Medical Photography and Health Creatives

This service forms part of University College London (UCL) and comprises photographers and designers. The team are fully qualified and are members of the Institute of Medical Illustrators and the Academy for Healthcare Science. This means that they have to follow a strict code of conduct and update their skills regularly. The service supports all clinical specialties at GOSH by providing:

Clinical photography is the taking of photographs to illustrate a medical condition. At GOSH, we photograph 6,000 patients each year, and the images are used to record their medical conditions.

In some cases, it is helpful to have ‘before’ and ‘after’ photographs, particularly if a child is having an operation or treatment. For some conditions, it is helpful to have a series of photographs taken as a child grows older.

If you would prefer to have a photographer of the same gender as your child, please ask us. We have both male and female photographers in the team but if it is not possible to meet your request, we can offer a chaperone to stay in the studio with your child or rearrange the photographs for another day.

As well as clinical photography, our photographers also take general photographs, often to illustrate everyday life at GOSH or to record special events. They also photograph members of staff to show who’s who in wards and departments.

The graphic design team are responsible for designing all of our leaflets and information sheets so that children, young people and families know what to expect when they come to GOSH. They also produce diagrams and pictures to make it easier to understand what happens to the body in specific conditions.

The digital team are responsible for designing and producing mobile apps such as Blood Quest and My Cortisol. They also produce websites for clinical studies and animations.

The team also produce short films to help families to deliver care at home, for instance giving medicines or about specific tests or scans.

The Medical Photography and Health Creatives department is on Level 2 (Ground Floor) Southwood Building near the Morgan Stanley Garden. The offices are open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5.30pm.

The team has produced guides to explain what will happen when you bring your child to be photographed:

Information for families

Information for young people 

We also have a printable Easy Read version of our information sheet: Having your photo taken (419.13 KB) for people with learning disabilities. 

For general enquires please contact the team by telephoning 020 7813 8212 or sending an email to clinical.photography@gosh.nhs.uk