Hands on Clinical Dental Photography Training

Hi Everyone!

As I've traveled around the world teaching clinical photography, I've had a lot of dentists ask me if I do personal consulting on how to get great images and how to use them for internal and external digital marketing to grow practices. The answer is: YES.

I've had groups come to my office in Dallas for training of the entire team with or without the doctor.

If you want to learn more about how I can personally help you and/or your team get spectacular clinical photographs and teach you how to grow your practice and increase case acceptance, just email me at Glenn@Kriegercontinuum.com and I can give you more details.

All the best,
Glenn

The right mirrors for dental photography

If you're like me, you've been getting emails for a new fog free mirror system that gently blows air over the mirror and even has a light to make it easier to get good images. Some even have rubber handles on the ends to get a better grip.

Is this a great idea, or is it simply a waste of money?

Anyone who has spent even a bit of time with me knows that my goal is to get exceptionally good images with as little cost as quickly as possible. So, in theory, I am against any "gizmos or gadgets" that can be circumvented with good technique.

I'm a huge fan of two things: Simplicity and functionality. Every mirror should have 4 working ends (2 on each side and the same when flipped over) and should be designed in shape so as to assist you in getting amazing images.

If someone knows how to use retractors and mirrors, and how to set up their flash and use f-stops, they'll get awesome lighting every time, without question. I've never once ever used any additional tools to get more light and with good retraction, I can even get a great shot using just the flash on my iPhone.

This image was taken with one of my occlusal mirrors and my iPhone. No need for fancy gizmos when you have good retraction and mirror use. Learn good technique and great images come fast.

In terms of fogging, all you need to do is run your mirror under hot faucet water for 5 seconds and you'll have a fog-free mirror for the next 5 minutes. Yes, it's really that easy. I show that as just one of the many tricks on my DVDs for clinical photography.

In short, rather than spend the money on a tool that gets around the issue of poor lighting by adding unnecessary light, consider learning how to get great retraction and use the ambient light from the room to get extraordinary images every time.

If you and your team are ready to take the next step towards getting exceptional images every time, consider our starter kit and watch your clinical photography take off without any fancy rubber handles, lights or mirror fans.

The starter kit has everything you need to get started on your way to exceptional images.

As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments.

Let's Show Great Images To Our Patients

I just typed in "Cosmetic Dentist" and visited a bunch of websites that popped up. I did what many patients might do and went to the "smile gallery" to see their work. It became clear to me that most were uninspiring and mostly very clinical. I can't imagine that any patient would get too excited about seeing images of a patient shot while they were in the clinic chair or against the wall of the operatory or a collage of clinical shots. I'm not posting most of the images I saw because it wouldn't be fair to show a patient's face, but suffice it to say that most of the images came up far short of what I would show on a website if I chose to show images on my website.

Do you really think that a patient will see this and say "Wow! This is the right dentist for me?".  Seems more appropriate for a board certification presentation.

Even when just a smile was shown, most sites of the "Best Cosmetic Dentists" (at least according to Dr. Google) showed images taken from incorrect angles.

If we're going to show off our work, let's at least shoot the two images from the same angle.

If we're going to show off our work to the general public, let's get AMAZING images that inspire folks. Honest, simple images that don't require patients having to go to a professional photographer (yes, most future patients can see through that marketing technique).

Click HERE to see a post I once did on how to get amazing portraits to grow your practice.

We all strive to do the best dentistry we can and we should also strive to have our photography match our outcomes.

All the best,
Glenn

Why the Nikkor 85mm lens is a great (lighter and way less expensive) substitute for the traditional 105mm

I originally wrote this post almost two years ago, but I get the question so often that it seems appropriate to repost it.

