Doll marketing photography: Do Companies Confuse or Mislead?

1) Do you feel that some companies mislead, exaggerate, or confuse through their use of photos in advertising their dolls?

I feel there are levels. Definitely take pictures to display a mold to its best ability, show people what this mold can really do. What potential it has. But dont take pictures that alter what the mold actually looks like or photoshop the image to alter what it actually looks like. If its got a big nose then dont photoshop out the big nose, just dont pick up that mold if you think it wont sell. Go back and resculpt think things out before you try and sell it.

2) Have you ever received a doll that you felt was not as shown in its photographs (aside from resin color or obvious defects like breakage)? What feature(s) was/ were misrepresented?

No dont have a doll yet but this problem is certainly not limited to the doll world


4) Do you feel that misleading photographs are a serious problem, or do you feel that companies aren't to be blamed for wanting to make their product look good ? Or, alternatively, do you think that there are plenty of other places to see different photographs of a doll (or even the doll in person at conventions, meetups and so forth) and therefore buyers should simply educate themselves more before they buy? Other thoughts?

I feel they can be a serious problem if your altering or hiding things in a mold. I would want my car to look its best for a sale. But if I photoshop it green when its really white, then you have issues. If you are actually photoshoping out flaws in a structure then you take it too far imo.

Now things like wigs and face ups. I see nothing wrong with. I was certainly shocked to find that most dolls come nekkid and faceless. But with some thinking it was easy to figure out why and when I thought about the customizability of these dolls it made more sense. I thought these were like barbie (literally) I thought they were 8" tall with the hair sewn into their heads. When I found out you could change their faces, their hair, their everything it suddenly became a lot more clear why they are so expensive. Plus every site I have been too has clearly stated that the doll comes without the face up and wig. So I know what I am getting.

However I do rather dislike the ones that say "You get random eyes and a random wig". You see this gorgeous wig and amazing eyes and most people seem to get plastic and fur when they arrive. Its not to say they shouldnt put up pictures with the glass eyes and amazing wig, because that really does show what the sculpt can do. But to be fair they should put up alternative photos of what you are getting if they are including those items. If the doll comes with eyes then show me the eyes it comes with not just the pretty sparkly eyes on the site. It would be like going to a car dealership and ordering a car and then in the contract it says "the car you are getting is actually blue and not the red one we showed you today". Well show me the pictures of the blue, I do love seeing the red and seeing the cars potential, by all means show me the red, but please let me see the blue I am getting as well.

5) Do you think it would help to have a standard format of photos that would be shown by companies in addition to their pretty advertising photos - for example, pictures of unfaceupped heads taken from the front and side; body comparison photos showing unclothed bodies in a few established positions, like sitting and standing) or do you feel that enough companies already offer these?

Personally I feel like I want a compromise between the glamor and reality. Show me an empty, blank sculpt and I see nothing. I want some eyes popped in there so I can see the shape and what it will look like with eyes in. They dont have to be cheapy eyes and they dont have to be expensive I just want eyes. I do want to see it without a face up. Then I can see more of the structure. Slap on a generic fur wig that its going to come with so I can see how well wigs look in general. I do want to see the dolled up (excuse the pun) version of what I can achieve, but also give me a general look of what I am starting with so I know.


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I think the discord really comes between the newcomers and the veterans in this aspect. Newcomers dont completely understand the customizability aspect of these dolls and how different something as simple as a wig can make a single sculpt look. They are much more used to barbie, where what you see is what you get. But here what you see is the achievable and what you get is the base. Now since most companies carefully list that you dont get the nifty outfit or make up I can live with that (though a few seem to like to hide it at the bottom of a ton of huge pictures when the order form is at the top....) But when I was look at DOD I thought the price was everything and I thought the dolls looked just like that. I did some research though and came here and saw my first eyeless, bald, nekkid doll and realized it was way different from what I thought. I realized it was better, but to someone who just got a nekkid doll with a fur wig and cheap eyes, when the one on the site shows a beautiful heat resistant long haired wig and glass eyes, its not so great a feeling.


