Clinical photographs are taken at consultation, before and after each treatment, and at review appointments. They are stored in your individual clinical record and used for clinical purposes only. TGA Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code prohibits before-and-after imagery of identifiable patients in cosmetic injectable advertising, so the photographs are never used in marketing.
Why Clinical Photography Is Standard Practice
Cosmetic injectable outcomes are visual. Clinical decision-making about future treatment depends on objective comparison of how previous treatment performed. Memory and self-reported impression are unreliable. Photographs provide a stable reference point that can be reviewed weeks, months, or years after the original treatment.
The alternative to photography is relying on what the patient remembers about their pre-treatment appearance. After 6 months, a year, or longer, accurate recall is unrealistic. A patient who is dissatisfied with a current result may have an inaccurate memory of how the original baseline looked. Photographs settle the question.
For the practitioner, photographs support technique refinement over the relationship. Looking at month-12 photographs alongside month-1 photographs reveals patterns that inform future treatment: what dosing produces durable results in this patient, what placement works for this anatomy, what areas are responding faster or slower than expected.
For the patient, photographs make subtle changes visible. The change that does not register in the daily mirror often shows clearly in side-by-side photographs taken weeks apart.
How Photography Is Taken at Each Appointment
The clinical photography protocol involves several standard views taken at consultation, before each treatment, and at review appointments:
Front-on, neutral expression. Head straight, eyes forward, mouth closed but relaxed. The reference view for symmetry assessment.
Front-on, animated. Smiling, frowning, talking, or specific expressions relevant to the area being treated.
Three-quarter view, both sides. Useful for cheek, jawline, and chin assessment.
Profile view, both sides. Useful for chin, jawline, lip, and overall facial proportion assessment.
Close-up of the specific area. For lip filler, the lips with neutral expression and animation. For tear-trough, the under-eye area in standard lighting.
The photographs are taken with consistent lighting and positioning across visits where possible. The same camera, similar angles, similar lighting source. Consistency makes side-by-side comparison meaningful.
Lighting and Technical Standards
Clinical photography uses standardised lighting to support comparison. The relevant variables:
Light source. Diffuse, even lighting from the front. Avoid harsh top-down or side lighting that creates shadows that change the apparent shape of the face.
Colour temperature. Consistent across visits. Mixed lighting (window light plus incandescent, for example) shifts the apparent skin tone in ways that affect comparison.
Distance. Same camera-to-face distance across visits. Closer photography emphasises features differently than further-away photography.
Background. Neutral, consistent across visits.
The technical standards do not require professional photographic equipment. A modern smartphone in consistent lighting produces adequate clinical photography for outcome documentation. The key variable is consistency, not absolute quality.
Where a patient asks to see their own photographs, this is supported within the clinical record.
How Photographs Are Stored
Photographs are stored in the clinical record system used for the clinic’s documentation. Storage is:
Digital. Cloud-based or local server depending on the clinic’s documentation infrastructure.
Linked to the patient’s clinical record. The patient’s name, date of birth, treatment history, and photographs are stored together.
Access-controlled. Only the practitioner and authorised clinical staff have access.
Retained for the period required by Australian healthcare records legislation, typically 7 years from the last clinical contact.
Backed up. Standard data backup practice applies to clinical records.
The storage approach is consistent with general healthcare record standards. Photographs are treated as sensitive personal information, not as marketing assets.
Patient Consent for Photography
Photography is conducted with the patient’s consent. The consent process involves:
Discussion at the consultation about why photography is part of treatment. The patient understands the clinical purpose.
Explicit consent at each photography session. This is documented in the clinical record alongside the consent for the treatment itself.
Discussion of how the photographs will and will not be used. Specifically: clinical use only, no marketing.
The patient retains the right to decline photography at any session. Where a patient declines, the treatment can still proceed but the clinical record is less complete. This has implications for continuity of care across appointments and is discussed at consultation.
Where a patient consents to photography for clinical purposes only and not for any other use, this is the standard arrangement. No additional consent is required for clinical use within the clinic. Any other use would require separate, specific consent.
