Digital Photography
CE Credits: 3.5
Teacher: Craig Dial
Promotion: NEW Price!! - Only $295 per person!
A half-day hands-on course teaching the necessary skills to take consistent, high quality digital photographic records of your patients.
There’s taking a picture and then there’s taking a picture. Anyone with an index finger and at least one operable eye can take a picture and with the latest point-and-shoot digital camera, it’s easy to take decent photos. Bring your camera indoors with florescent lighting and try to take great consistent portraits or close-ups of someone’s teeth. It can be challenging. During this one day hands-on class and workshop, we will take this challenge head-on.
To make sure that everyone is on the same page, students will learn the basics of film and digital photography. Important terms like f-stop, depth of field, shutter speed, white balance and how these apply to dental photography will be accomplished. Image resolution, image quality, file types, memory cards, and camera style are all aspects of digital photography that can also be confusing and will be clarified.
Proper lighting is by far the most difficult goal to achieve in most dental offices. Inconsistent lighting or simple flash systems can really make this task difficult to manage. Since light in dental photography is used to accomplish different tasks, multiple solutions to accomplish the same task will be evaluated. Colored backgrounds, back-flashes (like the Dolphin Light Box) ring and slave flashes will be reviewed.
The hands-on portion of the class will allow students to use what they have learned and take great dental photographs, upload them into the computer and build a collage using the most popular imaging system for orthodontists, Dolphin Imaging. The classroom is outfitted with a computer for each student so that everyone can experience the entire photographic process. Some popular imaging platforms like Dolphin Imaging, GAC VistaDent, and Gendex Vixwin could easily take a full day to learn and is not the primary goal of the class. They will however be reviewed briefly so that users can be aware of the capabilities of each.
Although a number of digital cameras will be supplied, students are encouraged to bring their own digital equipment, including their respective manuals as well as necessary chargers and batteries. During the class, instructors will assist in optimizing camera settings to achieve the best results. Once everyone has had an opportunity to experience the digital photography process, a troubleshooting procedure guide will be discussed to help students in their own situations actively correct their photography techniques.
What you will learn
Identification of the ideal clinical photographic series.
Students will be taught the important aspects of photographing their subjects.
The goal is to achieve the best possible results with simply consistent technique.
Extra-oral/ Intra-oral Projections
- Point of view
- Subject size
- Field of view
- Color/Corrections
- Depth of Field
- Shadowing
Specifications of Digital Equipment and Accessories.
Participants will have the opportunity to learn about modern digital cameras configured for dental applications and their differences. Participants will achieve a basic understanding of digital photography elements including image resolution, digital memory formats, and white balance considerations.
Site:
- Chair
- Lighting
- Space requirements
Camera:
- Body
- Lens
- Flash
- Power
- Memory card
Computer/software:
1) Computer requirements
- Memory
- Operating system
- Monitor
- Hard Drive Space and folders
- Memory Card Reader
- Photo editing software: Photoshop & Paint Shop Pro
2) Image management
- Import
- Storage/retrieval
- Mounting
- Visualization
- Printing/ quality issues
3) Photographic accessories:
- Mirrors and retractors
- Studio lights and power source
Hands-On Clinical Technique
Students use the digital hardware to practice these clinical techniques in the hand-on lab portion of the class. Instructors will assist students with the following topics:
Extra-oral Photography
- Full face
- Profile
- 3/4 view
Intra-oral Photography
- Anterior view
- Right and Left Lateral View
- Maxillary/mandibular occlusal view
Patient Positioning
Camera Settings
Techniques for:
- Lip retraction
- Mirror placement
- Infection control
Imaging handling
- Download images to computer
- Mounting/ arranging photos using Dolphin Imaging
- Saving photos
- Printing photos
