Dental photography

[NicelyMKV]

Those photos above were taken with the ETTL setting. Not sure if you would consider that working or not. I kept getting flash back off the teeth. I had it set on f/29 ISO 100 and 200. When a backed up about 1.5 ft from patient for more info in the photo, it came out clear and crisp but too dark.

Flash seems to work pretty good as far as this amateur can tell. Still want the Canon eventually but if this does ok it will be me some time.

Jason

 

[TheLabGuy]

Jason, with that type of ring flash, you could tape up the top and bottom and create your own twin flash. You'll figure out pretty quickly that the lighting, the way it's angled, how bright it is, the shadows created are what really make your work stand out from the other Joe's out there.

 

[NicelyMKV]

I dont know about you guys but I am having a hard time finding anybody to sit and let me take a few hundred photos of their teeth lol. I need to take several at a particular setting than look at them and make adjustments and so on and so on. I get like 4 or 5 pics into it and they are like, ok, thats enough. Driving me nutts!!

 

[NicelyMKV]

Interesting read.
http://www.dentaled.com.au/articles/mclaren/2008_Contemporary_Dental_Photography.pdf

 

[JonB]

Very nice article, Jason - it seems to cover everything in detail. Now - if we can use it as a basis or starting point - I bet we can have some interesting questions flying around here pretty quickly.
Thanks for posting!

 

[NicelyMKV]

Ok, starting to capture better color and details. Changed angle to keep flash from reflecting off teeth so bad. Using Aperture Priority with ISO 200 and f/29. Any advice?

 

[NicelyMKV]

This was f/8. All of these were taken with that Opteka twin flash I mentioned a few posts above. ETTL setting.



This one was at 6.3 but they kept coming out too bright from the same angle as f/8 and f/29.

 

[JonB]

I sometimes take the flash off the lens and hold it at an angle to the flat surface of the teeth to reduce reflections. Also - try to photograph intra-orally at ƒ22 to ensure depth of field. No real need to shoot at much less ƒ-stop unless you are shooting full face or head and shoulders.
Angling the camera to the plane of the teeth may make them look shorter or longer than they actually are and its important to get that right for dimensional and proportional records. Your sensor plane should be parallel with the surface of the teeth and your lens perpendicular to their surface.

 

[paulg100]

OK theres alot of great info in this thread now which i hope to slowly work me way through over the next few days.

In the mean time ill post a couple of quick pics showing an issue which is starting to drive me nuts at the minute:

Firstly a shade check with two crowns, this is the 1st dentine build only with no enamel layer applied:

[

So as you can see were on the right track for sure, things just slightly bright which the enamel layer will correct nicely.

Now when we get to the intra oral try in:



, the camera did not pick up the internal chroma of the natural central in the original shade check.

Maybe ill find some clue to this issue whilst working through this thread but in the mean time if anyone has any insight then it'd be great to hear.

Shade check camera is a D20 with twin flash, ETTL, ISO 100, Fstop 22, Center weighted flash and 105mm macro lens (i think),flash temp 5500k

Try in camera: Cannon D50, ring flash, same settings as above.
This camera has captured the chroma correctly

Maybe there some other info i can give to shed some more light on this (no pun intended)

The d20 is mine and what i use on a daily basis and i just dont feel that im getting accurate colour capture with it.

 

[Alistar]

Jason, your pics are looking real nice! I think you're dialed in.

Paul, I think it could be:

1. Ambient light fluxuation. Are you taking your pics in a room with a lot of natural light?

2. White balance? (Dumb question I know, but I have to throw it out there.)

3. Style setting on your camera. I'm not sure if the D20 has the same option as my T2i, but there is a portrait, standard, landscape, monochromatic, and 3 custom settings. This setting may be "filtering" your chroma.

Single central nightmare dude. You do a awesome job though. I'd like to see you and Al do the same single central. Master Ceramist Dual!

 

[paulg100]

OK things ive learnt from reading this thread,

How to set white balance properly
using camera in av mode not m
rotating twin flash to have flash hitting from above and below, not comming from the sides.

Ill see if that helps

Thanks Alistar:

1. Yes shade images are being taken in a room with alot of ambient light

2. white balance wasnt set

Image with old settings


Image with new settings


Lol re the master ceramist, a long way to go before i would give meself that title yet

also the 1st shade check image was taken from slightly below and im thinking this is why the chroma is not showing as much as it should..

Thankfully we are in the process of having a new area fitted out for photography with the correct daylight lighting, backdrops and what not. Its in a basement with no external light so i will have a consistant light source as well so hopefully this should be a big help.

 

[NicelyMKV]

Thanks Alistar! still plugging away...I keep trying everything I am told NOT to do so i can see the negative results and hopefully learn something from it lol.

 

[JonB]

I was playing around with the ring flash the other day and shot these of a really nice milled bridge that John Wilson made for us.



Depth of field posed a huge problem and unfortunately I didn't have the time to do this properly, at ƒ2.8 the background is a nice creamy abstract but the entire bridge is not in focus. By ƒ 8.0 however, even the backdrop becomes clear enough to read.


I should have used a tripod instead of hand holding the camera, should have set the background a little farther back and should have shot tethered so I could monitor each image for results and not trusted the screen on the back of the 20D. (too small)

One last shot... while most of these were shot with the ring flash removed from the lens and held closer to the bar for a nicer "wraparound" light. This last one I turned the flash around and put it on the other side of the bar and flashed it back at the camera - thus blackening out the background and showing the wrap-around light from the other side - making a nice silhouette.