I do feel educating yourself should be part of the consumers job. Should it have to be that way? No. In an ideal world they would show you the good, the bad and the ugly. But this isnt an ideal world and if you want to save your money instead of wasting it you do have to research. I research everything before I buy. MP3, laptop, car etc and in the end its going to save you.

 

I'm not filling out the form of questions because a lot of the questions simply don't apply to me or my situation, because I actually have the opposite problem, I tend to dislike the company photos more then the real doll when i see it in person or in other people's shots here. Perhaps it might just be something about the manner of photography that just makes them LESS applealing to me over the real face to face incounter...

 

4) Do you feel that misleading photographs are a serious problem, or do you feel that companies aren't to be blamed for wanting to make their product look good ? Or, alternatively, do you think that there are plenty of other places to see different photographs of a doll (or even the doll in person at conventions, meetups and so forth) and therefore buyers should simply educate themselves more before they buy? Other thoughts?

Serious problem? no way. A little misleading? definately.
its all about marketing. in EVERY industry, its all about making your product perfect and appealing to the audience.
I think of this topic and I think of vogue, and all those magazine ads for make up, clothing and fashion.
Just because you have the product, doesn't mean you'll look like them.
That being said, professional doll photos are somewhat too misleading, sometimes.
They ramp up the makeup, (in some cases they give them much more than the standard faceup) make the wig more perfect than most people can attempt, and lets not forget the digital editing. (do NOT argue that)
they are professionals, and their photos represent the ultimate capability of doll customization, not the standard.
Educate yourselves, yeah. or you'll just be let down. incredibly.

 

I just get annoyed when the company puts up beautiful photos of artfully tilted heads and then owner pics show up very obvious asymmetries in eye placement (e.g. souldoll Gisele, leeke-D sweet), mouth line, hell, even nostril alignment (the new nobilitydoll Raon - or is that just me? at least it's not disguised, although how they would have done that anyway is a mystery - ps excluded, obviously)

i think after looking at photos of gisele on the company site and comparing them to owner pics, i just felt such a strong annoyance (which is why i'm ranting here on a dead thread rather than looking for more dollielove) - I would have bought her otherwise.


In other matters, I definitely think blank sculpt pics from front and profile should be standardised, with or without eyes, although usually they will give them to you if you ask specifically.

For the body I'd like to see standard poses, standing and sitting front on, from the side, and the back - and then the achievable limits of their posing ability, so we can actually compare different body moulds.

Examples by the company in different wigs and clothing, different lighting and positions would be nice, but not a strict necessity.


anyway, for a person like me for which major asymmetry (of naturally symmetrical features - eyes, nose, mouth, ears, not talking about scars or winking eyes or slight asymmetries, as they're normal in humans as well, not looking for absolute perfection) is a constant source of irritation ( i just want to glare it into place, you know? aarghh), blank, front on, non-tilted head sculpt pics are a must. I'm sure many people don't mind these little quirks, but for the people who do... i find that after i find a something a little out of place, i keep looking for it and can't appreciate the doll as a whole anymore..

*siiigh* that made me feel a little better.

 

I completely agree with you kawaiikitsunekoko.
I was one of those people that was really bugged by the Leeke-D Sweet. I ended up just reselling my doll because I couldn't stand how her facial features were "drifting" off her face... LOL
Companies really do need to show photos of their doll bald, naked, and without faceup. That is, in addition, of course, to the usual "glamour" photos. I will be sure to provide lots of "real" pics of my dolls once I am finished making them.

 

To be honest,
with some sculpts, it's almost impossible to capture their flaws..
or how they are in real.
Like my half elf,
inreal...half elfs have puffy fatty faces.
Which wasn't at all what i wanted, but it's simply unpossible to capture on pictures.
[nothing a little sanding wont fix right =3=]


How ever,
i myself had this with Souldoll..
they put on faceups so thick these days... you aren't able to see the faces under it..
even if you are a faceup artist and can usually see trough faceups.
Now i know My ss Ize was completely lopsided.[even his teeth sorta resin thing in his mouth was uneven]
And from commissions on other molds by them, i know some of their dolls even have completely different eye shapes and their faces go towards one side...

