Clinical photography in skin of colour: tips and best practices
Jenna Lester, Lucy Clark, Eleni Linos, Roxana Daneshjou
Abstract
Conflicts of interest: The authors declare they have no conflicts of interest. High‐quality photos are critical to dermatology, for both clinical care and education. Although best practices for capturing skin photos have been outlined,1 these omit specific challenges of taking photos of dark skin. Bias against accurate capture of dark skin in photographic technology is a long‐standing issue.2 Colour balance with film photography relied on reference cards portraying white models,2 and digital photography still has issues capturing detailed photos of darker skin.3, 4 Thus, proper photography techniques are important to take the highest‐quality photos in patients with dark skin. A recent summary of tips for photography in dermatology1 makes several important points about capturing high‐quality clinical photos. It emphasizes the importance of using a background that provides contrast to the subject while minimizing background distractions, and highlights camera techniques that prevent distortion of the subject. We agree with these suggestions and think they should apply to all photos. In addition, we believe it is important to present the nuanced approach that, based on our clinical experience, is necessary when taking photos in patients with skin of colour.