It kills me every time a dentist writes to me something like: "I've got this great camera and lens setup that I got handed down from my brother when he got a better camera, but I can't get good images. Can you help me use it better?"  More often than not, they have a zoom lens such as an 18-200mm or 55-300mm or something like that. NONE, I repeat NONE of those lenses are appropriate for dentistry. They are not macro lenses, which means that you can never use them up close to the subject. Almost all dental photography (with the exception of portraits) uses macro photography. If you don't use a macro lens, your images will be out of focus.

This Canon 17-85mm lens is amazing to use, but the "-" between the 17 and 85 signifies it's a zoom lens and NOT appropriate for dental use.

All lenses for dentistry are macro, except Nikkor lenses (Nikon's subsidiary that makes lenses for Nikon) which call them "Micro". 

The brand you choose is important for the camera you use. For instance, if you use a Canon body, use a Canon (or Tamron or Sigma) lens. If you use Nikon, you can use a Nikkor (or Tamron or Sigma) lens.  In this post, I'm not going to get into the idea of why I'm not a big fan of using "off brands" of lenses. Buy all from the same brand, so that when something goes wrong, there's no finger pointing by one company to another. Hand it in to the repair center and let them sort it out. It's worth the extra few dollars you'll pay on the equipment.  However, here I am going to briefly discuss the type of lens you should use.

Basically, with Nikkor and Canon, there are only a few choices. For Nikkor, you can go with the 85mm or the 105mm. For Canon, you can choose the 60mm or the 100mm (the less expensive of the two 100mm lenses Canon makes is fine). The 60 mm lens is simply too tough to use in dentistry. The lower the number the closer you need to be to the subject and with a 60mm lens, for a shot of just the front teeth, you'll literally be 3 inches from the patient. Not good. The flash will never be in a position to work well. So, for Canon, you've got only one choice, the 100mm lens.

This Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM is a great choice for Canon users. DON'T buy the more expense $1050.00 100mm Canon lens. You don't need it.

For Nikon, the 105 is an amazing lens, but at almost $1000 I simply cannot recommend it over the way smaller and way lighter  85mm lens , which costs half the price. In case you're wondering, photo quality doesn't suffer at all. I've shot both and can't tell the difference in ANY use of the image.

This AF-S DX Micro Nikkor 85mm f/3.5G ED VR is an amazing lens at a great price for Nikon users.

Shot comparison of 85 vs 105mm Nikkor Macros. I can't see a difference and for an extra $500 I don't see the value.

One thing of note is that the lower the number (85mm vs 105mm) the closer to the subject you need to be to capture the same composition. So, you will need to be a little closer to the patient or, crop your images more when you're working through your digital process. 

Don't fall victim to buying the wrong equipment. As I said, I have DVDs to walk you through the entire process of buying, setting up and using your camera, flash and lens for maximum effectiveness, and minimal problems found HERE.

As always, I'm here for you should you have any questions or problems.

Best Wishes,

Glenn

Have Your Team Shoot Intraoral Images With Their Phone

When I travel around teaching photography and classes, the first question I ALWAYS get is: "Which camera should I buy?" Fair enough question, right? Actually, not really.

As clinicians, we've been trained in all sorts of equipment. We care about the brackets we use, the wire materials, scanners, technology, etc, etc.. Fortunately (or unfortunately for some) the camera you use will have far less of an impact on your images than your understanding of how to properly use mirrors and retractors. I've seen dentists spend upwards of $3000 on a camera setup and not have the foggiest clue about how to retract cheeks, position a patient or which mirror is best.  I've even had people show up to my courses with full camera setups still in the original packaging, hoping that I can show them how to set it up and use it (which I am always happy to do). My point is that it's not about the camera, flash or lens. It's about composition.

There are two components to every image: Lighting and composition. The first is easy to understand. Your image is either too light or too dark. How to get exceptional lighting is more complicated and I've previously discussed the role of lighting and its effect on depth of field on this blog, so I won't touch on it right now. Composition is how the image is set up. Can you see everything you want to see and nothing else?  In short, did you properly use the mirrors and retractors?

Even with this $2500 camera setup, notice that the composition doesn't lend itself to great patient education or case documentation. Truth is, it's really easy to fix.

