Doll marketing photography: Do Companies Confuse or Mislead?

Totally agree with this. I like to do my own faceups so seeing the blank head is more important to me than seeing the pretty, made-up, end product.

All companies sell blank heads after all, so we should be able to see what we're buying.

 

With iplehouse, I'm finding that their pictures don't always do them justice for their basic lines. But in general, most companies are always trying to sell their products by making them so awesome in some way, but how long it lasts depends on how well their product lives up to the image. Alot of it can simply be the wig, clothing, and/or face-up that makes or breaks it.

 

I agree with what most everyone has already said, that you have to look at the pictures knowing they're trying to make the doll look good. You have to look at pictures other people have taken of them before hand, I even looked at the plain head on the site so I could see the exact eye and mouth shapes. Whats weird with me is that my doll looked completely different than the pictures on the site, but I was pleasantly surprised. The promo pics showed her with a very light face up, using pinks above her eyes and blondish eyebrows, making her look very soft. When I actually got her, she had a pretty silver eyeshadow and her face was much more expressive than they made it seem. I think it all depends on the company and who the photographer is on whether the doll looks better or worse in the company pictures

 

*nods* it's the same thing in the resin model horse hobby. Some only display the resin for sale with gorgeous professional paint jobs, some show the painted horse plus some straightforward profile and close-up shots of the unpainted body, some just show the unpainted.

I've always felt the best about option 2, because it lets you see both the plain sculpt and some potential looks for it, which can add a lot to your interest and excitement about owning one. I think that's the most honest approach to selling dolls as well: as gorgeous as some company websites' finished doll photos are, I don't always feel they give you a good idea of what the sculpt looks like. And at these prices, you really do need to know what you're getting, ne?

But on the most part, I don't think the companies intend any dishonesty: as has been said already, of course they want the doll to look beautiful and impressive, and it's our job to understand that and try to get a balanced perspective. Tho admittedly that isn't always easy.

 

The purpose of doll pictures is to seduce the customers (us) into buying the product. Of course the dolls are pictured as ethereal and perfect. It's called advertising. The companies I have bought from have been scrupulously honest in specifying what is included in the fullset or not.

My only disappointment and feeling deceived has been with fit, finish, and material used for some dollly clothing. Poorly fitting, badly constructed clothing is never seen on photo dolls or human fashion models either. Sometimes a wig seems to be specially styled and far superior to the one received.

My dolls (especially one in particular) demand to be customized and upgraded. That's part of the fun of the hobby.

 

Like many have said before, I think the dolls are presented in the best possible angles and light by the company--like any product, but I do wish the companies would also give 'industrial' photos of the doll without wigs or faceup or clothes--and from all angles. This seems especially important since we're spending a LOT of money on something we've never seen in person or held in our hands, and is impractical to impossible to return.

I usually try to look at the companies wig or clothing photos, if they're using their dolls to model them, to see the doll from different angles. But, I think most experienced collectors will seek out owner photos here or on Flickr, before they fork over hard earned cash for a doll.

 

I find that the companies that only picture the doll from one angle - direct front with the head tilted slightly different in all images, left side only and variations of the left side, etc... are the ones I don't tend to recognize when I see them in person or the gallery later.

Example: DOD Kalix. He's a gorgeous doll and I've wanted him since I laid eyes on him, but owner pictures made me think twice. Not that I think there's anything wrong with him, he just doesn't have the same overall appearance I gleaned from his promotional pictures. His eyes look very different from alternate angles than the ones pictured. His mouth as well.

It always worries me when I can't see a doll before ordering (from the company) from DOA owners (like in the case of limiteds) or from several different angles before ordering. I have been disappointed in the past but I was fortunate enough that the doll in question was in high demand and I didn't have to "settle" for her. Plus, I know her owner now simply adores her. ^_^

 

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

Absolutely. Now that I've been in the hobby for a few years I can see it. Comparing user pics and promo pics, I can say, "Aha, they've disguised undesirable feature X using trick Y."

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. My first doll (I'm not going to be shy and admit it was AR Dana) has HUGE glaring eyes, which was not apparent from the promo pics (they have since changed promo pics and I think the new ones are more accurate). After ordering him I heard about the importance of looking up user pics, and when I looked them up my heart sank. There is no way I would have ordered him if I had known about the eyes.

