What do you like to see in photostories?

What I look for in photostories is as follows:

Simple:
1. Yuri (Or well done yaoi, though a lot of what I find is so stereotypical and repetitive I don't actively look for it anymore)
2. Volks dolls
3. Romance or everyday life

(^ This is why Haibane's photostories are my favorite, they include all my favorite things)

In-depth explanation:
1. Yes, I will go waaay out of my way to dig up 2 year old photostories of yuri pairs, there's just not enough out there!
2. Sad but true. I have a bigger interest in them, so I'm more likely to look at a photostorie with 40+ images if it's a sculpt I really love, otherwise I normally get bored halfway through and click back and not look at photostories by that user anymore. I'm even more likely to comment to encourage the user to keep posting, since I enjoyed looking at the dolls.
3. I will say it straight - I have nooo interest in the 'zomg I'm a wizard, demon, lord, god, vampire, werewolf, blah, blah, blah' storyline. I'd rather see them doing more normal, daily activities like taking a walk in the park, climbing a tree or having a touching moment with another doll.

Of course, this is just my ideal, not the only photostories I look at or like. Though I do have to have one of the above 3 things to click it. The romance, the everyday-life, the yuri or the Volks dolls for me to click it in the first place.

~Edit~ I also really like wordless photostories. They're really interactive in their own way. You absolutely have to take an interest in them to understand what's going on, it's not something you can just look at, go 'meh' and click the back button. And sometimes someone else viewing the photostory can image it's something better than you ever would have thought up on your own.

 

The most important thing, to me, is quality of the photos. If I open a thread and the first photo is trash - bad lighting, unfortunate looking doll, just doesn't look promising at all - I shut the thread. If you can't take the take the time to think out your photos and make your dolls look nice, I won't spend my time looking at them.

Anonymous or easy to understand characters are also important. I don't mean dolls that are upfront and silly like, "I'm the demon-angel bastard son royalty blah blah and this is my lover!" I mean dolls that, through careful posing and thought-out angles, convey their emotions and character clearly. Unless I know the photographer's stories already, and they're phenomenal, I don't go reading old photostories of theirs just to understand who murdered who, or who's harboring a crush, or whatever.

 

Oooh, that's a good point I forgot to mention. I agree with you completely there.

I also like photostories that can be looked at as a stand-alone rather than a continuation, so the viewer can easily jump into the story from any point in the storyline without feeling confused. Plus 3+ photostory threads where the characters just stand around talking is sooo boring!

 

I like depth of characters/story, good posing (helps convey emotion), any kind of romance (though I like yaoi/yuri) and of course drama! I'm also a fan of fantasy and wordless photostories

 

pretty much the same as you. i like nice pictures and the dolls pose well. of course the story needs to be interesting. i moslty love funny stories ^^
i enjoy when the doll looks nice also but its not the most important i guess (it depends on the level of uglyness. if its way to ugly then NO Ô-e but if its just... not great i can stand it. im not gonna complain about others dolls being not great since mine really arent)

 

I think the top 3 things that make me fall in love with a photostory, are 1. photography, 2. story-line, and 3. clean dollies (in that order). I'll explain:

1. I also understand that not everyone if a professional. I don't even claim to have the best pictures ever. But, I have noticed more and more that I am EXTREMELY reluctant to read on if the pictures weren't thought out or given the proper amount of time too.

2. This is less important to me, but I like photostories to be just that, pictures that tell a story. Now, not everyone is a writer. Some people have difficulty getting the story in their heads into our heads. But, sometimes it is horribly obvious when this was a last minute thought.

*Side Track* I usually don't like penpal stories either (though I am guilty of a few) but as long as they have a nice story that is worth reading and nice pictures and whatnot, I don't mind them at all!

3. (Finally Lol) By clean dollies, I mean dolls that don't look like they just got beat up, messy hair...you know, pretty much what Hikari-Chan was saying. After getting back into photostories, this is something that I have become more and more conscience about with my own stories.

 

I like personality. I particularly enjoy witty or funny lines, but really just something that shows a personality unique to the character behind the doll.

I like good pictures. It's getting real easy to fix white balance on pictures now, and you don't even need and expensive program like photoshop to do it... so pictures that are heavily tungsten tinted and all orangy and yellow... I don't like that. And I wear glasses... so any pictures that are blurry really give me headaches if I look at them too long. So blurry yellow pictures make me not want to read on.

But it's really the characters that draw me in and make me want to read. I am really big on good character development and personality. I love characters with weird quirks and unique personalities.

 

Honestly, I just like entertaining photostories. It helps to know that I like to watch Spongebob Squarepants. I love photostories that make you smile and laugh the whole way through. Sadly, not enough photostories do that. In fact, I believe a lot of photostories today really just follow with popularity and drama (two things I'm not a big fan of). Then there are those that go for the whole "My doll is being cute in this photostory" thing which has been done a million times. I actually find penpal photostories good for getting to know your characters and other people's characters.

Of course, I'm sure not everyone is into my tastes.

But simply put: comedy, laughter, smiles, and a good time.

I don't care how a doll looks, your photography skills, or even posing. Work that entertainment magic! As Tim Gunn says Make it work!

 

I think everyone who ever thought about making a photo story needs to read this!