How Photography Supports the 2-Week Review
The 2-week review is the structured appointment at which the settled effect of treatment is assessed. Photography is central to this assessment.
The before photographs from the original treatment are compared with the 2-week photographs. Side-by-side comparison reveals:
Whether the planned change has occurred. Subtle changes that the patient may not notice in the mirror are clearly visible in photographs.
Whether the change is symmetric. Asymmetry that is not obvious in the mirror often shows in front-on or three-quarter view comparison.
Whether unintended effects are present. Brow position changes, eyelid heaviness, smile flattening: all of these are easier to identify in photographs than in real-time observation.
Whether the result matches the consultation goals. The discussion at consultation is documented; the photographs at the 2-week review confirm or refute that the documented goals have been met.
Without photography, the 2-week review depends on the patient’s memory of how they looked before treatment and the practitioner’s clinical impression. Both are imperfect. Photography settles the question.
How Photography Supports Long-Term Treatment Plans
For patients in multi-year treatment relationships, the photographic record across appointments is the foundation of treatment planning:
Which dosing has produced durable results. Reviewing photographs from 12, 18, 24 months ago shows which approaches are working.
How the patient’s anatomy has changed. Natural ageing, weight changes, lifestyle changes all affect facial appearance. The photographic record shows the trajectory.
Which techniques worked best for this individual. Some patients respond better to certain placement depths, certain product choices, certain dosing patterns. The photographic record is how this is identified.
What the patient looked like at the start of the relationship. After 3 to 5 years of treatment, the cumulative change can be substantial. The original photographs preserve the starting point.
This is not the same as ‘before and after’ marketing. The photographs are clinical documentation that supports the patient’s individual care. They are not used for promotion.
What TGA Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code Rules Mean
The TGA Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code prohibits before-and-after imagery of identifiable patients in cosmetic injectable advertising. The relevant restrictions:
No posting of patient photographs on websites, social media, or marketing material if the patient is identifiable, regardless of whether the patient has consented.
No use of patient photographs at consultations to demonstrate ‘typical results’.
No display of patient photographs in the clinic where the public can see them.
No use of stock photography that implies ‘before and after’ comparison.
The rules apply to identifiable patients. Photography that does not show identifiable features (very close-up of treatment area without surrounding face, for example) is treated differently in some contexts but is rarely used because it is not informative.
The protective rationale is to prevent misleading impressions about typical outcomes. Selected photographs from selected patients in selected lighting can imply broader probability than the underlying data supports. The Code prevents this by removing the imagery from the advertising channel entirely.
For patients, this means cosmetic injectable websites and consultations look different from typical cosmetic services. The absence of before-and-after galleries is a regulatory feature, not a stylistic preference. Clinics that prominently feature patient photography are typically operating outside the Code.
Why Patients Do Not See Other Patients’ Photographs
Some patients ask whether they can see photographs of other patients’ results to inform their decision. The answer is no:
TGA Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code prohibits this use of patient photography.
Individual results vary substantially between patients based on anatomy, dosing, technique, and individual response. One patient’s outcome is not predictive of another’s.
The consultation conversation is structured around your individual anatomy and goals. Photographs of other patients would distract from this individual focus.
Where patients ask for a sense of ‘what does this typically look like’, the practitioner responds through clinical description, anatomical drawings, and discussion of realistic expectations for the specific case. Not through photographs of other patients.
This is a feature of regulated cosmetic injectable practice. Clinics that show other patients’ photographs as part of consultation are not operating within the Code.
Patient Access to Their Own Photographs
Patients have the right to access their own clinical record, including their photographs. The process:
At the appointment, photographs can be reviewed alongside the practitioner. Many patients find this useful at the 2-week review or the 12-month plan review.
Formal request for a copy of the clinical record can be made through the clinic’s records request process. This involves a written request and may incur an administrative fee.
Photographs released to the patient are theirs to keep. They become the patient’s personal property and the patient is responsible for what they do with them. Note that the TGA restrictions apply to advertising, not to private patient use; a patient may share their own photographs in private contexts at their discretion.