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

I have never contacted a company about this sort of thing. It's never been quite big enough of a difference to have a case for fraud, just big enough to be annoying and have there be nothing I can do about it, which is worse!

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?

Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. It's just the first time that I'd like to avoid! There is no way to expect a newbie to know about all the little tricks used in photographing dolls. Which brings us to the next point--

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?

Yes. What I would especially like is a picture of the default faceup in natural lighting from a straight-on angle, with maybe the default eyes and no wig.

 

i have had 2 dolls from 2 separate companies that did not live up to photos...i bought a resinsoul dai and was extremely dissatisfied with the default face up i got...so off it came and she now looks a better doll after doing the face up myself....it was not too much of an issue because RS don't charge a lot for faceups...my second doll was an Asleep Eidolon COL....now i bought this girl on the strength of her face...the company pics were gorgeous! but when i got her through she did not look like the innocent little girl i had fell in love with, which was really annoying as i paid 315.00 euros for her....she currently has no face and is waiting to go off to a faceup artist to capture that innocence i wanted....i did research other pics of COL but only found company pics because she was a pretty new doll...

so yes i do think companies mislead photograph wise

 

It would be great if the company together with promotional photos, show a more realistic picture. But this is fantastic

 

unfortunately i have had a some what bad experience with DollZone when it comes to miss representing their product.

I bought a DZ Reiko and going by what i saw in the company pics i was expecting a pouty rose colored lip and light almost grayish brow. but what i got was a barley filled in barley glossed lip and a red-ish brown brow.

You really don't think something as small as that is going to matter so much but they really do. Especially if the character is depending on these features!

And it is never a good shopping experience when you spend $50 on a face up and it is not exactly what you were expecting.

i think it is sad that you have to look up on flicker and here on DOA to find out what a doll is really going to look like.

i haven't contacted DDE about the face-up yet but to be honest i am not sure that the hassle and wait will be worth it. especially IF when i get her back a second time she is still not what i want.

 

i just got the DZ Reiko as well. i was also disappointed with her. her face-up was really different that what was in the pictures! it is really frustrating because i liked the doll in the pictures but thats not the one i got! i also thought that the resin color was a little off from what i was expecting! she is waaaaay more yellow than i thought she was going to be and i got the white resin! i am really sad because she is my first dollzone and now i don't know if i want to buy from them again!

 

I'm sorry if I'm repeating what someone else has said here - for some reason I can't see some of the posts!

I wonder if most of these glamourised promo shots are the manufacturers' way of showing the potential of a doll rather than being deliberately misleading? You know, "Pocket Rocket Dolls are sooo stunning they can look this good...but you'll have to buy the right wig, eyes and outfit!" A lot of owner photos on here are awesome and outdo the actual promos which couldn't happen unless the dolls were as good as the company claim, could it?
Don't get me wrong, I can see why people are upset at some company promos, and in those cases where the doll is painted in totally different colours to the ones requested and paid for or has a different tone of resin or has actual defects I absolutely fully agree that people have been misled and the company should take responsibility but there are some cases where the owner just has to use common sense. These dolls are not like Barbie where she already comes as "Ice Princess Barbie" down to her last eyelash and the only effort required to get the look is walking to the counter of Toys R Us. A BJD in the bedroom light of 47 Average Street, just out of the box with no wig and different eyes to the, probably, top of the range promo ones is just not going to look as stunning as the same doll under studio lights with her Rapunzel hair, her Versace standard dress on and the company's equivalent of David Bailey behind the camera, and probably won't ever unless you buy some serious quality stuff for her. I'm not making a point without some experience behind me, this happened to me with a girl from one of the big bjd companies, I expected her to look as beautiful as she does in her promo shots (basic) but she looked washed out and a little bland when she arrived (well she was naked and tiny looking and her face was so pale coloured). I gave her a chance and persevered and now with some good quality stuff, she looks exactly as the company promised she could in their promos, stunning, and I wouldn't part with her for any amount of money, and I now feel bad for my kneejerk reaction and ever doubting the company.

Also, there is perspective to consider, when you view a face-up/sculpt closely on screen the head is shown big and bold and almost human sized on the monitor so it's easy to appreciate the beauty but when the doll arrives those magnificent features are condensed onto something the size of a tennis ball and you have to really scrutinize the face to get the same effect so it's not surprising some people feel underwhelmed but that's not because they have been misled by the company.

