Photography

The BioCommunications (BioCom) photographers at The University of Arizona Health Sciences provide photos for print publications, websites, social media, research, and other purposes as requested. Our photographers offer portraits of faculty, staff, and students for all UA departments.

Directions 

The University of Arizona BioCommunications photographers, certified by the nationwide BioCommunications Association, specialize in photographically documenting a patient's body in a series of images for longitudinal studies of mole changes. We follow strict standards and protocols of total body photography for each photograph, digitally recording the sizes and locations of every mole, which are used as a baseline for future photographs of that patient. Please check with your dermatologist to see if this service is appropriate for you. We are located in the College of Medicine-Tucson on the University of Arizona campus. Sessions are by appointment only and are open to all patients from all medical practices.

The process of performing TOTAL BODY PHOTOGRAPHY (TBP) does not constitute a diagnosis, presence of disease, or detection of any change in skin condition.

The TBP process is conducted in a private, securely locked, photographic studio by a certified TBP photographer that is the same gender as the patient.  The patient will be given a cloth hospital gown to put on to wear from the dressing room inside the private studio to our photography setup. Once positioned, the patient will be asked to lower sections of the gown to expose skin for photographing. Some patients feel comfortable to remove the robe completely, which does make the process go faster, while others prefer the gradual, more modest skin reveal. We work within the patient’s comfort level. We do not recommend leaving on under garments because they do cover skin that might have moles or other spots currently or areas that may develop in the future. These are your photographic records and we only photograph to the patient’s comfort level.

When you arrive for your session, you will be provided an overview of the process and asked to sign a consent form agreeing to the terms and procedures of the Total Body Photography service.

The session takes about 90min from check-in to when you are set to leave.

The session includes a one (1) USB encrypted drive with your images will be provide for your records. Your images will also be uploaded to UA Box Health HIPAA certified encrypted cloud storage that Banner Dermatology will access and download to your Health Care Record. Your USB drive will be available for pick up in the BioCommunications office or may be delivered to your home via Fed-Ex with a signature required.

The cost of the session is $250, due at your appointment and can be paid with cash, check or credit. An invoice/receipt is provided. It is recommended that you contact your insurance provider and/or Health Savings Account/Flexible Spending Account provider prior to your appointment to determine reimbursement for this ‘non-medical’ service. Reference the CPT code 96994 “Whole body Integumentary Photography”. We cannot accept HSA/FSA cards.

Please note that UAHS BioCommunications is not a healthcare provider.

For your department’s graduation, hooding, white coat ceremony or other achievement marking events, we take extra care to capture each student during their big moment. Frequently we suggest booking two photographers for these ceremonies to ensure each student has a shot of their moment as well as the department have overall candid feature photos of students, faculty and families celebrating this monumental event. We highly suggest booking our services as soon as you know the day/time of your event to make sure you are on our calendar.

For general events we photograph a variety of types of images (details, overall, and close ups) but having a list of people or interactions to be aware of is always helpful. The more information the better including timelines or event programs.

See our Event FAQ Section for specific pricing and booking details. For additional questions, email us at ops@biocom.arizona.edu

Our photographers work with your Marketing and Communications team to create photos that are great for annual reports, Power Point presentations, websites and other marketing materials to promote your department’s mission. We have experience in photo set production, model selection and site selection to best illustrate your message.

As photojournalists, we excel in gathering photos at your event that speak to your audience trends and we can turn photos around to meet peek posting time deadlines.

Email us at: ops@biocom.arizona.edu to start a conversation about your marketing project or social media needs.

But I was so much older then ...

As people have become more aware of what can be creatively done with digital photography, we frequently hear, “Can you please Photoshop 10 years off my portrait?” or, “can’t you just Photoshop in the missing person from our group?”  Well, as a matter of fact, most of the time we can skillfully adjust your image so well that no one will know it’s been manipulated!!  All of our photographers are highly trained and skilled in using a variety of software, including Adobe Photoshop, to ‘magically’ adjust the images we take. Of course, we solely use these creative tools for illustrative images, while minimally adjusting scientific images so as not to interfere with their scientific integrity.

So, whether it’s just a matter of creating a photo illustration, fixing a damaged historic photo, or lightly retouching out wrinkles and blemishes, we can do it!

You remember paper, right?

Our Fuji Pictrography printer utilizes a thermal dye transfer process to create high resolution grayscale and color prints from your digital files. Unlike consumer inkjet prints that show distinct dots, these prints are near photographic quality. Individual pixels are difficult to see, even under magnification. The images produced are fade-resistant, similar to traditional color photographic prints.

You'll get ideal results if you scan your raster images as close to the final size on the page as possible, preferably at 320dpi. For example, if an image is to appear 4"x5" on the page, scan it to 4"x5" @ 320dpi.

Digital cameras should be set to a larger file size to assure good image quality, especially when requesting prints over 5x7 inches.

$41 plus approximately $20 per image for retouching labor

• 15-30 min. session in studio or on location
• 10-15 poses taken
• 1 outfit change or background change (i.e. formal business attire and white physician coat)
• Subject chooses favorite image(s) during session
• Retouching includes skin smoothing, blemish removal, fly-away hairs, teeth whitening, eye glasses reflections
• Available for department billing or self-pay
• 1 retouched high resolution digital image for each outfit cropped vertically

THE $25 RATE IS ONLY AVAILABLE TO STUDENTS WHO SELF-PAY.

