How To Take High-Quality Plastic Surgery Before-and-After Photos
Seeing is believing for many patients. You can always provide exceptionally well-written content describing the results possible with a certain procedure, but consumers usually want to see the type of aesthetic transformation you can help them achieve at the end of the day.
With this in mind, it should come as no surprise that photo galleries are generally the most highly frequented sections of any plastic surgery or aesthetic care-related website (e.g. dermatology, medical spas, etc.). In fact, when reviewing site analytics, upwards of 50 percent of plastic surgery website visitors browse before-and-after photo galleries on average. These pages also often have one of the lowest bounce rates (meaning people tend to stick around).
Before we delve into which factors can contribute to a high-quality gallery image, it’s important to highlight what to avoid when taking plastic surgery photos. Remember — the goal of a B&A is to clearly accentuate the differences between the photos taken “before” and “after.” That said, the following list briefly details the biggest no-nos when it comes to taking plastic surgery before-and-after photos:
- Grainy, blurry, or poor quality images
- Inconsistent backgrounds
- Inconsistent distances and angles
- Heavy makeup
- Distracting accessories or clothing
- Dramatic lighting, coloring, or filters placed over the image
Above all else, it’s important to avoid manipulating a photo in a way that may lead to a misleading perception of the final results. Since photo galleries drive traffic and can help boost conversions, ensuring your website’s gallery is filled with numerous high-quality before-and-after photos is critical to your medical digital marketing strategy. People are much less likely to hang around if they visit your gallery only to find limited and/or low-grade pictures for the procedure they are considering.
A Diverse, Expansive Patient Gallery is Key
Prospective patients want to view multiple cases, and they want to be able to clearly see the pre-treatment aesthetic concerns and post-treatment results of each case. Studies show that prospective clients often look for pictures that resemble themselves as a way of evaluating whether you can help them achieve their personal goals. For this reason, we strongly suggest considering patient diversity when building your before-and-after portfolio. This is why it can be useful to highlight cases featuring a range of ages, ethnicities, body types, and genders—where applicable—in your gallery.
So what sets good before-and-after photos apart? The primary factor is consistency. The goal of before-and-after photos is to showcase patient results, and the best way to draw emphasis to those results is by limiting other visual distractions in your photos. Things like pose, lighting, distance from the camera, and even clothing can all make a big difference when it comes to optimally highlighting your work. Plus, having an at least somewhat standardized look to all of your photos can make your whole gallery look more polished and professional!
In the following infographic, we’ve provided some tips to help you take higher-quality photos that can optimally showcase your skills as an aesthetic professional:
Interested in learning more about the connection between photo galleries and Internet marketing success for plastic surgery websites? Whatever your web marketing questions or needs may be, Rosemont Media is happy to help. From advanced plastic surgery website design to search engine optimization (SEO) efforts, our team of specialists can answer your questions, manage the health of your website, and boost traffic to your elective healthcare practice. Contact Rosemont Media online or by telephone today!
Editor’s note: The original version of this post was published on May 23, 2017.