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Taking a good photo of your eye for your optometrist

If you have an issue with your eye, while we aren’t able to see you in person, we might suggest you send us images for us to take a look at. It is important that the images are the best possible quality so we can get a good impression of your issue.

Here are some handy tips on how to take photos that you can send to your optometrist. Please also watch the accompanying video which should also help guide you.

Preparation:

  • Use the best camera you have in the house. A relatively new smart phone is usually the best option.
  • You need to use the back camera of the phone, as opposed to the camera you’d use for ‘selfies’.
  • Find yourself a spot which has plenty of bright light. This might be somewhere facing a window in your home or outside.
  • If you know how to turn the flash on, do this. It will usually give a better image.
  • If you are taking the photo yourself, you will need a mirror. Wall mounted mirrors are the easiest but you may not have one in a bright spot, so a handheld mirror might be required.
  • If you have someone else in the house who can take the photos, then you won’t need a mirror.
  • Set your zoom levels to between 2x and 3x to ensure a good detailed image is taken (2.5x is optimal).

Taking the photo yourself:

  • Hold up the camera so you can see an image of yourself on the phone screen in the mirror.
  • Bring the camera towards the eye (still looking into the mirror to check the screen of the phone) until the eye is centred in the middle of the phone screen.
  • Tap the screen to ensure it centres on your eye and focuses there.
  • Ideally use the volume button on the side of your phone to take the photo to save you touching the screen and potentially moving the positioning.
  • Repeat this for the six images required to allow us to examine your eye fully.

These are the six photos we require:

  • Look straight at the camera
  • Look up
  • Look to the left
  • Look down
  • Look to the right
  • Close the eye gently to take a photo of the eyelid.

If someone else is taking the photo:

If you have someone who is able to take the photo for you, this may be the easier option for you. The process will be similar to above but without the mirror. The photographer should go through the same steps, with a zoom of about 2.5x, taking the six photos above.

Is it a good photo?

  • Ensure the photos are crisp and not blurry. Keep everything very still when taking the photo and don’t get too close to the camera.
  • Ensure the light is bright.

If the photos are out of focus, please try taking them again. If you are unable to take a good photo, please phone us and we can chat through to see where you might be going wrong.