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The trap in judging a doll from the official picture?

Jul 31, 2010

    1. The biggest difficulty for me with official photos is to determine the scale of the doll and how it will look with my other dolls. I like to take photos of my dolls together and if a doll is all alone in a photo, I just don't get a good idea of the size. I've been surprised lately by the head size of two of the dolls I bought. For one of them, she wears the same size wig (7/8) as my other MSD-sized girl so I assumed that they would look nice together. When the new one arrived, I found that she has a little bitty face with small features, but her head has a big round dome requiring a (7/8) wig. I love her and am keeping her, but none of the owner photos I saw of her (only two) revealed this about her.
       
    2. The doll I am waiting for (almost here, almost here!) was one that I thought was vaguely interesting when I browsed the company site, but really came to life when I saw a couple of owner pictures (not many here yet, but what I saw took the level from Hmm to Wow!) Ultimately, even the website's clothing pictures gave me new and different impressions of the doll than the pictures of the sculpt.

      These days, I try to look at as many pictures (owner & company, face ups and blanks) as I can, and try to construct from that how I would see the doll if I were to own it (not exactly the easiest of tasks, but it works for me). I find the exercise helpful in determining if I want to get a doll in the future. It's cool even just to see the love and care owners have for their dolls, and can add some extra perspective.
       
    3. I had a bit of the opposite thing happen. I ordered a Soom Galena head and when one of the nice people on the waiting room thread posted pictures of the sample doll at the Soom store I was worried. The face-up made her nose look like a total honker. When I got her home and faced her up myself I did it quite differently and she doesn't look as harsh as she does in the company default-she's actually got quite a soft and tender look to her. Whew, was I relieved!
       
    4. Agreeing with this... especially if it's a limited sculpt. I have been "burned" by unrealistic expectations with one of my dolls. It was a new sculpt, so no owner pics were available. The company photos weren't photoshopped, but they were very strategic angles and lighting that camouflaged some of the aspects of the sculpt. I eventually modded my doll because I was unhappy with a couple of those features. Now, I love her... but when she arrived I'll admit I was disappointed.

      So agreeing with this. I can't count the number of times I've seen a Volks sculpt in person for the first time and said "Oooh... he/she is actually really pretty!" For years I thought I wasn't really a Volks fan, until I saw some of their dolls in person. Their photos can be very unflattering sometimes. Now there are definitely a few Volks sculpts I wouldn't mind snagging if I could. ;)
       
    5. I can usually see sculpts clearly even in bad company photos. I did it with the first release of Volks Cecil with his old style face-up and blue foo foo outfit. I saw his potential right away. I can tell if it's a doll for me with or without a new faceup or without some small modifications to make it even better for what I need. Like Soom Corvi, right away I saw the doll I needed even though I didn't like his default face and he needed serious rhinoplasty to be my Ashly.

      What does surprise me is when I am very meh about a sculpt and someone pulls something fabulous out of it. I think that's a further sign that the doll was not for me but totally perfect for someone else. It's see it as a good sign to see the diamond in the rough and know how you can cut it and make it shine.
       
    6. You should always look for more pictures, with diferent angles, face ups and wigs. It doesn't seem like it so much, but they count SO much!
      If possible, you should look for a blank head ^^
       
    7. I'm big into looking at owner pics, but sometimes they can make a pretty/cute doll look ugly. my sister and I saw Resinsoul Ni pics and thought she was quite ugly. but while on vacation in Colorado we went to Denver doll and saw her in person. she was so cute we bought her then and there. I've also bought two dolls after only seeing the company pics and love them.
       
    8. Lots of people are saying to look at owner pics, and I have to agree. Pics from the actual doll company tend to showcase the doll's aesthetic beauty including the wig and eyes it has on. I know that though Dollmore includes two different pics of the same doll, it doesn't exactly show everything. Site pics are to get you to buy the doll. I don't think they care if you like them once you receive them.

      Owner pics aren't about looking pretty. Especially the box-opening pics. I love looking at those, but those pics are a sure fire way of getting to see a doll in all it's un-glory. No wig, maybe no eyes... most likely no face on, too.

