Puzzling white bands on helmets

[tiliasig]

I am puzzled by the appearance of the WW1 helmets in this group photograph. Some have what appears to be a broad white band around the helmet while others appear to have a shiny part there. I do not know the circumstances of this photograph or the regiment/Corps of the soldiers shown.

Any suggestions would be welcome.

[Lesley Robertson]

Do you have any indication as to who might be in this photo?

It may be my imagination, but the officers in the front seem to be wearing shorts. That would suggest a tropical uniform, which makes me wonder whether the white helmets are actually pith helmets. If you look at the images on the search engines, they all seem to be white, or at least light coloured.

[Vagabond227]

After enlarging the image here is may offer.

The officers are not wearing shorts, they appear to be cavalry breeches (very close fitting on the lower leg). The white band is not a consistent width but is curved along the top so I think that it is nothing more than reflection off newer helmets that still have some gloss to them.

[tiliasig]

On reflection (!) I believe you may be right about the 'white bands'. I guess they could be an artefact resulting from the low resolution scanning. I am trying to get a better copy of the photo from the source.