This edition first published 2020
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Library of Congress Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data
Names: Ahmad, Irfan, BDS, author.
Title: Essentials of dental photography / Irfan Ahmad
Description: Hoboken, NJ : John Wiley & Sons, 2020. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019026632 (print) | ISBN 9781119312086 (paperback) | ISBN 9781119312130 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781119312147 (epub)
Subjects: MESH: Photography, Dental–methods | Photography, Dental–instrumentation | Image Processing, Computer‐Assisted–methods
Classification: LCC RK51.5 (print) | LCC RK51.5 (ebook) | NLM WU 100 | DDC 617.60022/2–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019026632
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019026633
Cover Design: Wiley
Cover Image: © Irfan Ahmad
For my intrepid wife Samar, and my loving children, Zayan and Zaina.
“And the swelling crescendo no longer retards” – Lou Reed
Original French text
La photographie incarne an même titre que l'écriture, un instrument de prédilection, un outil efficace de formalisation de l'expérience apprécié pour son pouvoir de dénotation et son caractère d'empreinte fidèle et immédiate de la réalité.
C'est. vers la fin des années 1960 que la photographie, limitée à cette simple fonction documentaire ou support d'information va s'affranchir des antagonismes entre art et document à la faveur de la naissance de deux mouvements artistiques qui, sous la dénomination de «conceptuel» et «minimal» font suite aux propositions et travaux de M. Duchamp et Man‐Ray et vont soutenir une démarche qui favorise son introduction et acceptation dans le monde de l'art.
Exempte d'intérêt esthétique, impersonnelle et dans le retrait expressif mais suivant un protocole de prise de vue immuable, rigoureux et systématique, cette démarche est en rupture avec la conception traditionnelle de la création et de la notion d'originalité.
Le travail d'Irfan Ahmad en s'interdisant toute incursion vers une attention esthétique, se situe parfaitement dans la ligne de cette mouvance qui va finalement servir et sublimer la finalité didactique qu'il s'était fixée: impressionnant.
English translation
Photography, like writing, embodies an instrument of predilection, an effective tool for formalising experience which is valued both for its capacity for denotation and its ability to offer a true and immediate account of reality.
It was towards the end of the 1960s that photography, limited to this simple documentary role of information carrier, freed itself from the opposition between art and documentation, thanks to the emergence of two art movements which, under the nomenclatures ‘conceptual' and ‘minimal', followed on from the proposals and works of Marcel Duchamp and Man Ray, sustained an approach that encouraged its introduction and acceptance in the art world.
Shorn of aesthetic interest, impersonal and utterly neutral, yet following an image‐capturing protocol that is immutable, rigorous and systematic, this approach is at odds with the traditional art concept of creation and the notion of originality.
By excluding any hint of aesthetic sensibility, the work of Irfan Ahmad aligns perfectly with this movement to finally serve and sublimate the didactic purpose he set himself: impressive.
Photography represents an ineluctable modality of the visible (Joyce 1922). Recent technological advances in digital photography have allowed even the novice to take photographs that are so sharp they will cut your eye like a Buñuel film, with colours as tantalising as characters from a Fellini movie, nuances comparable to a Bergman drama, the depth of a Kubrick odyssey, and provocative as a Borowczyk tale. What was once reserved for the few, is now within reach of the many.
Nowadays, analogue or film photography is reserved for die‐hard aficionados, an old school reliving their youths. In the twenty‐first century, digital photography is the norm (Motta 2010), but comes in many guises, and requires novel approaches for creating superlative results. This is not unlike the demise of amalgam, and the rise of composite restorations, which requires a change in mindset, abandoning old techniques and learning new tricks. The world around us is analogue, everything is perpetual, days seamlessly fade into nights, time goes by without interruptions or delays. We have digitised the world for our convenience, utilisation and manipulation. Time is divided into second, minutes and hours, temperature into degrees of hot and cold, distance into lengths of miles or kilometres. In our digitised world, photography is no exception; light is expediently converted into binary or digital codes for producing visuals.
Today, dental photography is no longer an option, but an integral and indispensable tool for practising dentistry at every level and for every discipline. Furthermore, no matter how meticulously one articulates or writes clinical notes of an examination, a photograph will communicate the clinical scenario in a few seconds. Therefore, it is surprising that this subject does not form part of the undergraduate dental curriculum. Besides offering indisputable photodocumentation, pictures are probably the most powerful learning method for clinical dentistry and self‐development. A series of images allow assessment, diagnosis, planning, delivery of treatment, and follow‐up that no other medium can offer. Furthermore, photography is a vital communication tool between patients, fellow colleagues, specialists and technicians for discussing multi‐disciplinary and for complex therapies. In addition, pre‐ and post‐operative, as well as procedural images provide an invaluable record if a therapy fails to yield the desired results or satiate patients' expectations.
However, many clinicians are reticent about incorporating dental photography into their daily practice due to uncertainty about the choice of equipment, a steep learning curve and initial capital expenditure. These fallacious notions are fuelled by the plethora of dental literature on the subject, some scientifically based, some anecdotal, while others perversely complicate what is basically a simple procedure. It is the endeavour of this book to demystify many of these erroneous beliefs by proposing protocols for standardising photographs that are invaluable for intra‐ and inter‐patient comparison. Once the essentials are mastered, a little experimentation will allow the operator to develop his or her own style for the intended use, and progress to the next level by modifying techniques for specific disciplines.
The book is divided into three sections. The first deals with equipment and concepts, the second with photographic set‐ups and the third with processing images. Each section is composed of modules that sequentially furnish the reader with the essentials, culminating in a complete manuscript that covers all aspects of the CPD (Capture, Processing and Display) triad of digital dental photography.
To summarise, this is a practical book, endeavouring to “show me” rather than “tell me”, and informing the reader about what they want to know, rather than what they need to know.
Enjoy the journey into a world of infinite possibilities…