American Girl Wiki:Good Article Images and You!



Good pictures of items help the Wiki better than almost anything. A picture is worth a thousand words--and the better the picture, the easier the words.

No Pic? Problem!
Several articles on the AG Wiki do not have pictures--likely because they came out before AG had a dedicated website, and so we must rely on catalog scans and personal pictures. And we want pictures. We want them bad. Use at the top of a page to alert everyone that there's no picture, and it will drop into a category called "Picture Needed" so editors can know that a good picture is needed.

And don't forget to take it off once a picture has been added.

Catalog for the Win
A Catalog picture is almost always going to trump any other picture around. They're clean, crisp, and with only the data needed. Most items released after this Wiki started will get Catalog pictures.

Clear Scans


If a catalog pic can't be found, and you have old catalogs, scan them in! Scans are a little trickier than


 * Pictures need to be large enough so as to be used on articles (which for the record is generally about 300px on the shortest side, if possible).


 * Try and clean up the scan as much as possible. Remove any background bleed through using photo editors.

Personal Touch
Sometimes, the only thing we have are personal images to get good closeups and information. This isn't bad--but it means that the pics have to be very, very on point.

The main thing is that personal images need to be the Three Cs:


 * Clean.
 * Clear
 * preCise.

Pictures should only be of the item or doll discussed. This means no pictures of yourself, extra dolls, dolls holding items or standing near them if not needed, extraneous accessories, etc.

No mix and match. If you are taking pictures of say, the Mix and Match Outfit, only take pictures of it. The only exception are shirts or articles that didn't come with complete sets, such as shoes, socks, t-shirts. In which case, try to make the item the focus. Simple jeans and shoes are best for t-shirts.

Items need to be complete. A picture of just a jacket doesn't show the whole outfit. Exception: If you don't have tiny books or small accessories that came with an outfit set, then that's okay.

Pictures of full outfits need to be head to toe. A shot from the waist up is not enough. Exception: If the item is just a shirt, then take a picture of just the shirt if possible. Dolls need to be fully dressed, though--no naked from the waist down or up.

Time periods need to stay lined up. Kirsten might look cute to you in a modern outfit, or a modern in Addy's Birthday outfit, but we only want mods in mod and historicals in historicals.

Pictures need to be large enough so as to be used on articles (which for the record is generally about 300px on the shortest side, if possible). Bigger may not always be better.

Closeups of items not seen in catalog pictures (linings, shoes, individual items opened, etc.) are super appreciated. Make sure backgrounds are clear, non distracting and uncluttered.

Bad Pictures
Improper images will be removed without warning from any page they're on that's not a personal page.