How do I photograph a sealed LEGO box for grading?

Six guided shots: front panel flat-on, back panel flat-on, top seal close-up under raking light, bottom seal close-up under raking light, top-left corner under raking light, top-right corner under raking light. Use diffuse daylight or two 45° soft side-lights, white-paper backdrop, no direct flash. Total capture time about 90 seconds.

What lighting should I use for sealed LEGO photography?

Diffuse daylight is ideal — even color temperature, no hard shadows. Alternative: two soft side-lights at 45° angles, color-matched to ~5500K. For seal and corner close-ups, switch to single raking-light at 30° angle to reveal adhesive bleed, double-pass marks, and corner compression. Avoid direct flash; the box print reflects.

Why does BrickGauge need six photos to pre-grade a LEGO box?

Six photos cover all six grading axes: front + back panels for surface, print, and structural axes; top + bottom seals for the seal axis (97.4% reseal recall); top-left + top-right corners for the corners axis under raking light. Fewer photos miss axes; more photos add diminishing returns.

Can I pre-grade a LEGO box from one or two photos?

No — the model requires all six. Each axis (seal, corners, edges, surface, print, structural) needs visibility from the correct angle and lighting. A single front-face photo can't reveal adhesive bleed on the bottom seal, corner compression on the back, or print drift against the underside reference.

What's raking light and why does it matter?

Raking light is a single light source at a low angle (~30°) to the surface being inspected. The shallow angle exaggerates surface relief — adhesive bleed catches light along its edge, corner compression shows a deeper shadow, sticker double-pass marks become visible. The single most-important technique for reseal detection.

Should I use a phone camera or DSLR for sealed LEGO photos?

Modern phone cameras (iPhone 13 / Pixel 7 or newer) are sufficient. Use the main rear camera (1x), not the ultrawide. Tap to focus on the corner or seal sticker; lock exposure; turn off flash. DSLR with a 50mm macro lens is better for high-value sets ($5,000+) where edge whitening and fiber disturbance matter.

How do I photograph the seal sticker without reflection?

Tilt the box 5° away from your light source so the sticker doesn't reflect directly into the lens. Use raking light at 30° rather than overhead. Move closer to fill the frame with the sticker — proximity reduces reflection angle. Tap to focus on the sticker edge, not the box face.

What does BrickGauge's guided-capture flow do?

On the BrickGauge scan page, the camera shows real-time overlays for each of the six shots: alignment guide (rejects off-axis tilt), focus check (rejects blur), and lighting validation (rejects under-exposed or over-exposed frames). Each shot is approved before the next one starts. End-to-end capture takes about 90 seconds.

6-shot template · 90 seconds

How to photograph a sealed LEGO box for grading.

Six guided shots — front, back, top seal, bottom seal, two corners. Diffuse daylight, white-paper backdrop, raking light at 30° for the close-ups. Total capture time 90 seconds. BrickGauge returns the verdict in another 38.

Start the guided flow →Methodology

⊙ Quick answer

What is photographing a sealed LEGO box for grading?

Photographing a sealed LEGO box for grading requires six shots that cover the six grading axes: front panel flat-on (surface, print, structural), back panel flat-on (back-face condition), top seal close-up under raking light (seal axis reseal detection), bottom seal close-up under raking light (second seal check), top-left corner under raking light (worst-corner rule), and top-right corner under raking light. Use diffuse daylight or two 45° soft side-lights, a white-paper backdrop for color normalization, and no direct flash. Total capture time is about 90 seconds; BrickGauge returns a verdict in 38 seconds.

Shots

Capture time

~90 sec

Verdict time

38 sec

Light

Diffuse + raking

The 6-shot template

Every shot, every angle, every lighting setup.

Follow the eight steps in order. Steps 1–2 set up your environment; steps 3–8 are the six required shots.

01
Set up neutral lighting
Use diffuse daylight or two soft side-lights at 45° angles. Avoid direct flash (the print reflects), avoid mixed color temperatures, and avoid hard shadows that obscure corner compression.
02
Use a white-paper backdrop
Lay the box on flat white paper for color reference. The model uses the backdrop to normalize white balance and detect print drift. Avoid colored surfaces, patterned backgrounds, or glossy reflective tables.
03
Shot 1 — Front panel, flat-on
Box flat. Camera directly above, parallel to the front face. Fill 80–90% of the frame. Check the alignment overlay before submitting — the AI rejects off-axis shots that exceed 5° tilt.
04
Shot 2 — Back panel, flat-on
Same setup, opposite face. The back face often shows damage that the front hides — especially shelf wear, corner compression, and surface scuffs. Don't skip this shot.
05
Shot 3 — Top seal, close-up under raking light
Single light source at 30° to the seal sticker. Fill the frame with the seal sticker. Raking light reveals adhesive bleed, double-pass marks, and sticker edge lift — the reseal-detection tells.
06
Shot 4 — Bottom seal, close-up under raking light
Same technique on the bottom seal. Both seals must be inspected — many reseals tamper with only one. The model scores both independently and uses the worse of the two.
07
Shot 5 — Top-left corner, raking light
30° raking light along the corner. Catches compression depth, whitening at the fold, and any structural deformation. The worst-corner rule applies — this shot might be the one that caps your grade.
08
Shot 6 — Top-right corner, raking light
Same technique, opposite corner. With shots 5 and 6 plus the front/back panels, the model has visibility on all four front-face corners.

The three rules

What makes a sealed LEGO photo gradable.

01 Lighting

Diffuse + raking

Panels: diffuse daylight or 45° soft side-lights. Close-ups: single raking light at 30°. No direct flash, no hard shadows, no mixed color temperatures.

02 Framing

80–90% frame fill

Box fills 80–90% of the frame. Parallel alignment within 5° tilt. The AI rejects off-axis shots, blurred shots, and under/over-exposed frames before scoring.

03 Backdrop

Flat white paper

White-paper backdrop for color reference. Used by the model to normalize white balance and detect print drift against the box underside.

Pre-flight checklist

What the BrickGauge guided-capture flow rejects.

Five rejection triggers before scoring runs: (1) blur — focus checked on each shot; (2) off-axis tilt over 5°; (3) under-exposure (below 30% brightness on the box face); (4) over-exposure or direct-flash blowout; (5) backdrop pollution (colored surfaces, patterned table cloth). Each rejection prompts a re-shoot with specific guidance before the next shot starts.

The guided-capture flow

BrickGauge handles the alignment for you.

On the scan page, the camera overlays an alignment guide for each of the six shots, runs blur detection, and validates lighting before submission. Each shot is approved before the next one starts. Two scans free on signup, no credit card.

How-to cluster