alexander_strbac Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 Hello everybody, Im supposed to take some pics at my friends project (he is a surgeon and will beoperating a pig, with his team) at a vet. college. Any tips on how to do itbest? I know some basics, have a Canon 20D, 50mm macro, ringflash.... I waswondering do I maybe use 14-40L instead because of the framing or will the 50 do? What I am affraid is that with this lens I will have to get very close toshoot.... any other tips? thanks sincearly,Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellis_vener_photography Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 you'll need a longer lens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronald_moravec1 Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 If it were people, you would need to sterilise the camera. Pig, I don`t know. No flash so film for digi cam set to match the existing light. Probably a longish macro lens so you don`t get in the way. The surgeon will explain the critical steps and exactly when/what to phograph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveH Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 Operating room lights are very bright in a small area, so you will need some sort of fill flash both for exposure and for color balance. Ring flash should do nicely. The 50 mm lens is too short. You will probably need at least 100 mm macro so as not to contaminate the surgical field. If the surgeon is going to point something out, make sure he wipes the blood off the instrument or his hands. Most surgical instruments are very shiny so they're best left out of the picture. Also, doing a water/saline irrigation before the photo cleans things up. It's nice if you can get the camera straight up above the surgical field, so an angle finder might be useful as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexander_strbac Posted February 13, 2008 Author Share Posted February 13, 2008 thank you all , guys! hmm.... 100mm..... yes, I did think that the 50 might be too short ;-( ... maybe I just put my 70-200 2.8L on the camera and not tdo the macro at all? how does that sound? And yes, how do I sterilise my camera? I suppose I cant get any liquids on it and high heat is also not an option... thanx once more! A. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victor_ho2 Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 Alex: Operating room photos fall in two broad categories. The overall room and the surgeon is one issue sure to be a lighting nightmare. The other is the operative field. Most operating rooms start with fluorescent lighting. The operating spotlights are intense and light the operative field. They are usually incandescent. Finally surgeons more and more wear headlights of one halogen mix or other that casts another color. The bright lights will easily be beyond the dynamic range of any film or digital camera. That said, shoot with a regular flash to light the room suffiently. The yellow cast of spotlights is not bad and will accent the operation. Shooting without flash in natural light will get some interesting mood shots. The operative field is usally illuminated sufficiently to shoot without flash and is incandescent. Unfortunately most surgical fields are red and there is little to distinguish and contrast the anatomical structures. Certain microscopic operations lend themselves to excellent anatomy demonstrations. Mostly the operative field is pretty boring to photograph. Distance is the main consideration. A close focus, macro lens 50mm will get you too close to the field. 100mm is adequate. I have simply used an 18-200mm Nikon zoom to frame the field. Operative fields can be messy [bloody]. That is distracting to say nothing of bothering civilians. Ring flash or no, I just used the pop up flash on the camera and the lighting has been adequate combined with ambient spotlights. There is no need to sterilize your camera. That was hilarious to read. You will hold the camera and it will not touch the sterile field. Just use a rubber band to contain the strap so it doesn't swing down and touch the field inadvertently. Lastly, it has been my observation that most OR photographs are too wide. So be sure to get in a little closer. Try to stay focused on the subject of interest. Operating rooms are more casual than you anticipate. Just let them know you don't know what you're doing in a sterile field environment and someone will gladly direct you and prevent any inadvertent contamination. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uhooru Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 I don't think he'll want you using a flash in the operating room,tends to momentarily blind the doctors, I would think. You need something with a very fast lens. If you can get a 1.0 or 1.4, just thinking out loud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_s Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 Sounds like Victor Ho might actually be a medical photographer and know what he's talking about. I also loved the confident and authoritative advice to sterilize your camera-- one of the better things I've read on photo.net. Unless they're a small operation, the vet college is likely to have their own photographer, so you might get pointers from him/her. Many surgeons are decent photographers and take their own operative photographs nowadays. At least that applies to the human variety-- I don't know about vets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmnop Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 Probably best to know what the photos are for-- are the photos to accompany an article in a journal, for undergraduates, graduate students? The team may have a good sense of what sort of images they're after, try and get as many details as you can ahead of time. Just my preference but sometimes the inclusion of another object such as a ruler can give students a sense for the scale--when size matters. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelging Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 I have photographed a dozen or so operations,mostly on people but a couple on animals,including,gorilla, dogs,cats,hawks,and even a horse. When photographing people having surgery you must stay out of the Sterilized field as Victor says above.If you start feeling queezy sit down on the floor or on the floor against a wall. Nothing stops a operation quicker than a person fainting in a operating room. I saw a PR woman for the hostipal do a face plant during a surgery one time, its not a pretty sight. I also have photographed several knee surgeries, both ACL and knee replacements ,one just 2 weeks before I had a total knee replacement, its one of those things that its better than you not really know what going on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexander_strbac Posted February 14, 2008 Author Share Posted February 14, 2008 thank you, thank you, THANK YOU. I will surely do my best tomorrow ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexander_strbac Posted February 19, 2008 Author Share Posted February 19, 2008 thank you all once again, here are the results, hope I did well http://tuonno.deviantart.com/ Ciao! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now