Clinic photoshoot

What do you think when you see colleagues' websites with those images? And what do your patients think?

These photos have nothing to do with the clinic.

You know that. And your patient knows it too.

They understand that what is shown on the website has nothing in common with what awaits them at the clinic.

This mistake is extremely common, and there are reasons for it. Why does it happen? Because the person building the website does not want to put the client to the expense of a photoshoot, and naturally does not want to delay the start of work — because that would delay payment. It is easier to find and place someone else's photos than to ask the clinic to organise a shoot, wait for the results, and use authentic images.

This is fundamentally different from what all my clients hear. Before any work begins on the dental website, every single client receives the same message from me.

How many clients have I lost because of this? Probably some. But most clients come back after a month, two months, a year — and we build a beautiful dental website with authentic, living photographs.

I want to share my experience and explain how to run a dental clinic photoshoot — which scenes to capture, how to compose the shots. I will show examples and provide contacts for two photographers. I hope that after reading this article, you will understand the value of authentic photography and feel inspired to organise a proper photoshoot. And when you are ready to build a modern, thoughtfully designed dental website for your clinic, please call me — I will show you the sites I create.

Dental websites typically use both wide horizontal photographs and smaller vertical portraits in a 10/15 ratio.

For horizontal portraits, it is best to seat the dentist comfortably beside the treatment unit, shifted slightly left or right of centre. In the background, you can turn on the room lighting and open the lens aperture to achieve a soft, bokeh-style background.

A group photograph of the full team or core staff. The main focus here is minimising the geometric distortion of a wide-angle lens, which makes people at the edges of the frame look unnaturally stretched. Correct the geometry in post-processing, or choose the right lens to avoid the problem from the outset.

This matters because before the patient ever meets the dentist, they need to feel comfortable with your reception team. Introducing that person visually is very important.

Visiting a clinic is psychologically easier when you have already seen the dentists and staff who will be working with you. After a well-organised photoshoot and publishing all the materials on your dental website, you will notice a shift: the people contacting you will not be random passers-by, but informed and already-loyal patients. This really does work everywhere and in everything. You are reading this article, picking up on my reasoning and logic — and if it resonates, it will be easy for you to get in touch with me about building a dental website for your practice. When we open up, share knowledge, and describe in detail how we solve our clients' problems, trust follows naturally. It works in everything.

We show every stage of the patient journey, from the first greeting at reception to the final smile in the mirror. The secret of what made social media so powerful for clinics was that it allowed people to look inside the practice from a safe distance — to see how everything is done without having to make contact. Before deciding to come in, patients want to see how they will be treated and what stages to expect. Awareness removes fear and uncertainty — and dentistry is very much about managing anxiety. We no longer have Instagram, but that does not mean we cannot show the reality of the clinic on our dental website.

Choose friends or patients of different ages who photograph well. A young woman around 24, a man or woman around 37–40, and a gentleman over 60. Every patient who visits your dental website should be able to see themselves in it. We know who comes in for whitening, what age group tends to seek implants, and who needs full-mouth rehabilitation. Prepare scenario photographs for different services with patients of appropriate ages.

General dentistry and hygiene with the younger patient. Implantation and conventional prosthetics with the middle-aged patient. For the full-mouth restoration page, photograph an older patient — around 60 — with beautiful teeth. Older people with a great smile are always striking, and if you show your patients this way, you will earn the trust and affection of older patients for whom this is a deeply personal concern.

I know for certain that many dentists feel the pressure of competition, and for many it motivates them to take meaningful steps towards their patients. A high-quality presentation of the clinic is one of the biggest steps in the right direction. The sooner you take it, the better.

I have tried to describe in detail and illustrate clearly how we approach photoshoots in St Petersburg and Moscow. For clients in those cities, it is genuinely straightforward — just call me, or call one of the photographers I recommend. For clinics in other cities, simply show this article to your photographer and ask them to follow the recommendations on this page.

We have run many photoshoots and always achieved a good or very good result. Share this material with your colleagues and discuss it with them. A clinic photoshoot and the launch of a modern dental website are both clear, predictable processes with no real risk. You simply need to make the decision, and almost everything else will be done for you. Once you have the photography, launching a good dental website requires nothing more than writing a welcome message and entering your pricing. That is all.

If you are tired of working without strong online support from your dental website, simply call or message me on WhatsApp. I will show you a solution that will pleasantly surprise you and inspire the next stage of your clinic's growth.