Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 14, 2026
A Standardized Approach to Extra-Oral and Intra-Oral Digital Photography
Published on: July 22, 2022
The Frontal View of the Nose: Lighting Effects and Photographic Bias
Benedikt Strub1, Konrad Mende1, Claudia Meuli-Simmen1
1Dr Strub is a Senior Staff Member, Dr Mende is a Resident, and Dr Meuli-Simmen is a Professor and Senior Consultant at the Clinic of Hand, Plastic, and Reconstructive Surgery, Kantonsspital Aarau, Switzerland. Dr Bessler is a Senior Consultant at the Clinic of Head and Neck Surgery, Rotes Schloss, Zürich, Switzerland.
Background:
Most aesthetic rhinosurgeons rely on proper photographic documentation of the nose using several different views. The frontal view is probably the most important, but it is also the most demanding.
Objectives:
In the frontal view, delicate, 3-dimensional (3D) anatomic structures require special photographic skills. Lighting is crucial for detail rendition and 3D reproduction of the nose, and for apparent photographic bias.
Methods:
We compared the quality of reproduction and photographic bias with different symmetric and asymmetric lighting in common clinical practice described in the literature. The photographs were compared for anatomic reproduction, shadowing, 3-dimensionality, and apparent changes of nasal shape (bias).
Results:
Symmetric lighting did not satisfy the demands of the rhinosurgeons because of marginal 3-dimensionality, reduced detail rendition, or photographic bias. Strongly asymmetric lighting altered the nasal shape adversely for bias depending on the side of illumination, but led to very good 3-dimensionality. Slightly asymmetric lighting demonstrated the best results for detail rendition and 3-dimensionality.
Conclusions:
Classic symmetric quarter light is a practicable lighting technique with limitations in the rendition of detail and 3-dimensionality. Slightly asymmetric lighting offered a perfect compromise, with substantially improved detail rendition and 3-dimensionality. Strongly asymmetric lighting may lead to photographic bias depending on the side of illumination. Frontal documentation of the nose with asymmetric lighting should, therefore, always be performed in duplicate, with asymmetric lighting from the right side and from the left side, to prevent misleading interpretations.
Related Concept Videos
01:27Cranial Bones: Lateral View
The temporal bone forms the lower lateral side of the skull. The temporal bone is subdivided into several regions. The flattened upper portion is the squamous portion of the temporal bone. Below this area and projecting anteriorly is the zygomatic process of the temporal bone, which forms the posterior portion of the zygomatic arch. Posteriorly is the mastoid portion of the temporal bone. Projecting...
01:24Nose and Nasal Cavity
01:18Imaging Biological Samples with Optical Microscopy
In optical microscopy, the specimen to be viewed is placed on a glass slide and clipped on the stage...
01:14Cranial Bones: Superior and Posterior View
The frontal bone is the single bone that forms the forehead. At its anterior midline, between the eyebrows, there is a slight depression called the glabella. The frontal bone also forms the supraorbital margin of the orbit. Near the middle of this margin is the supraorbital foramen, the opening that provides passage for a sensory nerve to the forehead. The frontal bone is thickened just above each supraorbital margin,...
01:23Actor-Observer Effect
01:16Focusing of Light in the Eye