The challenge of external photography is that it appears to be so easy. External photography is an exercise in information transferal. Light encodes physical aspects of the patient into descriptive groups of colors, shapes and lines. Successful external photography conveys specific information concerning tissue size, color, position, asymmetry, motion and modification. Unless we take careful steps to accurately capture this visual information, photographs may fool us by displaying false color, distorted perspective, or insufficient information. This paper describes the tools necessary to create useful external photographs, the standards required to promote their accuracy and a method for successfully completing this clinical procedure.
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