My contention has always been that well composed images with a cheap camera allow one to capture better images than an expensive camera with poorly composed shots.  If you properly use your retractors, you're getting the lips and cheeks out of the way and light is able to get onto the subject. For instance, here's a shot of a maxillary arch (unedited except for cropping) taken with my OLD iPhone.

Yep, taken with an iPhone 4s, but with proper use of mirrors and retractors and good patient positioning techniques. Sure, the resolution is a little low, but it's a four year old 4s for gosh sakes! Newer cameras would look way better.

Sure, a more expensive camera would have better lighting or depth of field and I'm not advocating that you should use your camera phone for all of your dental images. What I am saying is that if you can get a great shot with your camera phone, without the fancy lighting systems or lenses, it's proof that you're using your mirrors and retractors well. If you're properly retracting the cheeks and tongue and positing your mirror in the right way, you'll allow enough light onto the subject that you'll get a great image with our fancy flash systems. If your image is too dark, it means that you're not retracting properly and you can quickly refine your technique.

Have your team shoot a set of images using their camera phones instead of your normal camera system. It'll make them focus (pun intended) on how to properly use the mirrors and retractors. It's about as pure of a way to shoot as there is and you can't hide anything and together you can objectively grade their images as I discussed HERE. If they can master the camera phone technique, then shooting with any $2000 camera system will be a breeze...if you know how to set it up. But that's another discussion. :)

Wishing you the best,
Glenn

" Which dental camera should I get? "

Sorry it's been a while since my last post, but since my last entry, I still continue to get asked, over and over again, which camera people should buy.

I've covered that topic ad nauseum in other posts here on the blog, but please let me say the following:

If you don't know anything about cameras or what you're looking for, please consider becoming educated first. To simply buy a camera because someone says it's good is pure foolishness and you'll regret it later. Know what you're getting and what each lens means as well as the differences between cameras.

Things like "buffering time" or "FPS" don't play any role whatsoever, so please don't confuse what's important. Additionally, if you don't know how to properly use mirrors or retractors, no camera system on earth can help you.

Please search my 7 years of posts to learn more about lenses, cameras and flashes and consider my starter kit at KriegerContinuum.com.

All the best,
Glenn

Macro means macro....well, almost.

Yea, it's been a while since my last post. I apologize to all of you for taking as long as I have between posts, but I was busy with my orthodontic residency and seeing that I just graduated, I figured I'd get back to posting.

I just wanted to take a moment to explain something that I see as a common error when teaching clinical photography.

If you've ever visited this blog before, you know that I offer a lot of advice and answer many questions about which camera system to buy. Though I repeatedly discuss the idea of buying a macro lens such as 85 or 105mm (Nikkor) or 100mm (Canon), it seems that even that simple advice can be misunderstood.

Examples of Nikkor 105mm (left) and 85mm (right) macro lenses. These lenses are specially designed to allow in-focus images from extremely close distances

A macro lens such as the 85mm Nikkor, is a fixed lens, allowing the user to get focus at incredibly close distances to the subject. It is NOT the same as a lens such as a 18-105mm zoom lens. Sure, the latter lens has 105mm included within it's range, but it is not designed to allow you to get an image in focus from less than a few feet.

All too often, students or friends will tell me about their friend or family member who is a photographer who told them to buy a certain setup, or they got a great deal at a big box store that included a free zoom lens that they hope to use in the office.

This is the Nikkor 18-105mm lens.  It is a normal zoom lens, not designed for macro photography. If you buy it and try it for dentistry, you may get great portraits, but your intraoral images will be out of focus.

Just remember, if you're not using a macro lens (Nikkor calls them "micro") it is the wrong lens for dentistry.  The free lens that comes with the camera can look tempting, but it simply won't give you what you need.

As always, feel free to email me at Glenn@KriegerContinuum.com with any questions.

Best Wishes,
Glenn