Clinical photography in the dermatology practice.

Photography has been accepted for decades as a standard means for documenting dermatologic conditions and as an adjunct to their treatment, in both medical practice and research. The emergence of low-cost easy-to-use digital imaging systems has made good-quality photography more accessible to practitioners, while providing improved functionality in the clinical environment. Primary concerns are controlling lighting and positioning to provide a clear record of the patients skin condition and maintaining consistency over time to assure meaningful comparison of clinical end points.

Standardized positioning of patients (poses) for whole body cutaneous photography.

Whole body photography (WBP) has been used for decades by some specialized pigmented lesion clinics as an aid to early melanoma detection in high-risk persons. The recent advent of digital imaging systems for acquiring and archiving whole body skin images has resulted in greater dissemination of this technique. This in turn has led to the recent establishment of a Category III Current Procedural Terminology code for WBP.