Photo guide for your perfect cardboard double

In the following section, you’ll find tips for creating your cardboard cutout image with a smartphone or DSLR camera, so MeinePappfigur can make the most lifelike and authentic doppelgänger of the person depicted.

Image composition

Camera angle

It often happens that a two-meter-tall father takes a photo of his 120 cm tall eight-year-old daughter from just 30 cm above her, using a wide-angle lens, and expects a doppelgänger to come from it. The following section will explain why this should absolutely be avoided.

The figure appears distorted, with the head looking too large and the feet too small because the camera was held too high.

The camera was held too low, causing the figure to appear squished.

The photo was taken from the center of the person: This creates the most natural-looking figure.

Rule of thumb: For the most natural doppelgänger, the camera should be positioned exactly at the center of the photographed person’s body.

Make full use of the camera’s frame

Whenever possible, use most of the frame to capture the person being photographed. This will significantly improve the final image quality of your doppelgänger. Typically, it’s best to photograph in portrait orientation.

Person (B) occupies only a small portion of the available frame (A). Here, over 50% of the potential pixels are wasted – the figure will not scale as well to life-size.

Here, the person (B) covers almost the entire frame (A). The scalability is optimal.

How do I check if my image is suitable?

The best way to assess the image quality is by zooming in on the subject – for example, on the face – until the section is displayed at life-size. This can be best judged on a large monitor.

Rule of thumb: What looks good on screen at life size will most likely also look good when printed at life size.

Zooming into the image reveals its blurriness. The image is unsuitable.

Zoom into the image: It looks crisp and sharp even up close. The quality of the final figure will be good.

General suggestions

Avoid depth of field

If you want a lifelike figure, you should completely avoid depth of field. It usually looks somewhat surreal, so it would only be suitable for your next art project at most.

Lighting: More is more

To get the most out of your camera (even a smartphone), you should always take photos in a well-lit area. If you don’t have a photo studio available, simply go outside. Make sure not to shoot directly into the sun (backlight) and avoid strong sunlight (side light). The best option is to take photos under slightly cloudy skies, with the face facing the sun to avoid harsh shadows on the face.

Rule of thumb: The more light, the less image noise and motion blur.

Avoid spread fingers

Your fingers are about 12-16 mm wide. Due to the technical required bleed of 2 mm around the edges, only 8-12 mm often remain after the figure is cut out. If your fingers are also distorted perspective-wise, the result will often make your fingers appear even thinner and might not even arrive in one piece.

After the contour cutting, there may not be much of the thumb left. The risk of breakage is also very high.

The fingers remain within the figure. This way, the thumb is protected.

Avoid spread arms and legs

To save costs, you should avoid large arm and leg movements. If in doubt, you can also take a few photos with different body poses. We will then check what fits each format – simply send an inquiry and include the images (preferably in a zip file).

The spread legs of the person increase the width of the image to 164 cm. The figure can only be made as an XXL figure in this case.

All extremities are relatively close together. Both people fit together on the “Classic Cardboard Stand.”

Camera recommendation

Photos with a smartphone

In principle, smartphone photos are suitable for your doppelgänger image, but the final result is usually worse than with a DSLR camera. A fairly typical result from smartphone cameras is a somewhat “scaly” appearance, with details easily becoming frayed.

In this case, it’s definitely a good idea to borrow a quality DSLR camera from a friend or acquaintance. It should also be noted that a modern smartphone can sometimes take much better photos than an older DSLR model.

If you decide to use a smartphone camera, make sure your phone camera has at least 8 megapixels. An additional advantage is that you can immediately check the image quality (sharpness and grain or image noise) right after taking the photo by zooming into the image until the crop is displayed nearly life-size on your screen.

The smartphone photo was taken in a dimly lit room. The image quality suffers greatly.

The smartphone photo was taken outdoors (slightly cloudy sky).

Rule of thumb: In a well-lit environment, a smartphone photo is absolutely sufficient and often even on par with a DSLR camera.

Photos with DSLR and compact cameras

DSLR-Kameras ergeben i.d.R. das beste Ergebnis, dicht gefolgt von modernen Kompaktkameras.

Taken with a high-quality DSLR camera, but unfortunately shot in the dark –> image noise.

DSLR photo with good lighting: Even appearance. Looks the most natural.

DSLR photo with strong light from behind (backlight). The actual subject is too dark.