Showing the projection to the patient starts with the photo

The scene is familiar: you open the projection on your phone, hand it to the patient and they react right away, for better or worse. The reaction depends on much more than the chosen volume. It depends on the photo the image came from. A photo with strong shadows, a raised chin or a tight smile changes what the patient sees, and changes what they take as a promise.

That is why the conversation about expectations does not start at the slider. It starts earlier, with the photo.

Why does the source photo decide what the patient sees?

Harmy's projection keeps the face as it is and changes only the marked areas. The prompt forbids makeup, skin retouching, and changes to expression, background, hair and lighting. That is good news for the honesty of the simulation, but it has a consequence: everything that was in the photo stays in the after.

If the patient has their head slightly tilted, so does the after. If there was a shadow under the nose, it stays there. If the patient was making a subtle grimace, it remains. The difference between before and after is limited to what you marked, and that is exactly what makes the tool useful as support for the conversation.

But the patient does not separate what is projection from what is photo. They look at the whole face, and any flaw in the photo becomes a perceived flaw in the simulation. Hence the importance of starting from a good image, the subject of the text on poor photos for AI projection.

What should you check in the photo before showing it?

Do a quick, 20-second read of the source photo. The points below cover almost everything that skews the conversation.

Each item has its own detail page: frontal photo framing, neutral expression in the clinical photo, lighting for clinical facial photos and phone filters and beautification.

What happens when the photo is off-standard?

The effect is not always obvious. Here are the most common cases and what the patient ends up concluding.

In all of these cases, the wrong reading starts with the photo and turns into a discussion about the procedure. Fixing the photo first is far cheaper than undoing the impression later. It is worth reading photo with a tilted face and symmetry for the case of apparent asymmetry.

How do you align expectations with the right photo in hand?

With the right photo, the conversation can follow a simple order. First, present the assessment and what was marked. Then show the slider and explain what the tool does and does not do. Finally, treat volumes and intensity as part of a plan, not as a guaranteed outcome.

In the app, the professional chooses the area, the volume in ml and the intensity (Subtle, Moderate or Pronounced, with Moderate as the default). The slider shows before and after, and the "Show procedures" option displays the ml of each area over the after. Presentation mode leaves the full screen with just the slider so you can hand the phone to the patient, and the magnifier enlarges the treated area with before and after side by side. The flow of the conversation is in presenting before and after in the consultation.

And the patient who reacts badly to their own photo?

Some people are uncomfortable seeing their own face head-on, unfiltered. The reaction can be discomfort, comparison with the image they have of themselves, or a fixation on a flaw you had not pointed out. In that case, the clean photo is both an ally and a risk: it shows the face as it is, and that calls for care in what you say.

Before opening the image, say what it is and what it is not. Ask what they expect to see. If the patient fixates on a detail, go back to the assessment, not to the photo. The approach is the one in how to point out asymmetry without offending, a topic in the consultation section, and the one in aligning expectations in writing to reduce misunderstandings.

Showing the projection and recording the conversation

What you show the patient is part of the care. Record in the chart that the simulation was presented, with which photo and which volumes, and that it was explained as illustrative. If the patient accepted the plan, the simulation can accompany the quote, but it never replaces the informed consent. For the wording of the notice, see illustrative simulation notice to the patient.

The photo is also sensitive data. Before sending the projection by message or through the patient link, confirm the channel and the authorization, in line with the LGPD (Brazil's General Data Protection Law) and your clinic's policy.

Summary for the routine

Check the photo before opening the projection, retake it if anything is off-standard, explain that it is an illustrative simulation and record what was shown. The quality of the expectations conversation is, to a large extent, the quality of the photo that supports it. For the step-by-step in the app, see standardized frontal photo and standardized clinical photography.