As a plastic surgeon, I’m always taking before and after photos. It’s a requirement for the job! While sometimes results are very evident to the patient, results can also be subtle. For this reason, it’s important to have before and after photos for comparison so those subtle results are clear to the patient.
Many plastic surgeons don’t receive formal training in photography. Luckily, I did my plastic surgery fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic where they had a dedicated photographer who taught us a few photography tricks along the way.
Good before and after photos are essential. And I’m not talking about good surgical results…although good (great) results are always the goal. I’m referring to good quality photos. Comparing photos requires that everything about the photo be the same – lighting, angle, resolution – so that you can focus on what is different, i.e. the transformation of the patient after a surgical or non-surgical procedure.
As you take more photos, you start to appreciate good and bad quality and how to improve your technique the next time around. Over time, a good plastic surgeon becomes a competent photographer. So when my wife became a fashion blogger and started a fashion blog, I was the natural choice to fill the role of her photographer. There was certainly the financial incentive, to her, of getting a free photographer. More than that though, my years of taking before and after photos unwittingly prepared me for my role as a fashion blogger’s photographer!
So several afternoons a week, either in between or after seeing patients, I grab my Nikon D610, set it to aperture priority, dial the F-stop down really low (1.4 or 1.6) to get that crisp foreground and blurry background. These settings allow my wife’s outfit to pop while subtly drowning out everything else. Even with those settings, you can still appreciate the Victorian houses in the neighborhoods around San Francisco that serve as her backdrop.
So after 12 years of training, two board certifications and 13 certificates, I’m a board certified plastic surgeon….oh, and a fashion blogger’s photographer!
Interested in before and after photos?! Check out the procedures we offer and even get pricing here.
