Portrait Photography for the Cosmetic Dental Practice
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Fondriest Improving Your Portrait Photography BY James Fondriest, D.D.S. Introduction Lake Forest, IL Whether it is for documentation of clinical circumstances, to celebrate the [email protected] UH finish of treatment, or to market your skills to future potential clients, improving your skill at taking portraits has great value. Single lens reflex (SLR) cameras Dr. Fondriest is a curriculum are becoming commonplace in dental offices for intraoral use. The same SLR author and Lead Faculty for the camera that you use intraorally is excellent for exposing beautiful portraits as Esthetics Continuum at the Pankey well. Interesting and emotion-generating portraits can be created with these Institute. He has lectured cameras by changing the light source, lens, and camera settings from the typical internationally and published extensively in peer-reviewed intraoral setup. This article provides details on how to set up professional style journals. Some of his memberships lighting in the dental office and how to capture better portraits. include the ADA, Academy of Fixed Prosthodontics, the Academy of Osseointegration, and the AACD. Most of the patients coming for your services understand that quality esthetic dentistry requires artistic talent. Good portraiture His office focuses on esthetic showcases your artistic talents. restorative dentistry. https://lakeforestdentalarts.com/ Lighting FlashSystems Typical intraoral camera set-ups have a ring or dual-point flash system mounted to the lens. The ring flash positions the light very close to the lens, allowing illumination of everything visible in the viewfinder. A dual-point flash has two separated light sources, making it slightly more difficult to get light into the back of the mouth with retracted shots, but the indirect lighting effect makes your porcelain restorations look nicer and less opaque. Both flash systems yield a high- Fondriest Figure 1: Portrait taken using Canon 20, 100mm Figure 2: Postoperative portrait taken with two macro lens, Canon MR-24EX twin flash. The patient’s symmetrical strobes/softboxes as main lights, hair proximity to the black background causes a shadow light strobe with parabolic and grid diffuser, Nikon to be formed on the background. D200 camera, Nikkor 28-70mm f/2.8D ED-IF zoom AF-S lens. contrast, detailed image good for for taking close-up pictures of small lights around the patient to see how documentation purposes; but they objects. Studio lighting can offer a the face and teeth are directionally typically also produce a very flat, less harsh and contrasted result, illuminated and evaluate the harsh, and less appealing quality and the light can be directed from exposure (i.e., level of lightness or when portraits are taken. They leave a many different angles (Fig 2). With a darkness of the photograph) before single specular reflection in the shorter lens, the photographer can the picture is taken. This kind of center of the pupils, which gives a move closer to the subject, making it lighting creates the dependability of easier to expose images at different “beady eye” look (Fig 1). “what you see is what you get.” angles. Because these camera systems However, there are drawbacks to usually have a 100-mm macro lens, using continuous lighting in the small the patient should stand at least The better artistic images elicit an emotional confines of a dental office. These seven feet away from the camera so and/or intellectual response from the viewer lights are hot and will heat the room. that his or her entire head can be As a result, your subject will tire more photographed. The actual required Natural lighting offers the most quickly and begin to perspire, so you distance depends on the camera’s artistic opportunities in portraiture, but will not capture as many chip size. The seven-foot distance time and logistic limitations make photographs; nor will you have a challenges the onboard flash system artificial lighting the most convenient chance to experiment with as many to throw sufficient light to your subject. for dentists. Studio lighting offers Dental photography suppliers poses, lighting set-ups, or wardrobe recommend setting the flash com- unlimited artistic expression when changes. photographing your patients. pensation at + 1 to + 1 2/3 to over- Strobe Lighting come this exposure deficiency, but Continuous Lighting Strobe lighting is the most common this flash compensation may create a Studio lights can be divided into studio lighting selection. Basically, a tendency to overexpose the in- two categories: continuous lights strobe light is a light system that traoral images. (spot lights) and non-continuous synchronizes its flash with your Better portraiture lighting can flash lights (strobes). It is easier to camera’s shutter