Dr. Feller- Now you see it, now you don't ???

[Dr. Feller]

I've been in the HT field for sixteen years, and I still find my interest piqued by interesting things that just pop up during the day. I present one of them here:

This patient with very white hair visited for a procedure. He had bald patches in his crown and on his hairline in the front left of his scalp. After I transplanted a few thousand grafts into the areas, he visited ten days later to have his staples removed, so as per usual I snapped pictures of the HT from different angles.

When I uploaded them and looked at the photos that I took from the top I was stunned to see that it appeared that there was no stubby hair transplant hair visible. I knew it was there because I saw it with my own eyes only a half hour before.

Then I looked at other photos I took at different angles and, low and behold, there were the hairs-in the thousands clearly visible.

I felt that such a sharp contrast between visible and invisible transplanted hairs based on just a few inches of camera movement would be educational to the online viewers.

[Jkel]

That’s very interesting. You can see how deceptive pictures can be.

[Dr. Feller]

Photography and styling can cut both ways in my experience. It can make an HT look BETTER or WORSE than it actually is depending on the agenda of the photographer.

That's why, IMO, it is best to take MANY pictures at many angles to give the viewer the most objective presentation possible. I think it's also good to comb up sections of the transplant so the viewer can see the hairs coming out of the skin.

Of course the best presentation is video at all angles.

[SpencerKobren]

Originally Posted by Dr. Feller

Photography and styling can cut both ways in my experience. It can make an HT look BETTER or WORSE than it actually is depending on the agenda of the photographer.

That's why, IMO, it is best to take MANY pictures at many angles to give the viewer the most objective presentation possible. I think it's also good to comb up sections of the transplant so the viewer can see the hairs coming out of the skin.

Of course the best presentation is video at all angles.

I have always emphasized the importance of honest photographic documentation of patient results. One of the biggest issues with photography is that even when a subject is photographed at the exact same angle, the image can look completely different depending on the lighting, exposure or resolution.

IAHRS members are required to provide clear, honest before and after photos for presentation, unfortunately some physicians are better photographers than others and as Dr. Feller pointed out, in some cases lighting an angles can actually make a hair transplant look worse then it appears in person

[gillenator]

Originally Posted by Dr. Feller

Photography and styling can cut both ways in my experience. It can make an HT look BETTER or WORSE than it actually is depending on the agenda of the photographer.

That's why, IMO, it is best to take MANY pictures at many angles to give the viewer the most objective presentation possible. I think it's also good to comb up sections of the transplant so the viewer can see the hairs coming out of the skin.

Of course the best presentation is video at all angles.

I could not agree more. It's not hard to evaluate which clinics use their pics for promotional intent and which ones who want any prospective patient to be able to view and evaluate results from every possible angle. And it is very helpful to see examples of the same patient but at different levels of lighting as well. What I mean by that is let's say we would grade light on a scale from 0-10, with 10 being the brightest exposure, outside in sunny daylight. Other people do not see us in that high level of light for most of the day, unless of course you work outside or have a lifestyle as such. My point is that for the most part we are seen at an average light level of probably 5, with less ultra-violet rays reflecting off the scalp. Just decreasing light reflection alone can make all of the difference in the world, visually speaking.

I continue to see one of the large chains use the same video presentation showcasing patients in low light at 5 and below, and none of which have any direct lighting on the hairlines, no real close ups. And it's the same patients that they used twenty years ago! You would think the average person would ask themselves, "how come they never preview any new patients?" Next time you see it, look at the guy who states "You can wash it, cut it, swim with it", yaddy yaddah. If you look closely, one can't help but to conclude that he has almost all mini-grafts in his hairline! But because the lighting was lowered, it's harder to see. If you have a HD tv, you can see it much better. Their intent is blatantly obvious. And it's time for me to state that this is my observation and opinion of their infomercial.

[Dr. Feller]

Absoltely Gil,
There are clinics that use lighting and angles to compliment their work, and then there are those that use them to deceive. NO doubt about it.

The internet is the great "truth teller". In time, perspective patients know who's who.