The consent at photography is for clinical use within the clinic. Patient access to their own clinical record is consistent with this; the patient’s personal use of their own photographs is the patient’s choice.
Specific Considerations for Sensitive Areas
Lip, under-eye, and intimate facial-area photography requires specific care:
Lighting and angles are calibrated to support clinical assessment without unnecessary close-up of features.
The consent conversation explicitly covers what is being photographed and how. Patients can decline specific views.
Storage is access-controlled. Photographs of these areas are not visible without specific clinical reason.
The practitioner conducts photography in a way that respects patient comfort and clinical privacy.
Patients sometimes feel self-conscious about clinical photography, particularly close-up views. The practitioner explains the clinical purpose and can adjust the technique to support comfort while maintaining clinical usefulness.
How This Operates at Core Aesthetics
Clinical photography at Core Aesthetics is conducted by Corey Anderson, AHPRA registered nurse, NMW0001047575, at consultation, before and after each treatment, and at review appointments. The photographs are stored in the clinical record system and are used for clinical purposes only.
No patient photographs are used in marketing, on the website, on social media, in printed materials, or at consultations to demonstrate ‘typical results’. This is a regulatory requirement under the TGA Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code, not a stylistic choice.
Patients can review their own photographs at appointments. Formal record requests are processed through the clinic’s records request system. The photographic record across appointments is part of the clinical care that supports treatment planning over months and years.
Is this for you?
Consider booking a consultation if
- Patients new to cosmetic injectable treatment and wanting to understand how clinical photography works
- Patients curious about why before-and-after photography is not shown in cosmetic injectable advertising
- Patients who have had treatment elsewhere and want to compare how photography is handled at different clinics
- Patients considering whether to consent to clinical photography at their first appointment
This may not be for you if
- Anyone under 18 years of age
- Patients seeking other patients’ photographs to inform their decision, this is not provided under TGA rules
- Patients seeking specific clinical advice about an individual photographic question, this requires individual consultation
- Patients seeking immediate access to their photographic record without going through the clinic’s records process
- Patients seeking to use their photographs for marketing or comparison, this remains the clinic’s regulatory restriction
Suitability is confirmed at consultation. This list is general guidance, not a substitute for clinical assessment.
Frequently asked questions
Will my photographs be used in marketing or on the website?
No. TGA Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code prohibits before-and-after imagery of identifiable patients in cosmetic injectable advertising. Your photographs are stored in your clinical record and used for clinical purposes only. They are never used in marketing, on the website, on social media, or in any public-facing material.
Can I see other patients’ photographs to know what to expect?
No. TGA rules prohibit this use of patient photography. The consultation conversation focuses on your individual anatomy and goals through clinical description and discussion of realistic expectations, not through other patients’ photographs. Individual results vary substantially based on anatomy and individual response.
How can I see my own photographs?
At any appointment, you can review your photographs alongside the practitioner. Many patients find this useful at the 2-week review and the 12-month plan review. Formal request for a copy of the clinical record can be made through the clinic’s records request process, which may involve a written request and an administrative fee.
What if I do not want to be photographed?
Photography is conducted with your consent. You can decline at any session. The treatment can still proceed but the clinical record is less complete. The implications for continuity of care across appointments are discussed at consultation. The decision is yours.
How long are my photographs kept?
Photographs are part of the clinical record and are retained for the period required by Australian healthcare records legislation, typically 7 years from the last clinical contact. Specific retention periods can be confirmed at consultation.
Can I take my own photographs at home for reference?
Yes, and this is encouraged. Daily or weekly photography in similar lighting at home supports your own self-assessment of how the treatment is settling. Bring these photographs to your 2-week review and subsequent appointments. They complement the clinical photography taken at the clinic.
What happens to my photographs if the clinic changes ownership or closes?
Clinical records, including photographs, are subject to Australian healthcare records legislation. They are transferred to the successor practitioner or held in trust as required by the legislation. Your right to access your own record persists regardless of changes in clinic ownership.