Photography Tips For Doctors – How To Improve Medical Shots

Hi , I am Miri Davidovitz , a professional photographer from Israel.
I am here to give you a quick brief of tips to on how to better your medical shots  .

The 5 most important points in order to get good pictures :
1. A good camera
2.Using day light and not flash
3.Using a tripod
4. Keeping the frame clean and centered
5. Choosing the correct file size.

1. Especially in digital photography, the quality of the camera is crucial- don’t use your cellphone or  a pocket digital camera ,no matter how many mega -pixels the manufacturer promises it to have.
Invest in a good camera with good optical qualities and a good digital sensor. It will make all the difference.
Important – choose a camera you can operate manually.
My recommendation – the likes of Canon or Nikon. Photography brands , not HP etc..
The price for a good quality camera should start at 800 euros. For example -  Nikon D70 , which is the most simple digital camera you can start from.

Choosing a manually operated camera enables you to set the aperture and photography speed according to your needs – which is maximum focus  ,all over the frame .
If you operate automatically the camera will determine an average which might not be what you are after.
Plus – it will surely turn on automatically the flash.

2. Day light -  You should use day light and not flash because Flash lighting  is a direct light that comes exactly from  in front,  and erases all the details.
Plus – it makes the person’s flesh look shinny and red.
Since your aim as a doctor is to document improvement and changes it is important for you to choose a light source that would emphasize details.
The best would be studio strobes , but I assume most of you will not go into such trouble .
The second best is -  day light.
Choose a northern window in your clinic and sit the patient next to it.
Make sure there is no direct sun light – because that will create strong shadows that hide your important details.
The window light will give you a good contrasting light source , from the side of the subject , that will emphasize the structure of the patient’s hands , face ,etc.

Go back to your location of choice for each one of your sessions. This will also ensure consistency of the documentation.

3.  Tripod
Shooting with window light , even if you set your camera to  400 asa  (maximum asa before getting digital noise  ) dictates relatively slow speed of photography .
If you don’t want your images to be blurred  -  use a tripod.
This will also force you to concentrate and your patient will automatically be a “better model”.

4. Center your frame – Position  your subject ,lets say a pair of hands, exactly in the center of your frame.
Just like reproduction photography .
This will give maximum information.
Ask the patient to take off any jewelry, and in case he is wearing a pattern give him a smooth colored, toned down , piece of material you have prepared in advance.
Focus the camera on your main point of interest.
Set the camera to F-stop 8 or above to ensure focus all over the frame.
I  recommend  a second angle too  – zero level  – this will give you a point of view that  emphasize any lump or growth.

5. You should adjust the file size to your needs.
If you are going to show the pictures only on the computer then a small size (file 640 x 1200 pixels at good quality) ,is enough.
If the shots are to be printed you should use Raw files. These are the biggest files on the camera , have to be treated in some photo editing program and are highly recommended for any use , even if you make them smaller later ,simply because they are a better type of files.

Basic photography terms :

asa – film sensitivity and digital camera sensitivity
F stop = aperture = the size of the “hole” through which the light gets into the camera
photography speed – the amount of time the aperture remains open for the camera to record the light

About the Author

Professional photographer specializing in fashion , portraits and advertising. Owner of a studio based in Tel- Aviv, working with clients worlwide www.miridavidovitz.com

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