Showing results honestly: photography for medical aesthetics
Patients choose an aesthetics clinic largely by its results, and results are shown in pictures. That makes photography one of the most powerful tools a clinic has, and one of the easiest to misuse.
Why patients distrust before-and-after
Most people have seen before-and-after images in which the light, the angle, the make-up and the expression all changed between the two photographs. The result looks dramatic and proves nothing. Patients have learned to discount such pictures, and regulators have noticed them too.
A simple protocol
- Same light, same place. One room, one fixed light and one background, used for every patient.
- Same angles, same distance. A short list of standard views, taken from marked positions.
- Same face. No make-up, a neutral expression and hair held back, in both pictures.
- No retouching. Skin photographed as it is. Any editing beyond cropping and exposure undermines the point.
- Dates and consent. Record when each photograph was taken, and get written consent for each use, which patients can withdraw.
Know the rules where you practise
Advertising for medical aesthetics is regulated. In the UK, for example, prescription-only medicines such as botulinum toxin may not be advertised to the public, and advertising for cosmetic procedures must not be aimed at under-18s. Other countries have their own rules. Check them with your regulator before publishing results, and present outcomes as individual, never guaranteed.
Beyond before-and-after
Honest comparisons are only part of the picture. Close-ups of real, unretouched skin, photographs of the doctors and the treatment rooms, and clear explanations of what a treatment can and cannot do build the kind of trust that a dramatic comparison never will.
In a medical practice, the most persuasive photograph is the one nobody could accuse of being edited.
Related project: SOIE, treatment menus, aftercare cards, product labels and booking site for a doctor-led skin clinic in London.