 

[PCDL]

Here are a few dental shots, and a few fun shots. Camera is a Nikon D90, 105mm VR lens (Tamron 24-135 f3.5 lens for portrait shots ~90mm),and R1C1 flash.
I like the R1C1 over the R1 because I have a few SB-600 flashes that can be set as slaves, and will fire automatically.
Occasionally I will use a PB-6 bellows and a 50mm lens reversed for better than 1:1 magnification if needed.
The more you understand the lighting the better your photos will be.

 

[Drizzt]

Hi guys ,

I want to construct a ''photo-box'' to photograph my cases . I attended a course and I am starting to take pics with a protocol the instructor gave us . So I was thinking about a base where I am putting my models , like the one scanners have for example , . Then for the camera I am thinking some kind of a railway where a tripod base will be adjusted so I can move the camera when I need different focal length . And two 5500 kelvin lights positioned at the opposite side of the model . Anybody here has done something similar , where he is shooting pictures of his models ? Any ideas and advice is appreciated! BTW I shoot with f 32 , ISO 100 and shutter speed 125 with Canon MR-14 EX flash and Canon 60 D for intraoral photos and have excellent results with these settings . I am away on vacation , when I get back home I will post some pics . Thanks .

 

[JonB]

Really Rite Stuff makes and sells a rail system especially for macro and tripod work. As to making a box for shooting dental work, why reinvent the wheel? There are a lot of collapsible photo tents that aren't really all that expensive. Any light source will work - you just have to do a custom white balance in your camera - which I have described how to do elsewhere in the forum. We can make things difficult or make them easy - i prefer easy... easy means you will enjoy it and when you enjoy it - you will get better at it with practice!

its late and I'm tired so I'll go find the links for some suggestions on tents and rails and try to post them tomorrow.

Your settings are spot on for maximum depth of field. With the 60D you could go to ISO 200 to get a faster shutter speed. Faster shutters give a little better color. In fact you could go to 400 or 800 ISO, expose to the right on the histogram and adjust in lightroom or photoshop to darken if needed.

Digital is different from film - expose to the light side as there is more salvageable information in the hilights. Bringing up a dark image introduces digital noise, not good - but darkening a hilight often will get you all you need. I always shoot in RAW because it gives you about 2 stops of leeway on the exposure.

 

[monkeyfist529]

/Users/TheHUBOld/Desktop/Bone Mill.tiff

 

[H.Ross]

Great thread! Here is my setup.



1- Nikon D90
2- 105mm Macro lens
3- R1C1 twin flash kit
3- Ring continuous light that offers 5500K (good for shade taking)
4- Soft box for flash
5- Photo Booth box
6- I will buy diffusers for my R1C1 flash

Shutter speed 1/125
F22-29
Iso (I keep playing with this but mostly on 100-200)
WB Flash

I am amateur photographer, took my first course last December, it was about choosing the right tools for your path, and learned few tricks from it. I am taking an advanced course on March.

 

[smilesatgalleria]

Dental photography is one of the critical thing in dentistry. There is many things to consider. The clarity of picture matters most.

 

[Randy Hill PhD]

The best thing about having a new camera is shooting with it. The worst thing about having a new camera is shooting with it! It can be frustrating.

The camera should work the same as far as flash and exposure no matter what lens you have on it. If you're having trouble with the current lens, a new one won't change that. So lets start at the beginning. You said your settings were "iso 100 f 3.5 1/50."
And that you were getting too much light on the subject. It also looks like you're shooting through the hole (which makes sense since the twin light actually is designed to mount on a 50mm or the 100mm. I don't believe it fits correctly on anything else.

Now - set your ISO to 200 and your camera on Aperture priority. Then shoot a single crown at anywhere from ƒ8 to ƒ32 and the camera will ensure you don't get overexposed shots. By your settings, it looks like you're shooting on manual. You can do that, but you need to do a lot of experimenting to find the correct combination of shutter and aperture. Those boys at the Canon factory have done the heavy lifting - so let them show the way - set the camera to Aperture priority and let the mathematicians have their way with you - the results will be stunning.

Jon,

I am absolutely digging this whole thread! 43 years of being a tech, and DLN never ceases to amaze me for the talent, let alone the willingness to share that talent, that resides here. For all of you sharing on this forum, I humbly bow to you, your talent, the willingness to share it, and the time it takes for you to post that talent here.

I want to ask a question that I've gotten two answers about. First, I have the old film based Canon EOS Elan with a Canon 100mm macro EF 1:28 lens that I bought in 1994. It has a detachable ring flash as well. I'm wanting to buy the Canon D6 digital, but was told that the lense wouldn't work on the newer cameras. Is this true. I was told this by the camera shop who just might be wanting to sell me a new lense! Imagine that???!!!

So, will this lens work? Do I need to buy a new lens, flash, and body? I'm taking film pictures now, and although it's fun, I don't have the toys of PS or anything, plus the hassle/expense of finding out if the shot is what I wanted.

What are your thoughts of an Ebay purchase on a used camera? What should I be looking NOT to buy? At 63 and just getting into this, I need to make better decisions.

Thanks in advance,

Randy