 

I understand your point, and quite agree with most of it.

IMO, besides
Good posing - because it totally gets us in the intention and mood of the theme/story/wtv;
Good story - wich I must say that personally goes even into a "Good Theme/Situation" worth of attention, specially when it shows the characters interactions;
Decent Photography - As you state, there are limits to the crappy, as we can make considerably good photos w/out a pro camera
and
Nice looking dolls - I honestly do enjoy much more to see p.stories when the object of portrait is well treated
points you already put in question, I'd say what I like the most to see on photostories are

~ Certain Sculpts - I must admit I fell no atraction for MSD sized dolls on general (I don't dislike them, they just don't get me), and rarely I go to check a ps with them, and when I do, it's mostly drawned by the title. Any small doll on general I just don't use to check. I look for the ones with SD sized dolls involved and the molds/sculpts that make my taste.
~ A Good Title - even when there's no indication of wich dolls are the ones 'starring' on the photostory, a good title totally makes me go and see it.
~ Character Construction - I LOVE well constructed characters and I'd love a photostory with two pictures that showed the char.'s personality much more than a 23 pics photostory that just go on about nothing.
~ Script/Dialogues - I'm falling for any well written story or for any sensitive perspective. That's showed on narrative (starting with the camera's POV and so on) and through the dialogues.

Hmm, I guess that's what I like to see on photostories on general, if I remember any other detail I'll add later.

 

Who says what? - I hate it when a photostory features a million characters and I can no longer figure out who says what :/

Decent spelling - I always click the back button when the dialogue is full of typos or the author doesn't seem to have any knowledge of periods and commas and stuff. It just makes the story seem sloppy :/

Humour - I completely agree with ninelysse. I see a lot of cliché romance, drama, yaoi and the overdone "look how cute I am". I actually only click the stories in the comedy category at the moment. Edit: I'm not saying that there aren't any good drama stories, I'm just saying that they're hard to come by. Also, I'm usually looking for things that make me feel happy, not things that make me feel sad, you know? ^^ That's why I find it more rewarding, in a way, to simply browse the comedy genre. End of edit.

Sculpts - I'm always looking for pictures of sculpts I'm interested in, both in the gallery and the photostory section

Flow - Some photostories seem to go "chop chop" from one scene to another. I like it when there's decent flow in a story.

Crisp, clear pictures - This is definitely not a must, but beautiful pictures just add that extra shine to a photostory

Interesting characters - I like the normal, everyday, human characters. There are just so many demons/angels/vampires/punks/emos/elves/zombies/whatever, it's become boring.

And of course other things that have been mentioned.

 

things that cause me to automatically close the tab:
vertical pictures -- either all vertical pictures, or switching back and forth between vertical and horizontal. it doesn't give a good story feel, and most of the time i'm viewing on a widescreen notebook and i have no interest in having to scroll back and forth between the picture and the caption.
large files -- i have crappy internet >.< and no patience unless i know the person writes good photostories.
color-coded dialogue -- in all honesty i have NO interest in trying to memorize who's who before i even know who the heck they are
penpal photostories -- it's no secret how much i despise them. i hate dolls staring at the camera and repetitive posing. hate hate hate.

things that i dislike seeing:
captions above the picture -- the picture should speak more than the caption, and i want to see it first.
captions ON the picture -- most people do not do the comic style well, and when waiting for files to load it's nice to glance over the dialogue a little.
people "interacting" with their dolls -- this is most of the time something i'll close for, but sometimes (rarely) it can be cute so i'm willing to shrug it off. most of the time, though, it means the doll spends 90% of the time staring at the camera and the person writing relies too much on the doll talking to them and doesn't put any effort into natural posing, camera angles, etc. and it makes for an extremely boring photostory.

things i looooooooove seeing:
angles/zoom/cropping -- this can affect the mood of your story/pictures tremendously, and i have much love for people who utilize it. it can also make up for a doll that has limited posing ability, making it look like they can do more.
posing effort -- i understand that not every doll has double joints, but every owner is fully capable of putting effort into paying attention to how their doll is posed. little things like what they're doing with their hands, a tilt of the head, slight turn of the shoulders, they all add to the story and make it that much more enjoyable. one thing that irritates me is when people almost "pretend" their doll is doing a pose. they make an attempt but can't get it to look natural, but leave it as-is anyway instead of trying something else.
characters -- i like when people put thought behind their characters, as opposed to basing a personality around a stereotype. characters can be stereotypes, yes, but stereotypes are not characters.

i don't care much about genre, but i appreciate when people can balance their writing. drama can be good, comedy can be good, but a good story should have a little of everything. i don't like when people try to cram too much into one story, though, or too much drama before you have a feel for the characters. if i don't know the characters how am i supposed to care about what's going on?

good photography is a bonus but really all i REALLY look for is consistency. i don't care if the person is using a DSLR or a P&S, as long as the picture quality is fairly even throughout the story and they don't photoshop the living hell out of everything.

messy houses can be extremely distracting >.< but a little clutter in the background doesn't really matter to me. just when it gets to the point of obsessing over "has this person cleaned within the past DECADE?!" instead of even looking at the doll in the picture.

i'm not picky about doll sizes or molds (i am when viewing gallery threads, but not photostory threads). i'm there for the story not the dolls! and also don't worry too much about titles because i know it's a serious pain writing catchy titles. i do appreciate when people make intros though, because i like hovering over the thread title to read a little before opening it.

aaaand that's it i think

 

What I love the most is photostories with no dialogue, or as little dialogue as possible. I want the photos to speak, and usually the dolls are posed better and more focus is in the photos if they have no dialogue. I think that it could be an idea to try to work out a story that explains itself or looks interesting without dialogue first, and after that add the words.

