Photography Tips

The following information helps you get the best diagnostic photos possible.

1. Back up, don’t crop your photos with the camera; more background is better.
2. Hold the camera at eye level for portrait shots. Don’t compensate for head position with the camera. Reposition the patient, sit down to shoot, or bend your knees.
3. Use a dark background for portraits. Dark backgrounds eliminate shadows and highlight facial features. 
4. For upper and lower occlusal photos, keep the lips away from the teeth (bigger retractors are better), and keep the midline perpendicular to the plane of the viewfinder.
5. To keep intraoral photo mirrors from fogging, run them under warm water just before taking the photo.
6. Intraoral photos should be taken with the occlusal plane parallel to the plane of the viewfinder. The camera should be angled only when the occlusal plane is changed.