A simple technique of all finger nail photography

Muhammed Mukhtar

doi:10.25259/CSDM_16_2026

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Innovations

2026

:6;

36

doi:

10.25259/CSDM_16_2026

A simple technique of all finger nail photography

Muhammed Mukhtar^1,

1Department of Dermatology, Mukhtar Skin Centre, Katihar, Bihar, India.

*Corresponding author: Muhammed Mukhtar, Department of Dermatology, Mukhtar Skin Centre, Katihar, Bihar, India. drmmukhtar20@gmail.com

Received: 2026-01-18, Accepted: 2026-02-20, Published: 2026-04-03

Licence

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-Share Alike 4.0 License, which allows others to remix, transform, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as the author is credited and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms.

How to cite this article: Mukhtar M. A simple technique of all finger nail photography. CosmoDerma. 2026;6:36. doi: 10.25259/CSDM_16_2026

PROBLEM

Clinical photography of all fingernails is an important method for visualizing and comparing nail pathology. There are several approaches, including holding a small cylindrical or spherical object in your palm and flexing all fingers to bring the nail into the same plane. However, these items are typically not available at the clinic. Furthermore, bending all fingers first, followed by pushing the thumb with two or three fingers to the thumbnails face upward, requires more effort and takes a little longer to photograph.^[1] To solve these issues, we proposed a new, simple method for photographing all fingernails.

SOLUTION

First, the thumb, little, and ring fingers, or the thumb and ring finger, are flexed and placed against each other’s tips, allowing thumbnails to face upward easily and quickly while maintaining stability. Following that, the middle and index fingers are flexed and stabilized by pressing and supporting the thumb [Video 1]. As a result, all ten fingernails from both hands can be aligned in the same plane and frame [Figure 1]. This allows us to photograph all ten fingernails in a single image. As a result, with simple patient instruction, this basic technique seems practicable.

Video 1:

Video 1:Finger nail videography in one plane. Video available on: https://doi.org/10.25259/CSDM_16_2026

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Ethical approval:

Institutional Review Board approval is not required.

Declaration of patient consent:

The authors certify that they have obtained all appropriate patient consent forms. In the form, the patients have given their consent for their images and other clinical information to be reported in the journal. The patients understand that their names and initials will not be published and due efforts will be made to conceal their identity, but anonymity cannot be guaranteed.

Conflicts of interest:

There are no conflicts of interest.

Use of artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted technology for manuscript preparation:

The authors confirm that there was no use of artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted technology for assisting in the writing or editing of the manuscript and no images were manipulated using AI.

Financial support and sponsorship: Nil.