• 4-6 poses taken (2-3 from each side)
• Subject chooses favorite image during the session
• Minimal retouching
• Credit card, cash, and check (yes, some still use them :) accepted
• 1 retouched high-resolution digital image cropped vertically

$10 per person + $62 per hour retouching labor (minimum of 6 subjects scheduled within a one-hour time slot)

• 4-6 poses taken (2-3 from each side)
• BioCom chooses the most flattering photo
• Retouching includes skin smoothing, blemish removal, fly-away hairs, teeth whitening, eyeglasses reflections
• 1 retouched high-resolution digital image cropped vertically
• Department billing only

$62 per hour M-F 8-5 pm, + $62 per hour retouching labor (Note: hourly rate is charged from departure from BioCom to return and charged for post-processing/retouching. $.625 per mile away from Main Campus also added)

• 4-6 poses taken (2-3 from each side)
• BioCom chooses the most flattering photo
• Retouching includes skin smoothing, blemish removal, fly-away hairs, teeth whitening, eye glasses reflections
• 1 retouched high-resolution digital image cropped vertically
• Department billing only

A: Click here for a map to our location on the 3rd floor in the College of Medicine - Tucson building.

A: Business attire is recommended. Keep in mind when you are choosing your wardrobe what background your department has chosen. If they have no preference, our default is light brown so tan jackets or tops will blend into the background. If you are wearing a white shirt or blouse, we suggest pairing it with a jacket especially if your department has chosen our light gray or white backgrounds. For white coat doctor portraits, take into consideration that only the portion of your shirt or blouse under your coat that is in the neck V will be visible and it lands approximate 6in below the collar bone. If your top has an asymmetrical neckline or deep V-neck, it may not produce the desired look under your white coat. Bold patterned clothing will show through the white coat and is not part of the regular retouching process to fix.

A: We suggest you keep your regular makeup or skin care regimen for your shoot. Extra makeup is not necessary. We do retouch face shine and blemishes in the retouching process. During summer months you may want to bring powder to refresh upon your arrival.

A: Please wear whatever you feel comfortable in for your photo. We take measures to eliminate reflection in the lenses.

A: We retouch by request eyeglass reflection, skin smoothing, blemishes, teeth whitening, fly-away hairs. Major cosmetic Photoshop retouching is available however may not be covered by your department. No retouching is done automatically by AI.

A: Yes, all clients get to choose their photo as well as make specific retouch requests. No retouching is done automatically by AI.

A: Email ops@biocom.arizona.edu as soon as possible so we can rebook your time slot. Include possible reschedule days/times in your email to expedite the process.

A: Please contact us know at ops@biocom.arizona.edu as soon as possible so we can reschedule your appointment and let your department admin know of the new date.

A: Yes all photos are archived at BioCom under the subject's name and the service request number assigned to the session. There is a service fee for retrieval that is billed at $62 per hour. Most retrievals take on average 1/10 an hour for a single image. Email ops@biocom.arizona.edu to request a quote for a larger retrieval project.

A: 7-10 business days although during our busiest months May/Aug/Sept/Oct, it may be up to 14-21 days. If you have a publication deadline, make sure to let us know when booking your session.

A: Yes, we do offer self-pay. There is an additional 18% admin fee added to your total to pay via credit card or cash. Enter XXXXXXX in the billing account box. DO NOT ENTER CARD INFO ANYWHERE ON THE REQUEST FORM. We will charge your card or take cash when you arrive in person.

A: Yes, for individual portrait sessions the subject and other contacts indicated receive the high resolution digital image(s). Group rate subjects, photos are only sent to the main contact who booked the session. Please contact them for access to your photo.

A: BioCom no longer offers passport/visa photos. The University of Arizona does however offer this service in the US Passport Office located next to the CatCard office in the Student Union on main campus. Click here for more details.

A: For events M-F 8am-5pm, we charge $62 per hour to photograph, plus $62 per hour for digital processing of the images. Hourly billing also includes travel time to and from your event. For events away from Main Campus we charge mileage at $.625 per mile.

A: Yes! Events after 5pm M-F or on weekends are billed at our after-hours rate of $93 per hour. Hourly billing also includes travel time to and from your event. Photo processing is done during normal business hours unless you request after-hours processing for quick turnaround for social media needs. All weekend and after-hours events we require 7 days advance notice.

A: On average your photos will be ready in 7-10 business days UNLESS you have requested our social media turnaround which is 5-10 images available the next day. For busy months (May, Aug, Sept, Oct) turnaround time may be 14-21 business days so make sure to let us know of any publication deadlines you may have so we can plan accordingly.

A: Depending on how much action will be occurring during your event, expect 30-50 photos per hour of coverage. For example, a speaker at a podium will have less photos than a community health fair.

A: YES! We photograph a variety of types of images (details, overall, and close ups) but having a list of people or interactions to be aware of is always helpful. The more information the better including timelines or event programs.

A: Especially for graduations, booking two photographers is key if you want a photo of the graduate getting their diploma/hooding/coating AND also a shot of them in front of a banner/gonfalon/backdrop to the side. It will insure that every graduate will have an in focus shot of both actions without anyone missing that key handshake moment. Ask us what our thoughts are when booking our services so we can make sure to have two photographers available.

A: We send a 3-5MB high resolution JPG via Box. If you need a higher resolution JPG please let us know before your event. We will notify you when your photos are ready and request at that time you send us a Box invite to share a folder. We then put your photos in that folder. That makes it so you can permanently have them for your department’s use and not rely on our department to keep the shared folder.

A: Yes, we store them in BioCom’s archive and make them available for use for a nominal fee billed at $62 per hour for retrieval. Email ops@biocom.arizona.edu to request past photographs.