Because.. what I dislike the most is badly posed dolls. It is acceptable to an extent, but when the doll is looking at the ceiling or into the camera all the time, or when the doll has the same pose in two photos but just different angles or different text, it just takes down the quality of the photostory a lot. Photo quality can be decent, I don't mind that as much when it comes to photostories as I do in the gallery, but because the photos are telling a story, good posing is essential.

And I have to agree with Rikka_Mika, everyday romance and yuri is the best That's why haibane is my favorite maker of photostories.

 

This thread is amazing! It's really helpful, and makes me realize what I do wrong a lot.

In addition to most of the above:
I like photostories where, if a character(doll, wtv) comes from a different culture, like a clan of some kind, the culture has depth and seems like it could be real. It adds another level of interest in the doll for me. Going along with that, it's kind of fun when the doll speaks in their native tongue sometimes, if it's different, unless it's all just random gibberish and has no pattern. Then it's a little easier to tell that whoever came up with that language didn't put much thought into it. Anyway...

 

Uh. What do I like? *ponder* Most people have said most of it. I like pictures that show effort (not necessary the price tag of the camera), poses that show effort, DEEP CHARACTERS (THE most important thing). I don't care what the story is about, as long as I can see the quality that results from putting effort and thought into it.

Okay, so here's my "new" input, stuff I don't think has been said yet. I like it when photostories make me think! As in, there's a continuation, with things being hinted at, giving you information slowly so that the plot blooms petal by petal like a rose. And this may sound trivial, but I like when the characters always wear clothes that match their personalities really well. This usually demands an extensive wardrobe, which lots of people, including myself, can't afford. So that's just very appreciated icing on the cake of a good ps.

 

i agree with most of what's been said. i thought i might add a few things ot thoughts i had...sorry if its long


~ i honestly don't care what the title is, i do kinda like knowing what sculpts are in the story though. i use stories & gallery images to see what dolls look like before purchasing them and i also like to see how the owner customized them.

~ i think i prefer the the dialogue before the photo so i know whats going on. i often get confused when the text is after the photo. here's why - i read manga. lots of manga/comics and in some american releases it reads like their japanese counterparts. so i read the text first and then look at the photo. i'm probably a weirdo on this.

~ i HATE color coding. i'm really new to the forum and i don't know a lot of sculpts by heart and i probably won't know them either because there are too many. so telling me that so and so is this red text and they are this one doll type doesn't really help me figure out who is saying what. if i see color coded text, chances are i've already hit the back button. this does not include colored text with the names included...

~ blurry photos. i know not everyone is annie leibovitz when it comes to photo taking. i can't stress enough how important it is to have a tripod if you have shaky hands or low lighting. if there are any blurry photos you're giving me a headache and i won't read it...

~ backgrounds. i know people might have limited space. heck i have limited space in an 1100 sq ft apartment because its all ceiling. so i have to work around my environment. this is where bokeh is your friend. its not hard to do and it really makes your subjects stand out.

~ photoshop. its really not your friend if your photo sucks. adding a crazy amount of effects, filters, and layers can make it worse.

~ posing. you know. i kinda suck at posing my dod's because they aren't really the most user friendly. i need to mod them a bit but i try to get down to their level and see how they see things. this is great if you want to see where the other doll is looking in relation to the other one...are they really looking at each other and engaged in conversation?

~ too many photos. omg! i hate those stories that have 50397583483 million photos, and even more dislike for those that have bad photos. i understand there might be a lot of photos to weed through, but please narrow it down - by the 6th post of photos i've already stopped reading. i can also say i don't really like seeing the same photo 2 or 3 times in a row where say, the camera was moved 1/2 inch?

i found having a notebook with me when i've taken photos for the 2 photostories that i've done has been really helpful. i have the dialogue written out and take the photos based on what i'm trying to say. then i know that i'm not forgetting something and how i kinda want to pose them or what angle to take the photo. i also try to imagine myself having the conversation with someone else and use my mannerisms and try to pose my dolls as such.

 

I'd like to thank everyone for helping to pinpoint reasons I like a photostory. I'm not terribly observant at times, and sometimes I miss the reasons I end up liking something, ending with a "there's just something about it". For a writer, I'm not good at explaining reasons behind things.