      I've been looking into getting a Dollmore Flocke, and I've been looking around for owner pics. Not many, but there are enough to make me still want her. Gonna ask them to use the eyes and hair she has in the website pics as her default because she's cute that way. I know, I'm doing some sort of Doll 'faux-pas' by liking the wig and eyes she has, but can you blame me?
       
    9. oh man lol I was in a similar position. I had two first dolls that I settled on but sold them, even though i liked them at first. The next two dolls (SDs) I actually didn't like at first until I saw their potential, and now I own those two and loved them XD from then on I try to look at potentials, though promo pics do help. When I fall in love with a sculpt I research and try to find owner pics or different looks for it so to get a better judgment, but sometimes you'd have to take a risk when there's not much visual to offer. Granted most of the time I get them blank cause I'll paint them myself, but it does help and inspire me if I see others. Unless there's something about them already that I just click with.
       
    10. I always look through the BJD Database for any that seem like they might spark my interest. On the contrary, there are some that I love on the website but can't quite find another picture of the doll that looks better. That might just be me though. (I'm sort of picky about my dolls)
       
    11. Honestly I hardly ever glance at the official pictures.;;; I don't bother going to most company sites at all. I just hang around here on DoA and look up a doll when I see a great owner pic. I would never be one of the first people to buy a sculpt. They just don't show ANYTHING on company sites. It's always like 12 pictures of the exact same angle or pose. It's a really weird way to sell something, IMO.
       
    12. I wanted to say "hear hear" because that's how I feel... but I think there are two distinct kinds of people. Neither is "wrong" in the way they collect, but they are looking for completely different things out of a doll.

      The first group, which I belong to and I'm guessing you do, are looking for "potential" and ways to make the dolls our own. The second group are looking for a particular finished look, and want fullsets or factory or recognised name faceups and Dollheart or other brand-name clothes, the equivalent of buying a complete porcelain doll only a bit more posable for photographs. The second group is way more likely to be upset if the doll they receive doesn't look exactly like the company pictures, I think. If you look at the various threads for people who hate or are disappointed with their dolls on arrival, over and over it's people who bought fullsets and factory faceups and didn't receive a faceup or wig or whatever that looked exactly like the site pictures. (Don't get me wrong, often I think they are fully justified in being upset because they're not getting what they paid lots of money for.) They wouldn't look at a flawed doll and be charmed at her potential. And they wouldn't look at unflattering site pictures and be able to buy without being nervous.

      I just wish, as I have always wished, that sites would provide BLANK pictures, to save the problem of trying to look through faceups and photoshopping.
       
    13. Mmm... I have to see a doll blank before I know for sure I want to buy it. Sometimes face-ups 'hide' things from you, like uneven eyes, or an oddly shaped nose that can be hidden with blushing and things. And as for owner photos... I really don't want to see too many, because then you can be overly influenced to a certain 'style' of face-up. Or you get a doll that you just can't FIND any photos of! I bought a DollFamily Wind this year and I swear on his resin that I could not find ANY photos except the company ones!

      Thankfully they had a photo of the blank head for me to stare at and imagine my projected guy over, instead of staring at and being distracted by the face-up in the site's photos.

      And most sites state, that some details and things could be changed due to availability or individual artists working on it. So things like the 'perfect' face-up or whatever are prone to small changes in colour and design. Its easier for me now to just get it blank and make it perfect for me.
       