 

I think all companies - dolls or otherwise - have misleading photographs to some extent. Just think of all those holiday companies showing bright, clear oceans and impossibly blue skies. It's standard practice for advertising.

Having said that though, with more permanent purchases like dolls it should be really important to have clear, accurate photographs, especially of the faces. Blank head shots should be standard as well, even if the doll company doesn't sell it as a separate blank head. Faceups often wind up being redone at some point, and it's important to know that what attracted you to the doll wasn't the fantastic professional faceup, but the shape of the face itself.

Some of the companies clearly use far too many photoshop effects over their photos, softening or brightening or darkening them to the extent that you can hardly see the doll properly! I don't mind companies having the over-edited, impossibly perfect photos but it would be really nice to see plainer ones as well, and at a variety of different angles. I understand the companies take a lot of pride in their work and want to showcase the dolls at their very best, but realistically the dolls aren't always going to be at their very best with their owners, so it's useful for a potential buyer to know what they're letting themselves in for before they drop a lot of money on a doll.

 

I understand that all types of companies use tactics like this (When was the last time a McDonald's burger actually looked like the menu pictures...) and because of it I advocate lots of research. I had my heart set on an AoD Rao based solely on the company photos. After looking at DoA members' pictures I realized that while very pretty, Rao was not the sculpt I was looking for.

I know it can be hard to resist the impulse to get that doll that looks so beautiful on the company's site, but holding off a few minutes while you come here to look for owner pictures can help a lot.

A little education goes a long way, especially if you're new to the hobby. I'm so grateful that my friends told me that it was important to sign up for a forum like DoA, because otherwise I'd have already jumped in and gotten somethng I wouldn't be happy with later on.

 

Five years ago I bought a volks dollfie plus, I knew that her face mold was uglier compared to a proper resin bjd, but when I received her I was very disappointed. The holes of her eyes in real were HUGE , it looked like someone ripped off the eyelids °_°' scary...

at that time I didn't found photos of the same doll made by owners... but I knew resin dolls that volks made looked good, so I thought : if is made the same company, maybe the "cutness" is really close to the promo pics!
Y_Y ....At list it was a really cheap doll!

 

You're not talking about DR's Wu Hen are you? I his eyes and I'd consider him but that bizzare nose would have to sanded!

I think back in the day before owner pics all over the internet and dollmeets it was a problem, these days you're just a few clicks away from non-promo shots of most sculpts. I salute those brave souls who buy things as soon as their released!

I just wish companies would do the following 3 things: Have more pics. Show bodies at their most posable (I won't take a chance on a body if I just see it standing around) and show head sculpts without makeup.

I have to say it works both ways, however. There are sculpts I wouldnt have looked twice at on a company's website but seriously impress me in ownerpics. Also, a lot of smaller shops and ebay shops dont do their products justice with dodgy photos. :cough: Mimi Woo :cough:

 

Blue Fairy stands out as a very wonderful new site that shows of their dolls perfectly in my opinion.

Why do I say this? Blue Fairy Provides:

Clear head on and profile portraits of their dolls.

Well lit pictures of all their heads with no face ups.

A side by side comparison of a mold as both a boy and a girl.

All face-ups are very clean and simple. They bring out the features but they don't obstruct them.

The lighting on the site is clean and even. It does not hide the features.

These dolls are so cute! I have noticed that when I see owner pictures they LOOK like the doll on the site. I don't see any surprises I wish all the sites would have such great product shots.

 

I have a bit of a problem with Soom because of their photographing style. The like to intensify the lightness of the skin and it makes it incredibly hard to tell what the face-sculpt actually looks like. Occasionally the post non-photoshopped pictures, but not always. The fact that this is mostly a problem with their monthly dolls means that I can't just ask for an owner's picture. By the time I could find one, they would have long since sold out!

These photos can be very misleading and regardless of how 'artistic' they may be, I feel that they blatantly disguise the features of the dolls. I do love their work and often find that I like the owner pictures more than the company photos, but what If I bought their $1200 doll and I didn't end up liking it?
I enjoy the effort they put into the photography, but I really wish that they had un-edited pictures available for them before the dolls were discontinued.