Someone recently posted a question on the CLPEX website regarding on-screen comparisons. This question was specifically about fingerprint comparisons, but the method is the same whether comparing prints, footwear, vehicles, etc.

The first step is to determine which images to use (or eliminate). I frequently use Adobe Bridge for this. I set up Bridge in the Filmstrip workspace. If I need to compare two or three images to decide which I will use for the final comparison, I select multiple images and use the loupe tool to compare details. The loupe tool provides a 100, 200, 400, or 800 percent magnification of a portion of each image in the Preview panel. Just click on an image in this panel to activate the loupe, click and drag it to move it, click it again to close it. You can display one loupe on each image in the Preview panel, as shown here:

Once the images are selected, they can be opened into Photoshop for comparison.

If the images are of the same resolution and approximately the same cropping, then they can be synchronized for zooming and scrolling. Do this by choosing the “Zoom all Windows” and “Scroll all Windows” in the options for the Zoom and Hand tools. Now, if you tile the images side-by-side, and zoom, both images will zoom; scroll one, and the other will scroll as well.

A new blank layer can be added to each image and marks can be made on that blank layer to indicate various features. Multiple layers can be used to better separate different categories of features, etc. With the Extended version of Photoshop CS3 or CS4, the Count tool can be used to mark features.

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