I'll admit, I tend to be drawn to photostories that are comedies ('cause I like to laugh) and fluff pieces, interesting titles will of course intregue me, and I do take into consideration the dolls involved (if they mention them), but I also enjoy a good fantasy story, and want to find story arcs, multiple photostories in the same universe. I wish more people with multiple stories posted in the Database so I could find them. And, of course, once I like someone's stories, I stalk their ps like a giant bird of prey, swooping in to covet a morsel that was dropped as soon as it hits the pavement (and sometimes sooner! )

As far as the actual, individual stories go, once I'm in the door, what gets me to stay? I think what everyone has said before. I like dynamic pictures, pictures that look like the dolls are real, that they move. I like dolls with personality, with pictures that help show that personality. I agree that some of the best photostories could have no dialogue at all. And less dialogue per picture - I know that can be hard sometimes, and if it's decent dialogue, I can forgive a poster from doing it. I like my ps to read like a still-motion movie. It should feel like I'm watching a movie, but where I'm just playing things a few frames at a time and can still hear the dialogue. If it would make a bad movie (with the way the dolls are positioned) then it'll probably make a bad ps.

Blurry and dark pictures are an absolute turn off for me. If you haven't taken the time to allow me to actually see your dolls, then I'm not going to want to take the time to read your photostory. The occasional blurry, motion pic is awesome if it helps move the story. And really, I need to learn how to do that.

Tons of pictures don't bother me if the story is interesting. Like a good book, whether the book is 100 pages or 500, if the story is good, I'm going to want to take the effort to read it. Same with many pictures.

Although that leads me to a question (though maybe this should be it's own thread): how many pictures in a photostory is best? Where should logically be the cut off, the utmost someone is willing to sit and stare at their computer screen for one story segment? I know tastes differ - as I said, personally, if it's done well, I don't have a cut off.

Other factors... hmmm...Honestly, I think it's all been said. Though if you have an interesting story, and characters with personality - and you try for interesting posing with the dolls, even if you don't succeed entirely and your photography is still in the ameteur stage (like mine and my crappy point-and-shoot camera), I think some things can be forgiven. Of course, everyone has to start somewhere.

I think what it boils down to is I like a good story. Always have. Ultimately, that's all I need.

 

the thing i find the most important is humor. when a story can make me laugh, i'm sold

 

...i actively go through the gallery and photostories to find those with no or few comments. because it sucks when you try and no one bothers to give you any input, so, even if it's just a con crit, or a 'gosh your doll is adorable!' comment i try to make sure that i say something.

i like any genre that's well done. i don't like having to read backwards to figure things out. "one shots", i suppose, are my favorite.

(i'm, frankly, scared to do photostories. watching the trends in the photostories area, i don't feel confident to do so. but it's okay! someday i'll work up the guts. the kids have a great story, and i'll get around to sharing it.)

 

I think the problem with that is that you aren't ALLOWED to do any sort of crit in the galleries, not even "Wow, awesome, this is the BEST photostory ever except your doll's eye fell in at one point."

I personally like photostories that aren't long, winding epics that you have to read every one to find out.

Bad photos make me hit the back button fast. Washed out shots, shots where the dolls just aren't looking cared for (wonky eyes, clothes all rumpled, wigs a mess, look dirty), and, of course, blurry pictures. Also, shots where the dolls look like robots because of how horribly unnaturally they're posed are a huge turn-off.

Give me a pretty, simple photostory any day, preferably something sweet and funny, or if you MUST be dramatic (which is so very overdone at this point, don't give me angst for the sake of angst) make it believable! Not "OMG MY TRUE LOVE IS A VAMPIRE I shall whine for two panels then accept it because it's TRUE LOVE." Ugh.

Also, proper typing is a must for me. I will not try to read whn u tyep lik dis. For those reading this for tips: Remember, it's all visual. You have to make it not only easy, but pleasant for people to look at your pictures and words.

I know it'll sound awful, but if a doll has a horrible faceup, or the sewing is horrible, or anything that the person chooses to do is done pretty half-done and just plain bad, well... I will not read. I don't care if you secretly have the best story ever told nestled in the page, it's a photostory, and if the photos are just unpleasant to look at I won't waste my time.

 

I like good photography, I mean, you don't have to be perfect or have a perfect camera. But I like how the pictures give off the emotions you're trying to connect with the story.

As for posing, some people have trouble posing their dolls to their liking. I know I do! My Kalix is so hard to pose, because he's so heavy.
But I try to put myself into their shoes and see what I would do if someone was speaking to me in my photostory plot.
The thing I hate about posing is when you have your doll just standing there and their knees are abnormally bent, I start thinking, "Knees shouldn't bend that way!" I know it sometimes can't be helped, but it makes me want to go and straighten their knees.

As for good stories, I can agree where people come from with penpal stories. Heck, I make them! But I can see how it would be boring... Well, depending what is going on. But I try to stay away from making too many.
I do love fantastic stories that leave me on the edge of my seat! I love continuing stories too, it gives me something to look forward to during the day! Hakari-chan, you and Mendokusai's photostories are the ones I love most. (Keep up the good work!) I wish I could be as skilled as you both are, but that's why good photostories are helpful... they can inspire another to be just as great!

I have a cheap digital camera. I take FANTASTIC pictures just as one can with a professional camera. Infact, my friend (who is a REALLY good photographer) compared my small camera to her professional one, and claimed that mine was better!
But, I don't like fuzzy pictures. When I take fuzzy pictures, I just keep taking pictures until they're straight.