    14. best way to avoid it? If you're looking in a gallery or on a company site, and a doll grabs your attention, look for a bunch of owner pictures. that way you'll be able to see it in different levels of photography, different style faceups, clothing, wigs, etc, and you'll be able to get a good idea of what the doll is capable of. A lot of the time, even when there arent many pictures of a particular doll, or whats out there isnt particularly attractive even though you love the sculpt, you can still do really awesome things with it =]

      I really generally avoid this by poking through the gallery threads, looking at user pictures, and going to meets. Meets are the best, cause then you can really get to see the sculpt---but then you also realize how many sculpts are really awesome! XD
       
    15. I never liked any Volks doll, by just browsing the company's photo's, but I've been shocked several times by finding a doll I loved in person, and finding out it was a Volks. o0

      Sometimes a really great sculpt can be hidden by a face-up that just doesn't suit you, or a really bad photo. I like to see a photo of a sculpt blank, as well as with face-up (many if possible) to get a better idea of if I truly will enjoy that doll. If you can find meet-ups in your area, go to them, seeing a doll in person is probably the best thing you can do (althogh good owner pics are a second best). I like it when I sculpt I'm interested has at large amount of pictures in the database, then I can see how versatile a sculpt is!
       
    16. Bobobie is baaad for that, they really need to have somebody even amateur-professional click some pics of their dolls. DoA and DA have saved my opinions on so many of their dolls. I didn't like Long or Weylin until I saw them as dark elves (and I was starting to think I'd never like Weylin). XD
       
    17. I'm very picky about what dolls I like and dislike, and so I tend to do a lot of research before buying dolls to make sure that they are going to fit in with the parameters I need as I buy them to be very specific characters with specific feature sets. I have a really good eye for seeing beyond the faceup or picture quality, so I feel like I always have a good idea of what the doll is going to be like, but it always helps to see a variety of shots to help organize my thoughts.

      That being said, I have purchased dolls sight unseen, so to speak, by ordering a couple of FCS dolls right when they were released so no owner pictures existed and almost no Volks did either. The first, a F33, was beyond perfect and loved him right from the start. It's still my fave FCS head. The F38 I hated the second I took him out of the box and sold him a week later. It's not really a gamble I would like to take again since I have gotten more and more set in my ways with my doll collecting.

      Volks generally doesn't have the greatest default faceups or the fanciest photography, but I feel like you are never going to get less than what they show you on the site, unlike some companies that rely heavily on Photoshop and photography magic to make their less than stunning sculpts stand out.

      Michele is, and always will be, my favourite doll sculpt out of any doll sculpt. I took almost 5 years, but I did manage to finally get my own and he's been a joy to own. That nasty little scowl on his less than pretty face in his detective outfit when he was first released was all it took. My Michele, however, is all male and I just could never see the sculpt as a girl. He's got such a strong jaw and mean expression.
       
    18. I have bought and sold many a doll based on thinking it would be great from company photos, and then getting the doll in my hands to just feel the connection die. I have never kept a doll. Never really bonded with one yet.

      It's a bit easier for the other people who have replied in the thread to ignore asymmetries and make it theirs... My problem is that my imagination is more personality based. So I don't really have a good idea what my characters (who I am trying to represent in doll form) really look like. I just know what they don't! To me it's just easier if the doll looks the way I want it to right away. That's why I'm thinking about just getting default faceups right away from now on, and then sending it to a DOA customiser. It's kinda hard to rekindle the doll passion when it dies, so I think it's best to try and keep it burning until you can get the clothes, faceup, wig, eyes, etc. you want.

      I don't know. It's just frustrating to the point I almost want to leave the hobby. I've been in it for years and have yet to find the doll to bond and connect to. To really make it mine. And I find that the company pictures are really the most frustrating part of the hobby. Because I do find a lot of them misleading. They make the doll look one way, when in reality it looks completely different. And I have tried to customize dolls to make them look more like the company photos, only to have them still not look exactly like what I thought I was buying. Very frustrating.

      I find that owner photos have saved me from buying many, many dolls that I would not have liked when they arrived.
       
    19. I'm certain I am adversely influenced by company photos more often than not. The trend to obscure 40-70% of the doll's face and body with hair and shadows is very discouraging (sometimes it's infuriating, too). Unless the blank photos are tacked onto the end, I probably won't form enough positive feelings to seek further.

      Perhaps the old adage is true: You really don't get a second chance to make a good first impression.
       
    20. Volks definitely prefers to undersell and overdeliver in this respect. I can't fault them for that.

      Beats having official pictures flooded with bloom and clipped highlights that kill all detail IMO.