Photographing the Vaginal canal and Cervix

I'm putting this thread in here because while videoing and taking pictures of an exam is one thing. Taking pictures of the internal structure of the Vagina presents it's own unique challenges.

When I give my Wife exams, I frequently take pictures and video. It's not as easy as you would think to take pictures of the Cervix. I don't know how the pros get those close up and well focused shots. I've been changing focus type, shooting speed, using macro setting and I have gotten some amazing results, mostly by accident.

The biggest challenge is to focus down a narrow path with an obvious focal point surrounding it. One technique is to pre-set the focus on something else at an approximate distance as the cervix will be. Then move the camera back into place and shoot. I don't have a manual focus to do it myself or I would try that. There is a great Youtube video, that explains this exact topic. I'll have to find it and post it here.

Another obstacle to good pictures is the flash. Since you are so close to the subject, the flash will reflect off of whatever type of speculum you are using, (metal or plastic) if that's what you are indeed using to open her up with.

I've shown my wife the pictures and video and she agreed every woman should see hers at least once since it's such an important part of a woman's health concern. Mostly she just trusts me to update her if anything unusual comes up.

Back on topic, does anyone else on here take pictures like this? What kind of results have you gotten? What were you using? Did you use the standard PHD camera, old style 35mm film or a high end digital SLR?

Did you share them with your patient?

I have two higher end digital camera and a Flip HD camcorder. I've gotten decent results as I've said but not consistent. I probably need to take a class or something.

Like being a good playdoc, medical photography is a skill which has to be learned. Dioptra is quite right about the difficulty of focusing in a narrow field, in this case a 'tunnel', in the matter of reflection from bright metallic surfaces and in the overall provision of light from a flashgun which is tuned to cut off the light output when enough light is reflected back to the camera from the subject,

Amateurs make too much effort to take close up pictures - close up or macro photography needs specialised knowledge and to some extent specialised cameras. Most will not focus closer than 0.5 metre or so - those that have macro or close up facilities are not auto focusing at such ranges.

Focusing is usually a problem when flash is employed. The resulting small aperture makes the depth of field short. (depth of field is the distance between the nearest and furthest points at which the image can be seemingly in focus). Lower light availability will enlarge the aperture and increase the depth of field. Correction - a larger aperture will decrease the depth of field - thank you Wayne for drawing that to my attention

Reflection from bright metal surfaces can be dulled by carefully and temporarily dulling the surface with the thinnest possible coat of vaseline (about the only good use for vaseline in medfet). Only those surfaces directly at right angles to the camera need be dulled and this can be done once the speculum is inserted.

In practice the return of light from the subject to the flash sensor, triggering the cut off of flash output, will not be significantly important because the texture, colouration and reflectivity of, say, the cervix and vaginal walls will not be radically different than that of the labia majora, minora or mons veneris.

An all over solution to most of these problems will be to take the picture from a distance, probably a metre or so. Use the telephoto control to zoom somewhat into the area in question - but don't over zoom. Centre the vulva in the frame. Be prepared to put the resulting image file into your computer and use any simple photo manipulation programme (Pixela is a good free one) to zoom further and crop the image (cropping is removing unwanted areas from the image).

The extra distance that the picture is taken from will not upset the depth of field (which will be a matter of inches of vaginal depth). Reflection from bright surfaces will be minimised. (It can be reduced further with one layer of tissue over the flashgun) .Exposure (not of the lady of course) will not be affected at all by the difference in distance of the cervix and the vulval area affecting the flash output.

Now, Dioptra asks if one will use a film camera. Well, if you dare get it developed at your local camera store I guess you could. If you're able to develop and print the film yourself you won't be needing the tips above will you!!!!!

Big K - I fear you mis-spoke regarding depth of field. Actually depth of field increases with greater light and smaller apertures, but decreases with lesser light and larger apertures. Otherwise your explanation was a good one. In the situations involved, the difficulty of focus is less a matter of depth of field and more a matter of close focusing distances as you correctly mentioned. Though it's been a few years I've done a pretty good bit of photography of the female form, both in glamour type shots and in medical close-up. It's a shame more of our friends here haven't been able to enjoy the thrill of seeing themselved well presented in photos. It's definitely a thrill for the subject to see herself.

Thank you Wayne - you are of course correct and I've inserted a correction to my post. A 'senior moment' its called, at my age.

There are a few factors that have an effect on the depth of field.

The two you have the most control over are:

1) The aperture of lens. The higher the F stop number (the smaller the size of the iris) the greater the depth of field.

2) The distance on which the lens is focused on. The further away you are with any given lens, the greater the depth of field. The depth of field is also not symmetric about the exact point of focus. It extends further behind the point of focus than in front of it.

And the last thing you may or may not have much control over, is the focal length of the lens itself. A long focal length lens (telephoto) will have a shallower depth of focus at the same F stop than a short (wide) lens. If you have a zoom lens, it will have a wider depth of focus at the widest setting.

One thing that indirectly touches this is the amount of light. Each click on the F stop ring lets double of half as much light in as the one before it. Each click of the shutter speed knob has the same effect. You can than trade the aperture for the shutter speed. A slower shutter speed will let you use a smaller aperture.

So, for the deepest depth of focus:

* as much light as you can get

* the slowest shutter speed you can handle

* the smallest aperture you can use

* the widest lens setting you can use

One easy way to remember this is to think of a cheep old film instamatic camera that had no controls on it.

Generally they..

Have a slow shutter speed, about 1/125 of a second or so, to minimize blur from shaky hands

Have a relativity small aperture to help with the depth of field (no focusing remember! Depth of field needs to deep)

Have a relativity wide focal length lens - things always seem much further away than they are.

They generally give a pretty clear image from about 10 feet to infinity. With no controls and no adjustments.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge about photo. Sometimes we have the camera aviable during play exams,unfortunely the pictures isnt thay great as the live view i see myself and sometimes wants to share with the rest of you. It therefore tends to get less common that we are taking any pictures. It just suck to much energy from the play and one are trying to focus on what we are doing instead. Sad as it is a true pleasure to go through old sessions again or sharing them with other medfet friends.

I have had good luck taking pictures of the cervix while the vagina is opened with a speculum.

Her groin area, the speculum, vaginal walls between the speculum blades and the cervix are all clear in the pictures.

It was her camera, a Nikon Coolpix S51. I know because my wife has the same camera.

The camera is a digital with a large viewing screen which helps with making sure the picture is framed right and looks good before snapping.

The patient and I were happy with the results.

I have had a problem with video not turning out because the lighting was wrong and the plastic speculum reflected the video light but I also have a Nikon Coolpix and my husband has taken some very good pictures of my cervix down the plastic speculum with it. I have posted some of them on here. They are in the personal photo albums in the album titled "my fun gyno exam" if you'd like to see them.