ABSTRACT
Photography is a leading tool in proper patient management. The source of light should not be placed behind the patient. The proper positioning of the light source is in front of and slightly above the patient. The light source should be constant and the same at all examinations. Inbuilt camera flash units and overhead lamp alignment usually whiten out the examined scalp area and produce sharp reflections. The ideal situation is, if the patient has short hair. If not, standard photography should be performed with photographic documentation of the frontal, vertex, occipital, and both temporal areas with a series of photographs. The best instrument in medical photography for patients with androgenetic alopecia is the use of a stereotactic positioning device. The complete photographic record of a patient with androgenetic or diffuse alopecia consists of images taken in four standard views. Proper photography documentation allows paired comparison of global photographs for monitoring purposes.