And you simply won't see that on their company pictures,
unless you really look for it.

And so, i also agree that companies should post pictures of dolls without faceup.
And without all the fancy decorations and outfits to distract you..
But who knows how they will hide the mistakes then.
I think we just need a well organized no faceup head picture database if we want honest pictures,
so you can check.


But then still,
i myself... think it's wise to look for owner pictures before you buy a doll.
Or ask for pictures without faceup, which most companies have.
Even if they are not on the website.

Ps:
kawaiikitsunekoko:
I can promise you, some of the souldolls ive had in my hands...
are seriously so uneven... i made a thread to warn people about the misleading photography on SoulDoll.

 

Being a noob I can't really say much, but anyway... I'm really glad for owner pics which together with company photos make up for most which is going to be the actual product. My only concern (when considering bying a doll) is then with limiteds for which no owner photos exist. Luckily (at least) Soom has those non-phoshopped versions available and enough angels so I could make up that the sculpts haven't been what I've wanted.

What I have most difficulties with is trying to squint and imagine what the sculpt would look with a different face up (not having done any face ups myself). A blank head would greatly help with this as I could try all different things on it with PS.

 

1) Do you feel that some companies mislead, exaggerate, or confuse through their use of photos in advertising their dolls?
Yes, some moreso than others. The one that comes to mind first is SOOM. SOOM monthlies are some of the most photoshoped images I've ever seen, and all owner photos (even the one's owned by extremely talented photographers here) never hold up to how it appears on their site. Of course I understand trying to show the very best qualities of their product, I have yet to consider a single doll I haven't seen owner pics of, save my first doll.

2) Have you ever received a doll that you felt was not as shown in its photographs (aside from resin color or obvious defects like breakage)? What feature(s) was/ were misrepresented?
Not yet, and hopefully never. I'm going more by owner pics and reviews here on DoA than I am by company shots for a reason.

3) If you answered "yes" to (2), did you tell the doll company and were you satisfied with the response?
N/A

4) Do you feel that misleading photographs are a serious problem, or do you feel that companies aren't to be blamed for wanting to make their product look good ? Or, alternatively, do you think that there are plenty of other places to see different photographs of a doll (or even the doll in person at conventions, meetups and so forth) and therefore buyers should simply educate themselves more before they buy? Other thoughts?
I already more or less answered this, but yes to both. For the amount of money we are spending on these things, I want to see my product from every angle, blank, and styled up in multible ways. The only 2 companies I can think of that get close to this is Dollzone and Ringdoll, whom both release multible and greatly varied fullsets for many of their sculpts.

However, having a place like DoA to turn to has greatly helped me in deciding my future doll purchases, especially since getting to a meet isn't exactly a regular thing for anyone, and the dolls you're interested in aren't going to neccesarily be there. It only takes a quick search to find owner pics of a sculpt you want to see more of, and it's even possilbe to chat with owners on just about everything about them.

5) Do you think it would help to have a standard format of photos that would be shown by companies in addition to their pretty advertising photos - for example, pictures of unfaceupped heads taken from the front and side; body comparison photos showing unclothed bodies in a few established positions, like sitting and standing) or do you feel that enough companies already offer these?
EVERY company should offer these, somewhere. Even if you have to dig through the parts sections, most have them, but too many companies still lack this, and it would really be of help to their bussiness if they did.

 

I really like Dollstown's web photos. The face ups are minimal and he includes unpainted heads and nude bodies with lighting that punctuates the details. I don't own these dolls but I have seen them in person and I have looked at owner picts and the web site's presentation is very fair.

With that said I would add that I don't think sites mislead by doing up a doll in dresses and wigs etc... They are showing the possibilities. When I purchased my first doll I was not spending much time on DOA and I was still able to figure out that ShuShu came with nothing but one pair of glass eyes. Before dropping that kind of money I read everything on the screen. There is not that much fine print.

However I do think it is lame when a doll looks NOTHING like the company photos! I can think of one company who I have yet to see an owner picture look like their sales pictures.

