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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Ortiz, Miguel A. (Miguel Angel), 1982 July 3- author.

Title: Lit : the simple protocol for dental photography in the age of social media / Miguel A. Ortiz.

Description: Batavia, IL : Quintessence Publishing Co, Inc., [2019] |
Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: LCCN 2019010145 | ISBN 9780867158021 (hardcover)

Classification: LCC TR708 .O78 2019 | NLM TR 708 | DDC 779/.9617--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019010145

Quintessence Publishing Co, Inc
411 N Raddant Road
Batavia, IL 60510
www.quintpub.com

5 4 3 2 1

All rights reserved. This book or any part thereof may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or
otherwise, without prior written permission of the publisher.

Editor: Bryn Grisham
Designer: Sue Zubek

Printed in China

Lee M. Jameson, DDS, MS
Interim Head
Department of Restorative Dentistry
College of Dentistry
University of Illinois Chicago

Professor and Dean Emeritus
Northwestern University Dental School
Evanston, Illinois

Past President of the American
Prosthodontic Society and the
American College of Prosthodontics

With the publication of this book, Dr Miguel A. Ortiz
has made a significant contribution to the growing
discourse on artistic dental photography. This
outstanding book is a fusion of museum-quality
photography, down-to-earth instruction taken from
his experience in private practice, and savvy tips
for social media marketing. Through his creative
photographic lens Dr Ortiz tells a story of patient
prosthodontic care that goes beyond the traditional
mechanics of photographic documentation.
He simplifies complex concepts so that private
practitioners can understand how to effectively
incorporate photographic documentation into
modern dental care. The ideas that are presented
here will enable you to artistically communicate your
transformational patient stories.

Dr Ortiz’s personal writing style makes readers
feel as if he is talking directly to them. The content
echoes his popular dental photography courses by

outlining the essentials of photography as well as
the equipment that dentists need. He then devotes
significant text to the most underestimated aspect
of dental photography—lighting. The interaction
between light sources, diffusers, working distances,
and angulations—and their effect on exposure,
shadows, depth of field, texture, and chromaticity—
receives considerable emphasis, along with shade
evaluation and intraoral and portrait photography.
The final chapter of Dr Ortiz’s book is an essential
primer on how to get the best results from social
media to link your practice with your target patient
population and how to use Instagram’s dynamic
platform to interact with other professionals.

This magnificent book takes you on a journey
of visual beauty that will enhance professional
communication, documentation, and marketing for
any practitioner who sets high standards and wants
to optimize their dental practice.

LIT is a book in search of the perfect smile. You might think that as a
dental photographer I’m obsessed with every smile. But you’d be wrong. The
smile that led to this work is the one I’ll never get to photograph—your smile.

It took me over a year to create and deliver the best 1-day hands-on dental
photography course in the world. But it took a decade of trial and error to acquire
the knowledge and experience to make it even possible (lots of money too, as
my photography budget can attest). My mission was to save my colleagues all
that time and money and then gift wrap it into a sleek 1-day package.

Let me set the stage for you: any city in the world, 35 dental professionals,
models, a makeup artist, lights, an interactive presentation, and me. We are all
there, learning the fundamentals of photography, camera settings, accessories,
intraoral protocols, lighting principles, laboratory photography, etc. Then the
time comes when everyone splits into small groups with a model who is ready
to smile for them. The students (you) try to remember and apply everything I
just taught. They try to get that great shot, the one you’ve seen so many times
on social media from people you believed to be especially talented—the Gods
of Dental Photography. That. Perfect. Shot.

And there it is: The Smile. Not the one in the photos, not the one on the
models, but the smile on my students’ faces. My colleagues. Your smile.
You get it—the shot—and look around to tell others. “Look! I got it!” Then it
spreads, moving through the room like a wave. Everyone gets it. Along with the
smile comes the realization that this isn’t so hard after all, if you only know

the fundamentals, the lighting, and a few little tricks. It was always right there.
You’ve had the tools all along. You just didn’t know how to use them properly.

Let me tell you, when it comes to dental photography, I’m an atheist. There
are no gods. It’s just practice and understanding. This is usually when the
questioning starts.

“But Miguel, that’s it? I place the light here and position myself there
and I’m done?”

“I don’t need a fancy camera? Or 10 lenses, or a bulky lighting setup?”

“What do you mean I don’t need the ring flash anymore?”

“Are you telling me I can take this picture in my tiny office?”

Yes! Yes! Yes! That is exactly what I am saying. It’s simple. It really is.

LIT was born because I got addicted to my colleagues’ smiles. I have simplified
and demystified the art of dental photography. I start with the fundamentals.
I do not attempt to teach you only how to take pictures of pretty lips and glossy
teeth. I teach you how to be a photographer, to take ALL pictures. Any picture.

Imagine you are learning to drive a car for the first time and your instructor
only teaches you how to drive around your own block. Well I wouldn’t want to

be there when you get to the highway for the first time. Or experience that first
rain. I will teach you to drive under any conditions. Where, when, and how far
you go is up to you.

