1. A fingerprint surface imaging system to minimize foreshortening of a captured fingerprint image, comprising: a thin wedge prism having an illumination surface and a platen surface forming a prism angle θ 1 ; and an illumination source that can emit light onto a fingerprint surface placed on said platen surface of said prism; wherein light reflected from the fingerprint surface travels through the thin wedge prism onto the illumination surface and is refracted at the illumination surface onto an image sensor along a direction that is approximately perpendicular to the platen surface.