Photos that turn into good figures, and photos that don't

When a figure "doesn't look like them", the cause is almost always the source photo. You don't need special equipment — there are only four things to get right.

1. Light on the face

This matters more than anything else. Backlighting crushes the face into shadow, and the shape of the eyes and nose simply isn't in the file any more.

• Good: near a window, facing the light, natural light on the face
• Avoid: backlight, harsh overhead light (it puts heavy shadows under the eyes)

Outdoors on an overcast day is excellent — the light wraps softly around the face.

2. The face needs to be reasonably large in frame

It does not have to be a full-body shot. If the face is clearly visible, we can build a full-body figure. What doesn't work is a group photo taken from a distance: there simply aren't enough pixels in the face, so details become guesswork.

As a rule of thumb, the face should be about the size of your thumbnail within the frame.

3. Front to about 45 degrees

Pure profile or a shot from below doesn't carry enough information to reconstruct in three dimensions. It doesn't need to be as formal as a passport photo — just pick one where they're looking towards the camera.

4. Nothing covering the features

• Masks, sunglasses, a fringe falling heavily across the face
• Poses where a hand covers part of the face

Anything hidden has to be filled in by inference. Glasses are the exception — keep them on, they're part of how someone looks.

About clothing

The face isn't the only thing that decides whether a figure reads as "them". Clothes they actually wear help a lot. The hoodie they live in often reads as more like them than a suit they've worn once.

If you can't decide

Previews are free at FigMee, so if you have several candidates, the surest approach is to try them all. It takes under a minute to compare.