasing the texture, the image feels colder and more old like evidence at a crime scene.
Cinematic crime scene photgraphy
BYWAYS by Roger A. Deakins is a photography project where he takes pictures of quiet roads and forgotten places like petrol stations, motels and empty towns across America. The photos feel very cinematic and mysterious, like a scene from a film where something has just happened or is about to happen, even though there are hardly any people in them. He uses natural light and street lights to create strong shadows and contrast, which makes the images feel tense and lonely. I like how his work links to crime and mystery because the empty locations look like they could be scenes after an event, making the viewer imagine their own story about what happened there. After looking at the book I feel like I could use his style in my own work this is but using ideas more linked to crime.
Below is my take on Rogers work but focusing on creating images that feel like quiet crime scenes after an event has taken place. I was inspired by how Deakins photographs empty roads and forgotten places that look cinematic and full of atmosphere, even without people in the frame. In my own work, I used similar locations such as alleyways, car parks, and open spaces to suggest that something has happened just before the photograph was taken. I aimed to use natural and street lighting with strong shadows to create a tense and mysterious mood, encouraging the viewer to imagine their own story about what took place in each scene.
My photos taken above I focused on photograping empty alleyways, garages, and overlooked spaces to make them feel like quiet crime scenes after an event has taken place. The locations are ordinary but the way they are framed and lit makes them feel tense and suspicious, as if something has just happened or is about to happen. I edited the photographs in black and white to remove colour and make the scenes feel more dramatic and serious, similar to old forensic and film stills. I also increased the contrast and darkened the shadows so that the light stands out more strongly and adds to the mysterious atmosphere. This links closely to Rogers Byways project because he also photographs empty roads and forgotten places using natural and artificial light to create a cinematic mood. Like Deakins, I wanted my images to feel quiet but full of story, encouraging the viewer to imagine what might have happened in these spaces rather than showing it directly.
My photos above I focused on capturing small details and quiet locations to make them feel like evidence from a crime scene. In the first image, I photographed an empty and damaged urban space with scattered objects which makes the scene feel abandoned and unsettling. In the second image, I used a long pathway and a single streetlight to create strong shadows and depth which makes the location feel tense and lonely. The final image is a close up of the ground where I found tire marks that could show a car speeding away from crime scene. I edited all three images in black and white to remove colour and make them feel more serious and documentary like, similar to forensic photographs. I also increased the contrast and darkened the shadows so the light stands out more clearly and helps create a mysterious atmosphere that encourages the viewer to imagine what might have happened in these spaces.
For my next shoot, I want to create a series of images that tell a story using a person as the main subject while still keeping the cinematic style inspired by Roger Deakins. I plan to photograph the figure in empty streets and isolated locations so they feel small within the environment, as if they are part of a story Instead of showing a clear action, I want to suggest that something has happened or is about to happen through body language, lighting, and composition. I will use natural and street lighting with strong shadows and simple framing to make the images feel calm but tense, encouraging the viewer to imagine their own story behind the character and the scene.
Reflecting on my previous work, I wanted to push my images further by focusing more on atmosphere and storytelling instead of just the subject. I chose darker and emptier locations like car parks and alleyways to make the scenes to make it seem like theres a crime about to happen. This shoot shows how I have improved at using location and lighting to suggest a story and make my images feel more cinematic and looking like a crimes about to happen.
Crime File: Exam Day
For my final outcome, my plan is to print my images in a small photo format on glossy photo paper, similar to real evidence photographs. I will then cut them down to size so they look deliberate rather than like standard prints. Once printed and trimmed, I plan to place them into a folder designed to look like a crime scene case file. This presentation links to my theme and helps the work feel more realistic and immersive, as if the viewer is looking through collected evidence rather than just photographs on a wall.
I have printed images from the locations I visited during my shoots. These site photographs help show where the images were taken and add context to the final work. Including them alongside my final images makes the project feel more realistic, almost like the documentation from an investigation.
I also created studio photographs that are inspired by real police crime photography, where objects are documented as evidence rather than styled images. I photographed items like clothing and weapons such as a knife, hammer, and axe, focusing on clear angles and simple lighting so they feel factual and direct. The aim was to make them look like official evidence photos instead of dramatic scenes. After shooting, I uploaded the images into Lightroom and made basic adjustments to exposure, contrast, and sharpness to keep them realistic and clear, similar to real police documentation. I am going to print these images on glossy photo paper and cut them to size so they match the rest of my work and can be presented together like a real case file.
Weapons
Clothing
Final Outcome Evaluation
I am quite happy with my final outcome. My project developed into a crime scene case file where I created a series of photographs that feel like evidence rather than just images. I used a black and white colour palette and focused on details such as objects, clothing texture and locations to suggest that something has happened without showing it. This helped make the work feel more realistic and similar to actual forensic photography.
My aim was to create images that look believable and make the viewer feel like something has happened without knowing what. I think this worked well, through my use of locations and objects like discarded items and damaged surfaces, which suggest signs of a crime. I also presented my work as a case file with printed photos and evidence-style layouts, which made the final outcome feel more immersive and linked everything together rather than it just being a series of separate images.
I believe I have successfully explored the theme because my images feel quite subtle but still suggest a narrative. Instead of clearly showing a crime, I focused on the aftermath and the idea of evidence, which links to real crime scene photography. My use of natural lighting and simple compositions helped keep the images realistic and not over edited. This was influenced by photographers like Letizia Battaglia, whose work feels raw and real, even though my own work is staged.
This project is quite personal to me because I used locations that I know and areas that feel familiar that i thought in my head could make the images be much more believable. I wanted to create something that makes the viewer feel like they have arrived at a scene after something has already happened and the process that the forensic team would go through, rather than witnessing it directly. This links to my idea of creating tension and mystery within the images.
I hope the viewer sees that the images are not about showing violence but about suggesting it through small details and the after effect. I want them to look closely and piece together what might have happened almost like an investigation.
If I had more time I would have liked to include more locations and develop the criem scene photography by adding more evidence such as footprints and possible staged objects. I could also improve my lighting by experimenting more with techniques like low angle lighting to highlight different details.