Guidelines for Shooting and Using Research Lab Photographs

The campus has established a protocol for staff, students and faculty who take photos in a laboratory and use the photos for promotions, in accordance with PPM 290-50 Protective Clothing and Equipment and UCOP Policy on Personal Protective Equipment. This is considered a photography best practice.

Roles of the participants

We each play an important role in maintaining an incident-free campus where students and employees alike are equipped to work safely. Each person must promote and model best practices in safety, including wearing the proper personal protective equipment, or PPE.

Photographer

Photographers must be escorted in the laboratory at all times by authorized personnel and must wear the appropriate attire to enter the laboratory, including the following:

• Full-length pants (or equivalent)
• Closed-toe/heel shoes
• Sufficient coverage for the area of skin between the pants and the shoe, if exposed

Individuals being photographed

Individuals in the laboratory must wear the appropriate attire to enter the laboratory, including the following:

• Full-length pants (or equivalent)
• Closed-toe/heel shoes
• Properly fitted laboratory coat (buttoned with no skin exposed); see guidelines for lab coats below
• Disposable gloves
• Protective eyewear

Note: Additional protective clothing and exposure measuring devices may be required depending on the activities in the laboratory at the time of the photographs. This may include a face shield, disposable footwear, specialized laser eyewear and radiation dosimetry. Any questions about proper PPE should be directed to EH&S.

Guidelines for lab coats

It is important that lab coats be an appropriate size and reasonably comfortable with proper coat and sleeve length.

• Ensure that the circumference of the lab coat is sufficient to allow for full closure, particularly if sweaters and sweatshirts are worn underneath, including all buttons/snaps.
• The length of the lab coat should allow for easy transition from a sitting to a standing position and back.
• The sleeve length should be such that there is no bare skin between the end of the sleeve and any gloves being worn.
• The sleeve should not require rolling to prevent it from interfering with work.

Training for support personnel

To better understand the requirements for photos, individuals who enter a laboratory unescorted to provide a support function should understand the hazards they may encounter, and how to recognize them by taking the online course titled “Lab Safety for Support Personnel,”

Additional information

For more information, please refer to our communicator presentation for shooting and using photographs taken in UC Davis research labs.