 

I've really only come across one company that seems to have misleading photos. The dolls always look so smooth and pefect in every way (resin, face up, hair, eyes outfit) but in person the dolls were very different (resin was uneven, face up not as nice etc). (I wont name the company as they may have changed over the years)

However most often I'm pleasantly surprised. Volks dolls always look better in person in my opinion. There's nothing wrong with the photos but I'm always surprised at how much better they look in person. Same with my Ndoll Yeon, the photos were fine but in person the face up is just beautiful!

 

1) Do you feel that some companies mislead, exaggerate, or confuse through their use of photos in advertising their dolls?

I do think they are misleading, to some extent. Especially to those unfamiliar with photography, and computer image technology (like myself!)

2) Have you ever received a doll that you felt was not as shown in its photographs (aside from resin color or obvious defects like breakage)? What feature(s) was/ were misrepresented?


Unfourtunately I can't answer this, since I havent recieved my boy yet, but I've seen quite a few posts around DOA about it.

4) Do you feel that misleading photographs are a serious problem, or do you feel that companies aren't to be blamed for wanting to make their product look good ? Or, alternatively, do you think that there are plenty of other places to see different photographs of a doll (or even the doll in person at conventions, meetups and so forth) and therefore buyers should simply educate themselves more before they buy? Other thoughts?

They are, and they arn't. Companies cant really be blamed because yes, they are trying to sell a product, and if they showed every single flaw, they wouldn't sell. And, since it's a product more for aesthetics then function, they can't really predict how their consumers will view the product. So they put out what they think will give the best reception. (All I could think of in comparison to this was car commercials. Yes, they drive great, and have this warranty, but they dont show you what they look like after years of use, or the bill after everything starts falling apart, do they?)
As for seeing other doll photos, no, I don't think there are enough. Unless you're a member on a doll forum or community that has a gallery/database, or the doll sculpt is extremely popular, good luck finding anything. Meet-ups may or may not help, as no one at the meetup may even have the doll you're considering!

For example, I recently purchased a MNF El head in a split on impulse, because it was the smaller version of the delf el by luts. However! while waiting for it to arrive, I've been looking around for pictures, since I've found the mini ones do differ, and have come up with little for my efforts. When searching google, most of what came up were the company pictures. And since faceups can dramatically change how a doll appears, (as I learned by surfing DOA) so sometimes it doesnt even look like the same doll!

5) Do you think it would help to have a standard format of photos that would be shown by companies in addition to their pretty advertising photos - for example, pictures of unfaceupped heads taken from the front and side; body comparison photos showing unclothed bodies in a few established positions, like sitting and standing) or do you feel that enough companies already offer these?

I think if anything, companies should show some owner pictures along side their company photos. While this might turn people off, it might also show them different sides to the doll, ones they hadnt even considered. For me, the company photos of mnf els make them look squish faced, but the few owner pics I've seen make them look less so

 

Angel of Dream is clearly misleading customers if you'll read this thread: http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?t=338271

 

1) Do you feel that some companies mislead, exaggerate, or confuse through their use of photos in advertising their dolls?
Absolutely! althought theyy do warn that the actual product will look different from the photos. At least in the case of AOD, when i saw the ZiYuan face-up i thought it was cute, so i ordered a face up, the result was not as i expected and she looked more like a chicken, with thick lashes. One face-up later and she looks much better ^^

2) Have you ever received a doll that you felt was not as shown in its photographs (aside from resin color or obvious defects like breakage)? What feature(s) was/ were misrepresented?

Yes


4) Do you feel that misleading photographs are a serious problem, or do you feel that companies aren't to be blamed for wanting to make their product look good ? Or, alternatively, do you think that there are plenty of other places to see different photographs of a doll (or even the doll in person at conventions, meetups and so forth) and therefore buyers should simply educate themselves more before they buy? Other thoughts?

Well photoshop can be good, and in the case of buying stuff, it can be evil. It can ceate face-up effects and modifications which lead you to believe that a doll will look a certain way. As for the wigs and eyes, i also hate that. My ZiYuan arrived with quite a hideous red and white mohair wig, ever since then i make sure i buy a wig when i order the doll, so when they send it with a face-up the wig matches the face. For example, DragonDoll are brilliant , they give you an option of 3 face-ups and you choose which one you like. My Ming sculpt arrived a few days ago, looking exactly like the photos.