First, the fundamentals of photography are displayed here using simple
visual scenarios and analogies. Then, we will move into portrait photography.
Why portrait? Because it is the best way to practice the fundamentals you’ve
just learned. Portrait is about understanding your camera, the light, and the
space around you. It’s the perfect start when you learn to shoot in manual
mode. Believe me, you don’t want to practice that while someone is holding
retractors in their mouth. Once you’ve mastered portrait photography—and
trust me it’s pretty straightforward—then we’ll talk about the equipment you
need: cameras, lenses, lighting, accessories, etc.

At this point you’re now equipped with the knowledge to walk into dental
photography heaven. “What’s that?” you might ask. A full intraoral protocol
that can be done in a small office, in 10 minutes, without you or your patient
having to move. No moving the chair, no moving the light, no moving yourself.
Yes, you read that right. LIT brings you “The Simple Protocol.”

Historically, dental photography books have stopped right here. But I didn’t.
It’s the 21st century after all, and who doesn’t want to perfect the artsy dental
photography that you now see all over social media—Facebook, Instagram,
and whatever fancy new app comes along next. In this book, you’ll learn all the

tricks and techniques to take those amazing artistic shots yourself, because
guess what? It’s not that hard to do. It really isn’t.

As a dental technician myself, I have also dedicated a full chapter to my fellow
technicians who want to showcase their work too. This book is for you as well.
I give you all you need in order to photograph your craft, your art, and your
passion in the laboratory.

Lastly, I close with something that has never been discussed at this level:
how to use and understand the online marketplace and social media for
your private practice. No, I am not talking about that silly weekly post that
some company places for you on your clinic’s Facebook page—the one
that reminds your patients of the importance of flossing daily. Neither am
I talking about how to get your page to rank higher on Google. Everyone is
playing that game, and there’s very little winning involved. I’m talking about a
deeper understanding of how online marketing and social media really works:
Google, Facebook, Instagram, AB testing, landing pages, building audiences,
retargeting, the Pixel, etc—strategies that most of you have never even heard
of are filling up the schedule in clinics near you.

I give you LIT. The first simplified but complete dental photography book.
It will change the way you take photos, and you will use these skills forever.
I know you’ll love it, and that makes me smile too.

The Big 5

The Big 5 refers to the five main concepts that are most important
in dental photography. These 5 concepts will empower you to have
complete control over your photographic results. Learn the Big 5 and
you will be the boss of Manual Mode. Drop Auto Mode forever. You paint
your own picture, not the camera.

Water in a bucket

The most important concept in dental photography is exposure, because
every other concept in photography is based on the understanding of
exposure. Luckily, it is not an extremely complicated idea, so let’s tackle it.

Exposure could be compared to the notion of water in a bucket.
Imagine you have a bucket and you want to use a garden hose to
fill it up with water. Your bucket is the digital sensor, the water is
the light, and your hose is your lens. In this analogy, exposure is
the AMOUNT of water that you put into the bucket.

We can have large or small buckets (sensor sizes), minimally filled buckets
(underexposure), buckets filled to the desired mark (correct exposure),
or a bucket so full that it’s spilling water out (overexposure). We can have
pure water (temperature-calibrated light) or colored water (noncalibrated
light). Your hose (lens) could be of different diameters (aperture). We might
use a wide-diameter hose or a very narrow-diameter hose, allowing us to
deliver more or less water (light) to the bucket (sensor). Alternatively, the
water pressure (light intensity) could be high or low, delivering more or

less water (photons) in a given amount of time (exposure time). Lastly,
opening and closing the water nozzle quickly (fast shutter speed)—
allowing water to flow only at discrete intervals of time—is also an option.
Or you can leave it open (long exposure), resulting in an endless amount
of water being delivered to the bucket.

We will learn later that not all buckets (camera sensors) are the same
size, and yes, size matters.

As you can see, the concept of filling up a bucket can be broken up into
several components, all of which can be manipulated. One thing we know
for sure is that, when it comes to filling up a bucket, you have full control
over how you do it. You can control what kind of liquid you fill it with and
how much and how fast that liquid pours into the bucket. When it comes to
getting light to your camera sensor, you have the same control.

At the end of this book, you will be in full command of your camera
settings and you will fill that sensor with light exactly how you want it.

Aperture is the area of a spherical opening inside the camera lens that is
designed to be adjustable. It can go from a very small round hole to an
opening almost as large as the lens itself. This mechanical device inside
your lens is used to control how much light can come through and reach
the sensor. It is a way of controlling exposure, among other things.

Early photographers in the 19th century quickly realized that they could
not control the amount of light reaching the photographic plates. Back
then, overflowing the bucket meant a lot of money lost on photographic
plates. So they created the diaphragm. They did not need to look too far
for inspiration on the design. It was right in front of their eyes, right in

diaphragm