Your Appointment
Information for Total Body Photography appointments
In person
Prior to your consultation, after checking in, there would be some consent forms for medical photography (if needed) and if necessary consent for a Skin Screening Exam. During our consultation we will start by taking a history with regards to the main complaint, your risk factors and your health in general. Thereafter we will do a focused or general skin examination with the aid of a dermatoscope. The consultation will conclude with a discussion of the findings and planning further management and or future follow-up as needed.
Telehealth
How to take clinical photographs using a smartphone:
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“Maintain a distraction-free and consistent background. A plain light blue or green background is considered ideal. Because taking pictures with a smartphone is so easy, this point is often neglected.”
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“Take multiple images whenever possible; poor images can always be deleted later. Image previews on the large screen of the mobile phone may be deceptive. The true quality of the image can only be appreciated after the image is transferred to a computer and viewed on the computer monitor. Also capture images from different angles. A minimum of two views are recommended: (1) from a distance showing the lesions in relation to the whole body/important anatomical structures, and (2) a close-up view showing the morphology of individual lesions.”
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“Ensure that proper focus is achieved and the lesion in question is properly focused on. Smartphones allow “touch focus” and one can tap on the lesion on screen to lock focus. It is important to remember that a blurred photograph is of no value in clinical photography.”
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“Always ensure that the phone is held firm with both hands and exposing is done with the index finger of the right hand (unless the operator is left handed). Ensure that you have used the highest resolution available to ensure that the photos look good even while viewing on a larger screen or in prints. It would be ideal to hold the smartphone parallel to the area of interest of the subject to avoid errors like improper angulation. The area of interest should be centered to the middle of the frame.”
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“Tripods are available in the market even for smartphones these days, which can be used for close-up photography. A simple method is to stabilize the lower edge of the phone on a flat surface such as a table (you can use books to increase the height of the base as needed).”
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“While taking general views, it is better to turn the flash on, but it may be better turn it off when taking close-up shots as to avoid interference with the image quality in case of pigmented lesions. Unless otherwise indicated, it is important to include the point of interest in the middle of the frame.”