Documenting a flare
HS can change between the day a flare is at its worst and the day you see your dermatologist. A few consistent photographs can sometimes help show what happened in between. You do not upload photographs here — this guide only shows you how to take them.
A single lesion photographed on its worst day is not the whole story. What often helps a clinician more is a short, consistent record of what an area looked like between visits — because HS can drain, shrink or partly settle by the time an appointment happens.
A photograph does not replace history or examination, and it cannot diagnose HS, confirm an infection, or measure how a treatment is working. What it can do is add visual context to the pattern you already describe in words.
Three photographs, taken with your phone's own camera app, give a clinician more context than one close-up ever can: where it is, how extensive it is, and what it looks like.
Photo 1 / 3
One photograph taken from far enough away that the affected body region is recognisable.
The lesion does not need to fill the frame. It is enough that enough surrounding anatomy is visible — for example the whole underarm region, the groin fold with enough surrounding area, one whole buttock rather than only the sore spot, or the underside of the breast together with its fold.
This image answers one question only: where on the body is this? Without that orientation, a tightly cropped close-up can be hard to place later.
Check before moving on: If someone saw only this image, would they know where on the body they are looking?
Photo 2 / 3
Move closer, but include the whole area you want to discuss — not only the single worst spot.
HS is rarely a single nodule. Several inflamed nodules, abscesses, draining tunnels and scars can sit within the same region — and their distribution can matter for the picture it gives.
Where possible, include some unaffected skin at the edge of the frame; that makes a later photo easier to compare against this one.
If size matters for what you want to document, place a ruler or another consistent reference next to — not over — the area. A ruler is a more standardised, internationally clearer reference than a coin.
Check before moving on: Does the frame show the whole area you want to discuss — not just one nodule?
Photo 3 / 3
One sharp close-up of the area you most want to discuss in detail.
Tap the screen on the area before taking the photo, so the camera focuses there instead of automatically on the background or another surface.
Afterwards, check that the image is genuinely sharp and that flash glare hasn't hidden the skin surface. If in doubt, take a second shot.
Check before moving on: Is the image sharp, and is the skin surface free of flash glare?
If you plan to photograph the same area again — to show change over weeks or months — one thing matters more than photo quality.
Same area · similar angle · similar distance · similar lighting
A perfectly sharp photograph is less useful for comparison if every later photograph is framed completely differently. Try to reproduce roughly the same position, distance and light each time, rather than aiming for the single best possible shot.
You don't need special equipment for this — just the habit of standing in a similar spot, at a similar distance, with similar light.
This short template can help you remember how a photo was taken, so a later one can be framed the same way. It stays on your device — this site never sees it.
Body area: ______ · Orientation used: ______ · Approximate distance: ______ · Lighting: ______
Use bright, even light. Daylight near a window is usually easier to work with than a direct flash, which can wash out detail or create harsh shadows.
Avoid
Use your phone's normal camera mode. Don't apply filters, edit colour, increase contrast or redness, blur the area, or otherwise "enhance" the skin — a photograph kept for medical reference should show what the skin actually looks like.
Cropping afterwards for privacy is fine, as long as it doesn't remove the orientation context you captured in photo 1.
Where possible, photograph the skin before applying a new cream, placing a fresh dressing, or deliberately manipulating a lesion — those change what the photo actually shows.
Do not remove a dressing or disturb a wound solely for a photograph, unless your treatment team has told you to do so.
A photo's file date isn't always reliable once it's shared, copied or backed up. Keeping the date with the image — in an album name, a private note, or the filename itself — makes a later comparison much easier.
Example filenames
2026-09-09_left-armpit_orientation2026-09-09_left-armpit_region2026-09-09_left-armpit_detailLeave out of the filename
Consider what actually needs to be visible for the clinical question at hand, and frame only that. Check mirrors and reflective surfaces before you take the photo, and clear documents, screens and other people from the background.
If another person is taking the photograph for you, only involve someone you are genuinely comfortable with — this is your choice to make, not a default anyone else should assume.
A self-timer, a stable phone stand, or a mirror used only for positioning (never left in frame) can help with an area you can't otherwise see or reach.
Avoid any body position that is painful or unstable just to get a photo. A less-than-perfect image taken safely is more useful than none at all.
Four quick questions to check each photograph against:
AcneInversa.life does not need these photographs — there is no way to send them to us from this page. If you want your healthcare team to see them, ask the practice which secure method they want you to use.
Don't assume ordinary email, messaging apps or social media are the clinic's preferred way to receive medical images — many practices have a specific, more secure channel for this.
So you know exactly what you're using — and aren't:
No. This page has no way to upload a photograph and no camera function of its own — there is not a single control here that accepts an image file. You open your phone's normal camera app, take the photographs there, and the images stay on your device or wherever you choose to back them up.
Usually not. A tightly cropped photo shows detail but not where on the body it was taken or how extensive the affected area is overall. The combination of orientation, region and detail gives more context than any single image on its own.
A similar angle, similar distance and similar lighting to the first time. A technically perfect photo is of limited use for comparison if every later shot is framed completely differently.
No. The Appointment Pack, the Symptom Tracker and the pain-description tool all work completely without photographs. When, where and how often something happens often tells a clinician more than a single image from one particularly bad day.
No — unless your treatment team has specifically told you to. Do not remove a medically necessary dressing or disturb a wound solely for a photograph.
Ask the practice directly which secure method it wants you to use. Do not assume ordinary email, a messaging app or social media is the practice's preferred route for medical photographs.
No. Photographs can document change over time, but cannot establish infection or a malignant change. A suspicious or rapidly changing area needs clinical assessment.
Reviewed: · Next review:
Standardised HS photography is supported by a 2025/2026 international Delphi consensus, alongside general dermatology photography guidance from the American Academy of Dermatology. The privacy considerations described here draw on published observational data about remote HS consultations and clinician-reported teledermatology challenges — see Sources below.
This page describes a documentation method, not a diagnostic tool, and is reviewed on the same annual cycle as the rest of this site's medical content.