From the Heart to Heart series with Candace Crowe
This topic has been on my heart for over a year. At last I have some legal clarity to share.
We all know that trust is the abiding factor when someone chooses their plastic surgeon. Recently the marketplace has been flooded with “fake” and AI generated content, and trust is paying the price.
So what about the trust factor of our before and after galleries?
Did you know that every smartphone in your practice is running computational photography. Skin smoothing, tone correction, depth simulation. It happens automatically, and many of you may not even realize it.
How do you feel when you see AI generated or altered images and content? How much do you trust it?
On Episode 16 of The Crowes Nest, TK and I discussed it with Christopher Nuland, Esq., attorney, lobbyist, and General Counsel for both FSPS and The Aesthetic Society. Chris drew a clear line: a disclaimer would be necessary for all photos taken with a smart device. And he approved one specifically for that problem.
I was grateful. But I kept thinking: it is bigger than smart devices.
After about six weeks, I realized that smart device photography was only part of the picture. Your standard editing workflow touches images in ways that also deserve disclosure:
- Background removal or replacement
- Lighting and exposure adjustments
- AI upscaling for image clarity
- Resizing for web or gallery display
All of them change the image in some form or fashion.
So I went back to Chris with a broader question. How do we cover all of it without being alarmist, without singling out one tool, and without language that makes the whole industry “cringe” with fear? Together, we landed here. This is the most important part of this blog. Read and copy this into your gallery.
The disclaimer that needs to be in your gallery:
“Gallery photos may include smart device processing or standard image enhancements. These edits are applied to image quality only and are not intended to alter patient outcomes.”
It is honest. And it tells the truth in plain language without implying wrongdoing.
The world is already moving in this direction.
This is not a fringe conversation. The biggest platforms in the world are already requiring disclosure:
- YouTube
- Meta, Instagram and Facebook
- TikTok
- New York and California now have legislation on the books
On our recent Crowes Nest podcast with Society President Dr. Tracy Pfeifer, she shared that Dr. Brandon Claytor, chair of the website committee, is actively pushing to strengthen the before/after gallery on member profile pages. The direction is clear: the Society is leaning into before/after content more than ever. This is exactly the right moment for the specialty to look at photographic standards with fresh eyes.
BRAG book is working on a solution.
Now that we have Chris’s ruling, we are working on a solution for our BRAG book clients. A disclaimer toggle is in development now, one setting that gives you the option to disclose with a single click.
Come find us, and come find Chris.
Christopher Nuland will make his home at the Society booth in the Exhibit Hall throughout The Aesthetic MEET. If you have questions about where the industry is headed on disclosure, he is the person to ask.
We will be at Booth 936. We would love to hear your thoughts. Before and after photos are still the most authentic thing left in aesthetic marketing, and keeping them that way is something worth doing.
Listen to The Crowes Nest, Ep. 16 with Chris Nuland and Dr. Rosenthal
That is what our Heart to Heart series is about. Sharing what matters most.
Candace