Plastic surgery office lighting setup

[cargovoyage]

Hello everyone,

I am a plastic surgeon and am building a new office. I would like some advice in the lighting setup for before and afters. Currently I use one on camera speedlight with Gary Fong diffuser for my head and body shots. I have a standard blue medical background. The pictures are OK, but usually require some adjustment during RAW conversion to get a standard look.

The room will be about 10x10 with one end of the room dedicated to the photographs. I will either have the wall painted or have a backdrop that rolls down. I am considering switching to a black background as I think this will make white balance and shadow issues easier to correct. (black is also acceptable for before and afters). Should I keep my current setup? Should I use wall mounted strobes? Large softboxes? If so how many? I want the lighting to be flat and soft. Umbrellas will probably not work due to space limitations and aesthetic concerns for the room.

Thanks in advance!

 

[slowhands214238]

Random thoughts

1) Include a reference color checker in/on your backdrop so you can get consistant PP results... and can clone it out or crop it out (or leave it)

2) If you want FLAT lighting, have the opposite wall WHITE, and aim your light source (speedlight or strobe) at it - effectively making it a LARGE light source, and if your light source is on the same subject / camera line... the bounce will give FLAT lighting.

I would "X" marks the spot for subject

and probably have a swing-out arm to hold the camera (or drop-down arm), or tripod....and wireless trigger a strobe. LOCK IN the camera settings, strobe settings, and even the focus. (and write them down somewhere for reference)

Question - Why are you wanting FLAT lighting? Is it to minimize the ability of clients to SEE any scarring? More dimensional lighting might better display your profenciency rather than flat giving the impression your trying to hide something.

 

[antares103]

Flat and soft, huh? A ringflash will do that quite well, and are fairly widely used in the medical industry. They cause no shadows (except a halo on the wall if the subject is close enough).
--
Film is a four letter word

 

[hotdog321]

I like the painted wall idea. You probably do not want to mess around rolling, unrolling and keeping seamless paper clean. Paper and supports also take up more space--most plastic surgeons I've photographed have darn small offices.

The color checker on the wall idea by the other poster is a very good idea. You can balance your color with a single click.

Flat lighting. Whatever approach you use, I would standardize your light and exposure. This, and the color checker, might help with insurance issues, too.

 

[cargovoyage]

Thanks for the suggestions. Perhaps it's not truly flat light that I want, but rather no harsh shadows, and certainly balanced light from side to side.

I like the idea of a color card on the wall. You know what I use instead? I zoom in and use the eyedropper tool to balance off the whites of patient's eyes. It's almost like a neutral gray and is consistent. Works great- try it sometime. But I'll definately give the color card a try.

As for the swing arm mount or tripod, I am afraid that wouldn't work because of my need to be a foot off the ground to photograph legs, but 6 feet up for a man's face.

I currently do have an "x" spot for pt's to stand.

So 2 lights on the side walls pointing back towards a white or very light wall is a thought. Would be more cosmetically acceptable than umbrellas or softboxes.

Please have a look at some of my before and afters if you would like to critique anything knowing my current setup. http://www.drcappuccino.com

Thanks again

 

[slowhands214238]

On a few there was the SHADOW on the wall behind....

Move the subject farther from the wall, (typically 4+ feet if there is space)
or use a black (as you hinted) backdrop or wall to hide the shadow.

Site seems SLOW, but that could be your hosting provider as much as your site design.

On the images I viewed, you show before and after, but nowhere did I see any examples of the surgery / recovery... and having a wife that underwent plastic surgery on her face due to removal of a skin cancer lump near her nose, I know there is some visable suturing / scarring / recovery, which with time diminishes or disappears. You might want to give examples of what to expect during recovery??

 

[cargovoyage]

Hmm, I'll have to look into the site being slow.

I like the idea of having the intervening pictures for patients to see. When patients come in for consultation I sometimes show pictures from what the recovery looks like. On the website, the host only does before and after shots (this is probably due to convention)

I'll have patients stand a little further from the wall. Not bad though for a one flash setup right?

 

[slowhands214238]

Yea, one flash works... set it to a MANUAL power level, and point it at the wall/celing junction behind you for broader / flatter lighting... and then take notes of the camera settings to get proper exposure when shooting an ankle vs a tummy vs breasts vs a face.

With an eBay RF trigger system (less than $50 for Xmtr on camera/Rcvr on flash), and a bracket to attach it to your drop celing grid, your setup... just don't shadow the subject!

 

[Spooner]

Unless you want to get a whole lot better than your current photos, a ringflash may be suitable.

Otherwise, a small softbox slightly off camera axis and slightly higher than subject eye level would be a good option. An umbrella might actually work better, as they can be partially collapsed and placed against a wall easier than a softbox can be broken down.

One concern I have is that you want to paint your wall black. I vote not. It darkens a room considerably and defeats your ambient light fixtures. Soft blue works better when not being photographed and compliments skin tone when used as a BG. If you just paint the BG wall it will only be a problem for WB when you have WB set to "Auto". Set your WB to match your lighting and leave it there. Or shoot RAW, or ideally, determine your exact WB colour temp. in Kelvins and use that.

One suggestion I would make re: your website is to always keep your B&A photos as a pair, regardless of size. When I look at a large size photo, it's less meaningful unless I can see the corresponding one.

John

 

[hotdog321]

Interesting, but it looks like there are exposure issues. Most of the photos look underexposed. Definitely want to use flat/even lighting, perhaps with a light blue or white background. I think black would look a bit grim.

 

[cargovoyage]

I agree that some are probably underexposed. Unfortunately the software my host uses is set up to have individual before and after photos, not side by side in one shot.

I agree that I will likely keep the wall blue and I will likely try 2 bounce flashes mounted on the wall pointed away from the subject.

 

[Tom Meeks]

A 10x10 room, with other stuff in it, limits your options. But, you are NOT trying to be a Portrait Studio. You are simply trying to effectively help patients, and future patients ,see before and after compatisons.

Softboxes take up quite a bit of space, which is OK if you don't use the room for any other purpose.

There is one low cost option that you may find interesting. And, that is the Joe Demb Portrait Dish for off-camera flash units.

http://www.dembflashproducts.com/portrait_dish/

As for color correction, the DataColor SpyderCube does an amazing job at providing the tool you need to not only set the color; but, the brightness as well. You will have to process the image in RAW; but, it will be much easier to bring the image into perfect balance.

http://spyder.datacolor.com/product-cb-spydercube.php

For your work and the purposes, I would HIGHLY recommend it.

I was pleasantly surprised to find out that your office is not all that far away and I would be happy to let you borrow some equipment with which to experiment. We have also not discussed backlighting (Hairlight) to pull your subject away from the wall using a small reflector or flash with a Fong snoot.