What makes great clinical photography? DB Orthodontics is putting that to the test with a competition, giving dental professionals the chance to showcase their best work and win a professional photography kit.
What separates a good clinical photograph from a genuinely great one? It isn’t the camera. It isn’t even the lighting. According to senior clinical photographer Laura Short, it comes down to something far less glamorous: consistency.
Now she’s putting that theory to the test – and inviting you to join in.
DB Orthodontics has teamed up with Laura to launch a clinical photography competition, open to dental professionals who want to show off their sharpest, most clinically sound images. There’s a photography kit up for grabs, which will be on display at the British Orthodontic Conference, a live demo at the Dentistry Show, and an Instagram Live to crown the winner.
Forget ‘arty’ – think ‘accurate’
Here’s the myth Laura’s series sets out to bust: that a striking clinical photo is a creative one.
Wrong. In commercial photography, originality wins. In clinical photography, it’s the enemy. Every image exists to do a job: document a condition, track a change, back up a diagnosis, or hold up in a medico-legal review years down the line.
That means the same framing, the same positioning, the same settings, appointment after appointment. Nail that consistency and even the smallest shifts in a patient’s case become impossible to miss. Lose it, and your ‘before and after’ comparison stops meaning very much at all.
The takeaway from Laura’s series? Build a repeatable protocol so airtight that it doesn’t matter who’s holding the camera – the results should look the same every time.
It’s never the big things – it’s the small ones
Don’t give in to the temptation of compromise – it creeps in quietly and wrecks an otherwise solid set of images.
A retractor that’s slightly the wrong size. A mirror that fogs because nobody warmed it. An assistant standing half a step out of position. A patient who hasn’t quite opened wide enough for the occlusal view.
None of these look like a big deal in the moment. Stacked together, they’re the difference between a photo series any clinician would be proud of and one that’s frustratingly hard to compare or reuse.
Laura’s advice throughout the series has been refreshingly unglamorous: master the fundamentals, sweat the small stuff, and the ‘wow factor’ takes care of itself.
The kit behind the consistency
Technique does the heavy lifting – but even the best-trained eye needs equipment that doesn’t let it down.
Photography accessories in a busy practice go through hundreds of cleaning and autoclave cycles. Cheaper retractors warp. Mirrors scratch, dull and lose their reflectivity. And when the kit starts to fail, so does the consistency it’s meant to support.
Laura has shared the tools that live in her own kit at Birmingham Dental Hospital: DB Orthodontics’ Gold Series lip retractors, chrome-coated intraoral mirrors and palatal contrastors – all built to hold their shape and performance sterilisation after sterilisation.
Reliable kit means one less variable to think about, leaving clinicians free to focus on what the camera’s actually there to capture.
Enter the competition
Feeling inspired?
DB Orthodontics and Laura Short want to see your best clinical shot: a beautifully documented ortho or restorative case, standout intraoral detail, or simply a record you’re proud to call your own.
How to enter
- Post your best clinical image on Instagram
- Tag @la.ab_photography and @dborthodontics
- Tag a friend or colleague
- Follow both accounts.
The winner will be revealed on Instagram live, taking place on 22 October at 7pm, straight from Laura herself.
The prize: a pro kit built for consistency
- Small Gold Photo Cheek Retractors
- Adult Palatal Silicone Contrastor
- Adult Intraoral Mirror (10cm × 7cm)
- Large Photo Cassette.
Whether you’re a seasoned clinical photographer or just getting your technique off the ground, this is exactly the kit Laura reaches for to keep her own images sharp and repeatable.
Catch the kit in person at BOC
Heading to the British Orthodontic Conference? Swing by the DB Orthodontics stand to handle the full prize kit yourself and talk shop with the team about the products behind Laura’s series.
- Brighton Centre
- Thursday 24-Saturday 26 September 2026.
Live and in focus: the Dentistry Show
Reading about technique is one thing – watching it happen is another. At the Dentistry Show on 9-10 October, Laura will run a live clinical photography demonstration on a model, walking through positioning, retraction, mirror placement and all the small habits that make images consistently excellent. Catch her on Friday 9 October at 9.15-10am.
Then: Instagram Live with Laura
Fresh from the Dentistry Show, Laura joins DB Orthodontics for a special Instagram Live in late October – talking through the series, taking audience questions, and announcing the competition winner.
Follow @la.ab_photography and @dborthodontics so you don’t miss the date.
The bottom line
Great clinical photography was never about being the most creative person in the room. It’s about being the most consistent – same protocol, same attention to detail, same reliable kit, every single time.
So here’s the challenge: look through your camera roll, find the image you’re proudest of, and put it up against the rest of the profession.
We can’t wait to see what you’ve got.
View DB Orthodontics Range of Photography products here
This article is sponsored by DB Orthodontics.
