Clinical facial photography in a small office: Lighting equipment and technique

The taking of clinical photographs, to record and to utilize during surgery , is an essential aspect of activity in every professional office or depart ment of facial surgery. To obtain the best quality and consistency of resul ts, many suggest the use of a professional lighting system composed of two or more flash units. An entire room, or a large part of it, should be perma nently reserved for this use. In the last five years, I have developed and standardized a technique for t aking facial photography, utilizing a single flash unit (monolight) in a sm all area that, after photographing, is cleared to allow space for other act ivities. A remarkable effort was dedicated to make the procedure easier, to save time, to reduce cost, and to make it possible to take a complete set of shots without the aid of an assistant.