IN GENERAL:

educated yourself in dolly lingo. A doll will always look different everytime. Fae-ups are handmade, and god knows how many artists there are per-company doing them. So techniques will be different and results will be different. Thing to remember is: a doll is versatile! you can change her looks!

 

As in all things, personal responsibility is key. Take charge and do your research. I went through many, many owner pictures before I decided on my first SD-sized doll.

 

Yup, research is key. I've seen a lot of dolls I like but few that I have really taken to. Souldoll Gisele is one of them, although I can't quite decide if the asymmetrical eye-line bothers me (something that isn't apparent in the promo photos as many of us know). More recently however, I've noticed that there are a lot of slightly angled shots of faces and (many) attempts to hide knee joints. It's really annoying looking at a doll and having to search out pictures of the joints in question. I thought the Impldolls looked great but can't stand the giant bulbs breaking the silhouette (that are usually covered by clothes). Concerning face sculpts, I'd like to see more photos of blank heads on manufacturer websites but they don't look as pretty so that's probably why I don't see them as often (what with all that face-up and hair in the way ). Anyways, that's my little rant but I don't think companies try to mislead customers too much.

 

1) Do you feel that some companies mislead, exaggerate, or confuse through their use of photos in advertising their dolls?
Hmmm, they photoshop their dolls quite a bit. I try to look at user galleries before I purchase, but it's really hard to do if they are limiteds. X_X;
Although my peeve is when the wigs or eyes don't look like how they are shown on the pictures. Although I kind of expect a wig not to look exactly the same due to the fact that hair moves.

But with Souldoll eyes I received recently. I feel I paid for eyes that don't look the same as the pictures.
I paid $39.10 with shipping for these eyes and they look pixelated and grainy. The pixelation is not from my camera.
Anyhow, I am still waiting for souldoll's reply. Hopefully these are just defective and this is not really how they look.
Honestly, I rather have the high quality interesting looking eye that I paid for, than my money back.

Link:
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj312/ruku_cat/eyes1/Eyes.jpg

Update: So good news. Turns out that they were really pixalated and were defective. Well I am happy, hopefully the eyes I get look similar to the picture.

 

I think it would be helpful if you could see all dolls from the front, side and naked full body front and back. They can still show the doll in all it's beautiful glory with the flattering wig and clothes on the other photos, but I feel like they should include the other four shots as standard practice.
It's good that we have resources like DOA to really research dolls though, because no one can show of their doll like the owner, and they are usually really nice about getting you extra shot of parts of any doll you have questions about and great about answering weird questions. Am I right!?

 

I think most photos would make the doll look better. It's all part of marketing. Both my dolls don't actually look like the way they seemed in the photos, but you can't say it's misrepresentation because the features are all correct -- it's just the overall feel that's different due to the angles/poses/lighting/colour contrast in the photos.
One thing I wasn't particularly pleased about was that the default eyes for my second doll looked way too different -- they had purple pupils instead of black. In the photos, the colour contrast had been tweaked so that the pupils look black. I really don't like the 'half blind' look so I have to hunt around for new eyes...
But I didn't write to the company about it because it's just not worth the hassle to argue about a cheap pair of eyes.

EDIT: Oh, and I wish all companies have photos of how far the joints can bend, and of the doll standing on its own. As well as easily accessible body measurements.

 

As a newbie saving up for her first doll, I think that the company pictures are sometimes misleading. The doll may look absolutely gorgeous in the company pics but they may not look as good in owner pics. It makes choosing really hard. T_T Maybe the companies should post pictures of the doll in different styles to suit other doll owner's interests, say the doll head as a girl and boy, or with a natural and gothic faceup perhaps?

 

I already contributed here before, but I'd just like to say that while it's nice of a company to photograph the doll in many styles, what would really work well is just a nice, clear and large photo of the doll's head blank, from the front and side.