opening or to other be achieved by removing the on- use continuous lighting (i.e., the strobes. Just like the flash on your board macro flash. Macro flashes studio lights are always on). With camera, strobes power up a charge and lenses are specifically designed continuous lighting, you can move the and release a flash of light when the The Journal of Cosmetic Dentistry ©2008 2 Spring 2008 • Volume 24 • Number 1 Fondriest Figure 3: The strobe light can be supported by a tripod Figure 4: Higher-contrast portrait taken with a for ease of positioning, and softboxes can be mounted beauty dish as the main light, two hair light strobes on it to diffuse and soften its harsh flash. with parabolics and 300 grid diffusers, Nikon D200 camera, Nikkor 28-70mm f/2.8D ED-IF zoom AF-S lens. camera demands it. Strobes have be attached to strobes. Umbrellas dish as the main light is seen in Figure rheostats or digital exposure adjust- (e.g., reflective and trans-illumination 4. ments that allow you to adjust the variations) are inexpensive and Lighting set-up amount of light that is thrown. You can easy to use, and they soften the Setting up a studio light system in set your ideal camera settings harsh light of the strobe. Soft- boxes a dental office requires very little room. manually and then adjust the strobe are used more often in studios, I use a small area adjoining a narrow light output to create an ideal exposure. require less room, and offer the hallway previously used as a Panorex Your subject stays fresh longer because greatest softening effect. Softer light nook. It provides a rectangular space of he or she will not become tired due to shows fewer visible wrinkles or skin heat. Also, because you can keep the 6’ x 4’ (Fig 5), in which there are two imperfections1,2 and yields very nice lighting low between shots, the pupils main strobe lights with 24” x 32” reflections off porcelain restorations. stay dilated, which many in the softboxes attached, each supported The closer the strobe with an attached professional portraiture industry believe by moveable tripods. Having them softbox can be placed to your produces a younger, healthier look. on tripods enables me to move them subject, the softer the light will be. The Strobe lights can be triggered by your around easily and quickly. For larger the softbox, the softer the light camera via a wire, radio transmitter, or documentation photography, I keep is.3 by other strobes firing (i.e., “slave them equidistant from the patient and triggering”). Strobes typically are the camera. The general rule is that a mounted on tripod light stands (Fig 3); Creating a quality portraiture area in your office is well worth softbox should be placed no further or, in the small space of a dental office, the investment. from the subject’s face than the sum of sometimes on walls and ceilings. its dimensions (i.e., 24” + 32” = 56 When they are wall-mounted, the ability to experiment with lighting is limited. Parabolics and beauty dishes inches). I tend to keep them less Wall mounts (e.g., Mathews baby are other common strobe diffusion than 36” from, and at the same plates [Mathews Studio Equipment, attachments used in the modeling height as, the face. Often you can Inc.; Burbank, CA]) cost an average of business, but these tend not to flatter tell what lighting was used in a $17.50 each, versus tripod light older patients because they produce portrait by looking at the specular stands, which cost approximately light that is high in contrast and reflections in the eyes. $40 each. shadows that exaggerate skin Many different diffusion devices imperfections.2 An example of a high- that yield different light qualities can contrast image taken with a beauty The Journal of Cosmetic Dentistry ©2008 Spring 2008 • Volume 24 • Number 1 Fondriest Figure 5: Ideal portraiture set-up for dental office. Background has hooks to hold black velvet curtain. Set-up requires a minimum space of 6’ x 4’. Figure 6 was exposed with closely when the hair light strobe fires for the photographed with the main lights placed symmetrical softboxes. This exact same length of time). firing, as seen in Figure 10. lighting set-up fully illuminates the The hair light is a light pointed The hair light has a parabolic diffuser buccal corridors (Fig 7). from above that illuminates the with a 200 grid. The grid collimates the A third strobe, the hair light, is hair and/or shoulders. Hair lights light into a small circle, illuminating mounted 2’ (3 to 4’ would be better) are used to create a visual separa- only the subject’s head and above the patient’s head on the back tion between your subject and the shoulders. This keeps direct light wall. The height is limited by my background. If your subject’s hair or from coming back into the camera ceiling. This hair light strobe is clothing has little contrast from the lens, which would cause lens flare.