I hate messy hair!! It drives me nuts! I can't get neat hair for photography, but at least I try to get it fixed as much as I can. When I see dolls with messy hair, and crazy clothes it makes me just close the window. Sometimes I wonder if the owners really care about their doll at all, making it look the way it does. Faceups I don't care about so much, unless it stands out.

Another thing I hate is page surfers. When I make a photostory, I really want comments. I see people who view it, but don't comment... Then I only end up with, like, 1 comment and I have to keep bumping to get people's opinions.
I mean, I know I'm not so reliable when it comes to comments, but I comment on what I can. If the story wasn't very good then I won't comment, because I don't want to be rude. But, please, people if you see a photostory and you liked it, please please please just comment. I swear it makes the photographer 10x happier.

 

I guess the only thing that really irks me is the angle that forces to look down a joint's hole, like a tunnel of doom. Sometimes the poor doll looks like it's in agony, so twisted are the joints. I know these dolls are JOINTED, but I really like my disbelief suspended when I'm into a story. Yeah, in-your-face joint is my pet peeve.

 

Things that I look for in photostories are the same that I look for in other photoshoots, and that I have expounded on elsewhere: that doll subjects in photography are treated as were they full-scale human subjects.

For photostories, this would entail — apart from keeping an eye on posing, camera angles, and all the usual stuff — putting some thought into the scenography, particularly with regard to what passes for sets.

I like seeing dolls in photostories not seem like dolls, but as full-scale human (or whatever) beings. Whether this is done through photographing in forced perspective against a full-scale background, by using good in-scale sets and props, or just by keeping the background simple enough to eliminate the sense of scale matters little, apart from the fact that the more ambitiously done, the more likely it is to catch my eye.


Another thing I appreciate in photostories is a bit of action. Personally, I am not overly fond of watching those cheap 80's soap operas on the telly, with their endless succession of scenes with little more than talking heads. Consequently, I am no more fond of the same in a still photo version.
A bit of visual drama though — that's the ticket. Let there be action.


Lastly however, the most important thing for me in a photostory is that it has a story (well, duh) and that this story is carried through in the photos, not in the captions! The less text there is, and the more obvious it is to the audience what happens just from looking at the pictures, the better.

 

ooh yeah i hate messy hair >.< i mean it's one thing to have fly-aways and another to look like the wig has been floating around in your purse for a week and you just slapped it on the doll's head

i can't believe i forgot to mention this!! absolutely my BIGGEST pet peeve with photostories is when people use asterisks (or otherwise) to describe what's going on in the picture >.<

 

I am getting quite depressed reading all the pet peeves written here....no wonder I don't post my stories to DoA

I came here to hopefully read what I could do to improve my story telling, and all I seem to be reading is..... "I don't like this" and "I don't like that!!!"

I like to see that people are having fun with their dolls, I like to see happy stories. I like to see stories!!!

 

I like to see people having fun, I don't care how much text I have to read, I don't care how bad the persons camera is. I don't care if the wigs look like they were dragged through a mess, it doesn't matter if the clothes are a little scruffy.
I just like to see people having fun taking time to do a photostory.

I would read a story even if it had all of the pet peeves listed here.

I like reading about different things, drama, fluff, comedy, tragedy. They are all good. I like variety, I like seeing the ways people photograph the dolls and how they write their caption.

I, myself am too shy and intimidated to post anything on DoA. I've posted a photostory here once and only got views and zero comments, which was depressing but it shows I should just stick to posting things on my blog.

I had fun and I want other people to have fun doing their stories. That's all I want to see.

 

For me personally, it's all about the story. Give me a good plot and I'm ready to go. I also enjoy good camera angles and interesting poses of the dolls. My biggest pet-peeve, however, is large amounts of description. I perfect the show don't tell mentailty. As cliche as it is 'a pictures worth a 1000 words'. So I perfer when people show me what going on instead of telling me with large amounts of writing before each photo.

But really, good story and interesting angles...that about covers it

 

Things I like in photostories:

Textless photostories - if your photos can carry the feel of the story without text, that's amazing. Try looking at the photos you want to use and see if you can get the feel of the story without words. It's okay to add words, and I do like dialogue and some narration, but you shouldn't need a wall of text to show what you're going for.

Originality - characters, story, plot twists, etc. Some things have been overdone, but I also think it's really cool to take something others have done and add your own flavor to it. Maybe your Heliot, instead of being a self-important debonair deity, is a lesser god with an inferiority complex and a secret love of Bichon Frise puppies. That's certainly different.

Believable characters - Face it, no one likes Mary Sues. If your doll's character is so flawless and perfect, why am I bothering to look at them? I like characters people have put a lot of thought into, who have flaws and dirty little secrets and who occasionally screw up.

Attention to detail - I'm not the kind of person who's obsessed with making sure that your set is to scale with your dolls. We can't all have an army of miniatures available to us... the dolls are expensive enough as it is. But I want to see photostories where people pay attention to what's popping up in the background. It's okay that your sofa is human-sized, but I don't want to see your little brother playing his DS in the background. No matter what sort of setting you use, it should be closed and contained.

Alternatively, things I am tired of seeing in photostories:

Alice in Wonderland themes - Everyone and their mother has posted AiW pictures. The Gallery (not so much photostories, I guess) is just full of threads with titles like "Down the Rabbit Hole," or "Sephie in Wonderland!" It isn't that the photos aren't nice... but they're so overdone. I don't even click on them anymore, even if it's a sculpt I generally like seeing.

