Ta#oo Recogni,on 

Technology – Best Prac,ces 

(Ta#-BP) 

Guidelines for Tattoo Image Collection 

Revision 1.0 

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Purpose

• What?

• The Tatt-BP activity provides best practice guidelines on 

how to collect good quality tattoo images. Artifacts 

include:

▫ This slide deck

▫ Poster

▫ Document

▫ All materials available at 

http://www.nist.gov/itl/iad/ig/tatt-bp.cfm

• Good quality = good for forensic investigations + good 

for automated tattoo recognition

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Purpose (cont’d)

• Why?

• Lack of consistency in collection methodology and poor 

quality images can be detrimental to automated tattoo 

matching methodologies that could be used to support 

operations

• While some problems may be rectified with postcapture image processing, certain properties cannot be 

recovered after the photograph is taken

• This document serves as a guide for collecting tattoo 

images and identifying problems. It also provides 

suggestions for rectification.

▫ Some problems can be fixed with the appropriate capture 

environment while others by real-time image recapture
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Caveat

• While this guide provides recommendations on 

handling acquisition issues commonly seen in 

operations, there may exist a small fraction of 

circumstances that are not covered in this 

document.
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Image Format and Resolu,on

• Format

• JPEG format (with 

compression ratio of 

15:1 or less)

• Resolution 

• Minimum of 1920 x 

2560 (or 2560 x 1920) 

pixels or larger 

(5 Megapixels or larger)

• Supports potential postcollection zooming or 

cropping
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Camera Posi,on

• Standoff Distance

• The camera should be 

placed at least 1 meter 

(3.3 feet) or more away 

from the subject to 

mitigate perspective 

distortion

• Camera

• Align the camera height 

and angle according to 

the location of the 

tattoo on the body such 

that the tattoo is 

parallel to the camera’s 

sensor plane

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1 meter or more

Ta#ooed area
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Ligh,ng

• Use uniform, diffuse lighting where intensity of light 

is evenly distributed 

• Ideally, use a minimum of two point-balanced light 

sources

• Achieve lighting level of 500 lux or more

• Similar to lighting in a bright office

• A lux meter can be used for measuring illuminance

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Number of Photographs

• For each tattoo, collect at 

least 2 photographs

• Photo #1: Tattoo is far 

enough away to show the 

body location

• Photo #2: Tattoo is centered 

and occupies at least 75% of 

the image

• Linking two or more images 

of the same tattoo

• Use ANSI/NIST-ITL Type-10 

record, Field 10.039 

• Field used to link two or 

more images of the same 

tattoo by using the same 

index reference for all of the 

associated images in a 

transaction

#1 #2

#1 #2
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Mul,ple Ta#oos

• For distinctly separate tattoos on different body 

locations

• Collect separate photographs for each tattoo (far away 

and close-up)

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Mul,part Ta#oos

• For tattoos that span multiple body locations and 

it’s not possible to capture the entire tattoo from a 

single angle

• Collect multiple images from different location 

viewpoints, with overlap where possible

Back Side Front
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Full-body Ta#oos

• For large or full-body tattoos, collect

• An image of the entire tattooed area

• Additional images of smaller areas of the tattoo that may 

be of interest

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Manual Cropping

• In the event close-up photographs are not 

collected, manual cropping of the image with an 

image editor is an acceptable alternative

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Background

• Ensure the background is

• Plain and solid in color

• Does not contain any patterns, furniture, clothing, other 

body parts
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Hot spot

Illumina,on

• Ensure adequate, uniform lighting such that

• The tattoo is clearly visible

• There is good contrast between tattoo and skin

• Ensure no large shadows or reflections over the 

tattoo

• In general, the camera flash should not be used

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Orienta,on/Body Posi,oning

• For consistency, tattoos on body limbs should be 

captured with the body part parallel to the torso

• Instruct subject to stand upright, with both forearms and 

hands pointing towards the ground

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Focus

• Ensure the tattoo is in 

clear focus

• To prevent motion blur

• Instruct the subject to 

remain still during photo 

capture

• Ensure operator holds the 

camera still – use a fixed 

mount or tripod

• To prevent focus blur

• Ensure the subject is at 

least 1 meter (3.3 ft) from 

the camera

• Use autofocus and review 

the image

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Sensor Plane

• Ensure tattoo is captured 

parallel to the camera’s 

sensor plane

• Adjust subject body position 

or adjust camera position

• Tattoo should be in straight 

view and not at a vertical or 

horizontal angle

• If tattoo is too large and 

parts of the tattoo aren’t 

parallel to the sensor plane 

(often on arms and legs), 

then collect from multiple 

angles (see Multipart 

Tattoos slide)

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Body Hair

• Hairy regions that are not part of the tattooed 

region should be avoided as it can introduce noise 

during automated tattoo segmentation

• If irrelevant body hair cannot be avoided to expose 

body location, then try to eliminate it from the 

camera’s field of view in the close-up photo (#2)

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#1 #2 #1 #2
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Transmission

• Post-collection, we recommend storage and 

transmission of tattoo images to law enforcement 

agencies (e.g., FBI) using the ANSI/NIST-ITL 

Standard Type-10 record, available at

http://www.nist.gov/itl/iad/ig/ansi_standard.cfm

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Summary: A Good Ta#oo Image has...

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• Plain, solid background

• Adequate, uniform 

lighting

• In focus, good contrast 

against the skin

• No occlusions or 

irrelevant body hair in 

view

• Tattoo is parallel to 

camera’s sensor plane

• No shadows or 

reflections over tattoo
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References

• NIST tattoo homepage

http://www.nist.gov/itl/iad/ig/tattoo.cfm

• For best practice guidelines on tattoo image collection 

http://www.nist.gov/itl/iad/ig/tatt-bp.cfm

• For outcomes and recommendations from Tattoo 

Recognition Technology – Challenge (Tatt-C)

• NIST Interagency Report 8078 available at 

http://www.nist.gov/itl/iad/ig/tatt-c.cfm

• For transmission of tattoo images with law 

enforcement agencies

• ANSI/NIST ITL Standard (see Type 10 record)

• http://www.nist.gov/itl/iad/ig/ansi_standard.cfm