In aesthetic medicine and clinical trials ensuring a patient's skin is a consistent color from session to session is essential. Quantifying melanin, inflammation, vascular lesions and other dermatologic conditions can be compromised if you cannot ensure a patient's skin is a consistent color from session to session. The chief photographic parameter in standardizing the overall hue of a photo is white balance.
All digital cameras have an "Automatic" mode that will produce acceptable results for snapshots and other casual uses. This setting is not well-suited to medical photography, where more control is needed to assure consistently good results. For this reason, we recommend that cameras used in medical photography have a "Manual" mode of operation that allows the user to adjust the camera settings.
