Taking the photographs

1.3. Taking the photographs

3DSOM Pro requires around 20 photographs, taken from various angles, to create a 3D model of an object. (You may also need to take additional photos to calibrate your camera lens — see the Calibrating the Lens tutorial.)

General points to note...

Check that the stand and the object are stable, and will not wobble or fall over when the mat is turned (stick together if necessary).

Do not move the object off the stand while taking the photographs.

Try and make the object as big as you can by getting in close or using a zoom but it must not go off the edge of the picture.

It does not matter if the backdrop obscures some of the markings on the mat as long as the front half of the mat is visible.

If you use a zoom lens you should keep the same setting for all of the pictures you need to take (including those in later steps).

After you have taken your photographs do not crop or resize the images in any way. All the images must be the same size as one another or 3DSOM Pro will refuse to accept them as input.

TIP:	Frame the view so that the calibration mat takes up about 1/3 of the total image.

Taking side views

First take a set of around 15 side views of the object from different angles. The camera should be looking slightly downwards to ensure the calibration mat is clearly visible as shown in Figure 1.3.1.

Figure 1.3.1. Correct Camera position for the first set of images

The fifteen, or more, photographs should be taken from different viewpoints by rotating the mat either clockwise or anti-clockwise into about 15 different positions.

Make sure that the bottom of your backdrop cuts through the 3DSOM Pro stand and not the object (see Figure 1.3.2).

Figure 1.3.2. Correct height to frame photographs from the side

The following diagram shows some sample photographs taken of a toy doll.

Figure 1.3.3. A set of camera views of a toy doll rotated through one revolution

Taking additional photographs

Now take an additional four or more photographs from higher up looking down onto the object as shown in Figure 1.3.4.

Figure 1.3.4. Correct camera position for the additional photographs

The elevation of the camera should be high enough to look down on the object, without actually being an aerial photograph.
The four, or more, photographs should be taken from different viewpoints by rotating the calibration mat either clockwise or anti-clockwise into about four different positions.

The following diagram show a typical photograph taken of a toy doll.

Figure 1.3.5. Front view

Taking a single aerial photograph

Now take a single top-down (i.e., bird's-eye view) photograph of the object as seen below:

Figure 1.3.6. Top-down view of the object

It is important to ensure that the object does not excessively overlap any of the mat markings. If this happens then it is possible to take the picture from a slight angle to ensure that more of the markings are visible in the photograph.

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