A method of determining the profile of a surface of an object is disclosed that does not require that the video inspection device be at a certain angle relative to the surface when an image of the surface is obtained (e.g., allows non-perpendicular captures of the image 30). The method determines a reference surface and a reference surface line. The reference surface line is then used to determine a surface contour line on the surface of the object. The profile is then determined by determining the distances between the reference surface and the surface contour line.