• Job: Forensic photographer and technician, Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office

KARL W. RITZLER/Special (ENLARGE)

Steven Moore keeps his camera handy during autopsies at the Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office. If something unusual is revealed in the process, he documents it.

• What I do: Steven Moore's job is right out of "CSI."

"I take pictures of deceased people as they come in," he said. He also photographs evidence that may come in with the body, such as a weapon, or that may be revealed during an autopsy, such as a hidden wound or a bullet taken from the body.

"Unlike television," he said, "the case isn't solved in 60 minutes."

Moore, 47, also is a technician in the office, meaning that he prepares the examining rooms before autopsies, cleans up afterward and assists the medical examiners.

Anyone who dies in Fulton County comes through the office, he said, but not all are autopsied. Those who are include crime victims or the perpetrators as well as those who die from drug overdoses or in accidents. People who die of natural causes in a hospital, for example, are quickly released to funeral homes after coming through the office.

Moore takes a series of photos of the bodies and faces of all deceased people who come through the office, primarily for identification.

During an examination, he said, he photographs any trauma or injuries — external and internal — often in extreme close-up.

Afterward, he downloads the images into a computer, printing the ID shots and storing the rest on a disc for possible use by the courts or insurance companies. The photographic record can include pictures of evidence, such as clothing, marks on the body from gunpowder burns or gunshot wounds, and "environmental evidence," such as fibers. After being photographed, all evidence is labeled, sealed in plastic bags and sent to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Moore doesn't go to crime scenes, though. Those usually are documented by police photographers.

He keeps his camera handy while doing the other parts of his job, such as eviscerating a body before an autopsy. That involves making a Y-shaped incision in the chest, removing the vital organs and placing them on a table for the medical examiner.

"I look for signs of things that don't look normal," he said. "I look for signs of trauma and get pictures of that."

He also takes X-rays of the body and draws fluids.

During the remainder of the autopsy, he said, he's "an extra set of arms for the doctor." All the while, the camera is nearby to record whatever is necessary.

When the examination is done, "I sew them up, put them back in the [body] bag and put them in the cooler," he said.

The whole process can take 45 minutes to more than three hours, and sometimes he snaps more than 100 photos. There are eight stations in the examining room for autopsies, and three doctors usually work on each case, with one technician per doctor. "Everything is moving," Moore said.

Then, it's time to clean and disinfect the examining room. "I can get messy," he said.

• What got me interested in this: Moore's father was a photographer and served a stint as a forensic photographer during the Vietnam War.

Moore's dad returned from the war but was killed in an automobile accident a few years later, when Moore was 12. It was "my first exposure with a death being so personal," he said.

Seeing his father at the funeral, "I wondered how they did that [preparing the body]," he said.

Over the years, even after he graduated from high school and held other jobs, he volunteered to assist at funeral homes and eventually was hired part time as an assistant in the preparation room, getting bodies dressed and ready for funerals.

• Best part of my job: "The people I work with," Moore said. "That's what makes this job so great."

In addition, "I play a big part in bringing closure, especially for people who can't speak for themselves."

• Most challenging part: "You have to get used to the different smells," Moore said. "It's something you've never smelled before. It's hard on the nasal passages."

• What people don't know about my job: "It's not as gruesome as they think," he said. "It's not a horror movie. . . . We're doing something for the county and for the family."

• What keeps me going: "It's a great place to work," Moore said. "I'll come in on my day off. Every day is a learning process."

But, he said, the highlight of his day is "coming home to my son."

• Preparation needed for this job: "You have to love what you do," he said.

There is no specialized training needed to be a forensic assistant, Moore said, although several assistants are graduates of schools for funeral directors or are licensed embalmers.

Moore said he learned through experience at funeral homes, "a lot of reading" and self-study. "The doctors don't mind teaching you," he added.

Moore graduated from high school in Brooklyn, N.Y., and has worked as a clerk for a Manhattan brokerage, a carpenter, a real estate foreclosure specialist, a corrections officer, a car salesman and an apartment leasing consultant.

"I'm basically a well-rounded person," he said.

- By Karl W. Ritzler, for ajcjobs. Got an interesting job that you love? E-mail your story to jobseditor@ajc.com.