An apparatus for observing the optical appearance of a surface (2) of a sample (1) of semitransparent material, in particular the surface (2) of a human skin, the apparatus comprising a light source (11,12,13,16,17) for illuminating at least a region of interest of the surface (2) of the sample (1) from a predetermined direction, a camera (14) for observing a response to the illumination of the region of interest and an optical focus device (21,31) for determining if the camera (14) is in focus with the surface (2) of the region of interest. The invention also relates to a method for observing the optical appearance of the surface (2) of a sample (1) of semitransparent material, in particular the surface (2) of a human skin.