 

Jane - You shouldn't get discouraged. This is quite a helpful thread, actually. But if you really wish to improve your storytelling, you should take a writing class. There are also a lot of wonderful resources for aspiring writers available online for free.

 

Thank you for a thoughtful idea ....but I only make photostories for fun and pleasure

I have been very depressed by a lot of what is written here but having posted my stories on other boards (including in them, all the pet peeves posted here) I realise that I must ignore a lot of the negatives from this thread and concentrate on the positives

And most importantly I ENJOYED making the stories (and still do!)


Link to one of the very few stories I posted here years ago:

http://www.denofangels.com/forums/s...work.......(Custom-House-and-Blue-Fairy-group)

 

i have to admit, that it can be significantly more helpful hearing what people don't like seeing. when most people are asked what they like seeing in photostories it's usually a pretty generalized response that essentially boils down to "i like when they know what they're doing"... which... is definitely not helpful lol so it's nice knowing what to avoid, if you're worried about what people think. though if you're wanting to get attention and comments the best way to do it is by posting pretty frequently. people are more likely to comment if they see a name they recognize, not to mention the more practice the better!

 

That is certainly on way of looking at some of the responses here; but if I tried to avoid what others don’t like I could end up making something I don’t like!!!
The whole point of posting a photostory is to share how I present them (to the best of my ability) not to try and please each and every reader.

When I look at photostories; I often take away ideas to use in my own stories…camera angles, dialogue presentation, lighting and focus effects, props and scene management etc

But that doesn’t make what I don’t like; of a substandard or inferior quality, it merely makes up for diversity in the medium.

So that is why I was very depressed at what I saw as endless ‘pet peeve’ lists being posted.
I did not find it helpful....but if others did then this will be a helpful thread for them

 

I like interesting characters - if I read a story or two and begin to understand the character and anticipate what he/she would or wouldn't do, I know it's good! I like good photography. It doesn't have to be art-gallery perfect, but if it's blurry and dark turn another light on or point a desk lamp at the doll or go outside or put the camera on a stack of books and use the timer or something! Up-the-nose shots and flash also are something that turn me off quickly. Not everything has to be perfectly in-scale, but a good photostory usually is such that I don't notice the out-of-scale things. (I've looked back through some of Mendokusai's stories for example, and noticed that sometimes the only thing in scale are the dolls with each other... but they're so well shot nothing out-of-scale is really visible and anything that is just slides under the radar! I aspire to do stories as good as those.)

I also like well-posed dolls. Hand and foot posing is a HUGE thing for me, because it can look so awkward sometimes. If your hands or feet won't go that way without pain, don't let your doll's hands or feet go that way. It's the little details that make or break a story. Clean backgrounds and well-styled dolls are a huge plus, but not 100% necessary if the story is good enough. But if I spend the whole time wishing I could reach through the screen and fix the dead-stare eyes or adjust the wig, then I'm not paying full attention to the story.

As for presentation, as long as it's obvious who is speaking I'm cool with most options there. I personally almost always put dialogue ON the photos, generally with a color-coded oval behind it. I shoot the photos with that in mind so there's room for them without looking overly crowded. The reason I do that is because I'm probably going to be posting it here, on my own site, on Resinality, and possibly even on LJ because there are people in all those places who are likely to want to see it. If the dialogue is on the photos it works much better and is much easier to get them up in all those places. I've seen other photostories done that way and I usually prefer them, as it's easy to follow. It also requires you to be concise, stick to dialogue with little to no narration, and forces the photo to tell the bulk of the story. Those are all pluses in my book.

Spelling and grammar are critical. I give a bit of leeway for those who learned English as a second language, but if there are too many errors I just can't bear to read it.

I'm not great at photostories I know, but I try. I've caught myself breaking my own "rules" also! I don't make nearly as many as I'd like to, but that's a project for this summer. I always try to comment on the ones I see that I like, because I love when people comment on mine.

 

You story doesn't have any of the mistakes most people here complain about. It's neatly photographed, nicely styled, in scale, not too wordy AND has a humorous punch line. So yours is, actually, a very good example of a nice fun story done right. I repeat myself, but really, you shouldn't get discouraged by folks expressing their general dislikes in this particular venue. Everybody is very kind to each other on these boards, sometimes at the expense of honest critique, so threads like this are most helpful.

 

i realize not everyone can do this but my favorite thing i like to see in photo-stories is change and movement, like changing face plates or hands, or props (IE switching in a full piece of pizza for a half eaten piece to a crust and some crumbs, that type of thing)

or on the smaller side changing the position of the eyes or the dolls feet/legs to make them look like they are looking around or walking. all of these things make the dolls seem so much more alive and are more entertaining

other things i like to see is what others have said good pictures (not orange and blurry) and "clean" or "calm" backgrounds" its really hard to stay focused on a story when your watching what a persons cat or little brother is doing in the background. its one thing to have a doll posing in front of a wall thats been heavily covered with eye catching art vs your roommate doing the dishes in the background

i dont read photo-stories much anymore but the ones i like seem to have alot of change in them as well as calm backgrounds and nice light, clear pictures

 

I know I'm repeating what's been said, but...

-Story. Something discernible should happen over the course of the photostory. I understand that for many people these are just snippets of a larger storyline, but each individual photostory should still be a story in itself. Look at comic strips; even shorter strips have some amount of a story arc.

-Action. A photostory that's a static shot of one doll (or multiple dolls) in slightly different poses with narration or dialogue underneath isn't compelling to me. Even just different shots of a doll "walking" in an interesting environment are better than a doll sitting on your desk with their arms in different gestures.

-Show don't tell. I don't like captioning at all in most cases, because switching focus from the picture to the text kills the flow for me. I understand that in many cases dialogue has to be presented, and I'm okay with that as long as it's a good story, but when the captions are *looks out window* or *take's so-and-so's hand* or *is sad*, when the pictures already conveyed that quite well, it's a little irritating. I also much prefer when dialogue is presented comic-style instead of in subtitles, because it's easier to get when I don't know the characters and makes the images and text cohesive instead of different elements.

-Thoughtfulness in general. I realized that not everyone has the same resources and skills, but you can make almost anything at least a little better just by taking the time and going that extra distance, and there are a lot of resources for getting better pictures out of a cheap camera and lighting on a budget.

 

I love nice sharp photos, a storyline ( for example a set of photos, or collection) and a sense of humour!

 

There are quite a few things that I love to see in photostories, most of which have already been mentioned. Buutt, to keep on repeating: ( = P)

Good characters I always love to see interesting characters that have more to them then 'Is lord of somewherenothere and is in love with Lady Whaserface' and have just about that to them. I love to see characters that have flaws and faults and say stupid things and treat others differently and don't just wallow in angst for the sake of 'development'. I always think that a true sign of a good character is being able to describe them just through their personality or actions, without names and huge backstories. I will admit, this can be difficult to achieve, and can take quite a few photostories to do - but if it does happen, I will almost defenitly carry on reading that series; because in any book or film, I like to be able to latch onto a character and see what happens to them.

Good interactions between characters Another thing that can help make a good story to me is if straight away, I can see friends and enemies between the characters. Be it two dolls standing closer compared to the rest, or little quirks that the character has. But I'm a firm believer in what a lot of people consider 'wasted movement', because in my eyes it just makes everything seem more human.

Inscale props Yeah, this is a hard one to do, I will admit that now. But it shows how much the creator cares about creating their stories and pictures, and makes me want to care more. It almost creates the 'world' that those dolls live in, and I love that whole sort of thing. This is just a huge bonus for me, so it's not a problem when people can only shoot against their couch then I don't mind. However, when they want us to believe that the underside of their couch is some far off fantasy place I'm most likely going to struggle to believe that.

Omakes In all honesty, I love to see omakes that are humourous, or just in general. I know some people probably won't like them but I do.

Most of my pet peeves are what's already been mentioned - messy dolls, bad pictures and dodgy posing, cat washing itself in the corner of the picture, blah blah. However one of the things that I really do hate is when people do actions in asterisks and such. You could have shown us them doing that. I think it makes it look more like an after thought if they have to do that. Again, the 'show don't tell' point.
But I'll probably close the tab if the person fails to resize their photos. Makes the page look messy in any situation - even worse with a photostory. e_e;

 

This isn't a very in-depth response. But I love it when people sneak romance into their photostories (;

 

rippedtape-I'm not sure why, but that just made me imagine two dolls doing sweet, romantic things totally in the background. XD Next photostory I do, I'm going to have to have some somewhat-hidden hand-holding and cheek kissing.

 

o..o I did see some mention of color code but I didn't know it was for recognizing scults ^^; Oh I have so much to learn-!

Anyway @ OP: I like to see a interesting story being told. *-* Also if they put thought into whats going to be in the background.~

 

I look for a storyline with action to it. I leave in a hurry if there are 15 photos about a humdrum converstation that doesn't go much of anywhere.

 

While a great photostory has good photography, it's not a dealbreaker for me. A photostory that makes me laugh may not have ANY of the elements of a great photostory, but I'll love it because I love humour.

Spelling and grammar mistakes are often dealbreakers for me. I'm also a proponent of showing, not telling, whether in photostories or manga/comics. You need BOTH the images and the words, and they should work together smoothly. A well-done wordless photostory can be magical, too, but not all stories can be told that way. As a writer, I also want to see the words be magical, too.

I've only tried a couple of photostories myself, and I'm not too happy with them because while I'm juuuust barely starting to get a grip on lighting a shoot for portraits, space/lighting issues have been a big obstacle in my photostories.

 

i think i'll choose Good interactions between characters
i like romantic stories ^^

 

Aside from a consistent, good story, I tend to like lots of color.

I mean, if you're going to include pictures, why not make them as colorful as possible?

 

I look for cute, soft pictures and artistic angles, to be perfectly honest. And, as writerm answered, color. Basically, the things I like in my photography. I enjoy writing, but reading is a little less fun for me -- particularly fiction. x_x I'm odd that way. I love the interactions too -- my dolls are honestly like a social study for me, a little piece of my OWN writing come to life!

Spelling and grammar mistakes, especially when they are often and glaring, are a HUGE photostory turn off though. ): i just can't stand them!

 

That's a very good question - what makes a good photostory good?

Good story - to me a good story may be about anything, an everyday subject or a fantastical one, an original subject or one that has been done a million times, it can be stand alone or a serial - but if doesn't actually contain a story, it won't be interesting!

The story is told by the photographs - the point of photostories is that it is a photo story - the main action needs to be told by the pictures, not a page's introduction, stage directions, lengthy explanations, a lot of talk between the dolls. If I can't see the action in the picture, why should I read on?

Fair to good photography - bad photography is unpleasant to look at, and it might even be so bad as to obscure what's going on. The photo quality needs to at least be fair, and the better it is, the more interesting the story will be to look at.

Believable posing - this is really very easy to do and requires no investment or certificate: if you can't do it, don't make your doll do it! Really good posing requires a bit more effort, but a story that contains clear body language will really be able to tell the story with the photos.

Backgrounds that stay in the background - there are plenty of storys on the theme of "the doll group that lives with me" which calls for a real background, but it shouldn't distract from the action. And if the reader is looking in horror at your grubby carpet and not the action, you have really failed as a storyteller... If the story isn't taking place in the real world, I don´t want to see your home at all. Many of us struggle with not having room enough in our homes, but anyone can pull out a (clean) sheet or something else of the same sort, iron it and use it as a neutral backgruound - trust me!



Peeves

• Talking heads: you've all seen this, two dolls are talking and the only thing happening in the photos is that the doll who is talking at the moment raises his/her hand to indicate talking, and all story is told in dialouge and set directions.
• Penpal stories: great fun for you and your friend, awfully dull for the rest of the universe.
• A closeup of the author's messy abode: just don't - please!

Please be aware that bumping is not allowed in the galleries.

 

I'm personally a soft heart for anything romance paired with vintage photos and some color pop I would deff love to see it.

 

For me it comes down to a good storyline, I like photostories with distinct, interesting characters, a good mix of humour (sarcasm is a plus ;D), a storyline that actually makes sense when you read it and decent photography. The photos don't have to be amazing quality, but if theres no effort put into them I'm not going to bother reading through the whole thing. By effort I mean thought being put into the dolls posing, the angles and to a certain degree backdrops. I'm sort of in the minority that I actually really like photos that show the real scale of the dolls and their interactions with such.

 

I'd have to say:
1) Decent pictures
2) A variety of angles
3) Dolls that don't look like they crawled out of a gym bag
4) Normal human characters (no more vampires, please! )
5) In depth, or at least cute/touching stories
6) Lots of good character interaction
7) Dialogue that I can actually understand (baby talk really annoys me)
8) And of course I like certain doll sculpts better than others.
9) Some decent props always help too

 

To me visuals are most important initially. Stuff like nice clear photos, variety in shots and I also really like it when people put text in their images as if it were a comic (at least if they do it well) or use some other creative way like subtitles at the bottom.

Character is the second most important thing. Not just with how they talk and physically express themselves but how they dress. Nothing hooks me more than a unique looking character. (i kinda lump clean dolls and hair into this one too.)

Finally story, this usually decides if i go back to read more of that person's stories or not.

Things that will make me reach for the back button are blurry photos, owner-doll interaction photo stories....and stories with only tiny BJDs in them.

 

Here are some of mine, in no particular order.

1. Cleverness.
2. Good pictures.
3. Natural posing. I found a photostory a while back where the photography wasn't great, but the posing was fantastic, had real movement, and made me keep looking at the pictures because they just looked so natural.
4. Clarity in which text belongs to which character. I don't know which of your dolls is Luna and which is Marie. Have it say: Green text belongs to Luna, the green-haired (insert doll sculpt here), and brown text is Marie, the brown-haired (insert doll sculpt here).

A huge pet peeve of mine in photostories or even gallery posts is when the owner doesn't bother to brush their doll's wig before taking pictures. Even if the wig is the worst quality ever, a tiny bit of water and a comb can help!

 

Sadly in many photostories I simply find totally pointless stories. ie: Oh my doll met a rabbit. End of story.

Another photostory mistake is when each shot has only a minor adjustment leaving the whole thing with the feeling of failed stop motion animation. Make bold moves in each shot- we can fill in how the character got from A to B

 

The most important things to me are:
Good posing, of the dolls
Good composition, of the picture
Natural and well thought out dialogue
And attention to detail.
I've only just recently started exploring and getting familiar with the photostory gallery and different artists and stories within that gallery, and so far I've found several series that have really caught my eye and I consider my favorites. All of them have those things I listed in common.

Not to hold favorites, but this photostory series meets all of my standards and then some...

 

I can input one thing. No one likes seeing the same photo twice in a story (unless its like reminiscence or something) but i hate when people just take the same picture twice...

 

I like photostories in which dolls interact with one another as characters within a distinct setting. I do not enjoy photostories in which dolls interact with owners (or owners interact with dolls) or in which dolls interact with one another as dolls within the home/environment of the owner.

I like plot, even if I'm not made fully privy to what that plot might be. I like to sense that there is one, hiding out in the background and contributing to the motivations of the characters/dolls.