Frequently Asked Questions

General questions.

General questions.

About requirements of the photos.

About our free service .

Contact information

General questions.

How does it work?

Answer: By photographing a surface or object from slightly different angles, there is in theory enough information to calculate a 3-dimensional model of the object (at least the parts visible on both photos), this is similar to what your brain does with the images from your two eyes. We use a very sophisticated computer algorithm to do this 3D calculation.

Why can't I see the back of my 3D-model?

Answer: Only surfaces visible on at least two photos will be part of the model, the computer algorithm used can not guess things that it can not see.

Why is there sometime garbage/noise in the generated 3D-model?

Answer: The computer algorithm sometimes gets confused about things in the pictures, this is especially true for large single colored surfaces. To minimize the garbage, be sure to follow the advice on how to take photos below.

What file formats are supported?

Answer: You will receive the 3D model in a zip file containing the following formats:

Is 3DS supported?

Answer: Yes, the program produces results in 3ds, and it can be imported directly into Google sketchup

Can you import the 3D model into SketchUp?

Answer: Yes, save the result in 3ds-format and use the "import" function in sketchup.

How many "megapixels" do I need?

Answer: If your photos have 2 megapixels or better, you will most likely get good results if you have followed the instructions for how the photos should be taken. 1 megapixel photos will also work in most cases but it is not recommended to use photos with lower resolution.

Can I use a stereographic camera (a camera that takes two pictures simultaneously that simulate two eyes)?

Answer: Yes! A setereo camera is ideal for this application. Photos taken with a stereo camera will almost always yield good results

How can I improve the quality of my 3D model?

Answer: The quality of the generated 3D is completely dependent on that you have followed all the instructions. Read them again and see if you might have missed one. The most common mistake is to have a large angle between the photos. The angle should be very tiny (look at the examples if you are not sure how this could look).

About WebGL

If you are unable to view the 3D models on this website, it could be due to two things.

• Your web bowser does not support WebGL. In this case you could download a web browser that does, such as Firefox or Google Chrome and it will start working
• Your display drivers are old. Some browsers block the WebGL feature if the display drivers of your graphics card are too old. You can remedy this by installing the latest drivers.

How to take photos that can be converted to 3D models

Important: Photos can not be converted to 3D if these instructions are not followed. All of them has to be followed.

• The photos has to contain the same surfaces. (se figure 1 below)
• The object you photograph should not move. Move the camera instead.
  Movements in the object between the photo shots will confuse the calculation algorithm and make the result look funny or not creating a result at all. If you are photographing people, ask them to stand still like statues in between shots.
• Use a good light source.
  This will minimize the risk of creating fuzzy and noisy photos. Sunlight is ideal, but if you use a lamp, do not move it in between photo shots. The light source has to be still between photo shots (just like the object you photograph).
• Do not use a flash (use good a good light source instead).
• The two photos should ideally be taken within an angle of 5-15 degrees from each other (se figure 1 below). Note that this is a very tiny angle and the most common mistake is to use a much larger angle making the resulting 3D-model look bad.
• Make sure the object/surface you are interested in covers the majority of the photo area.
  This ensures that the object you are interested in is not missed. And you will get more polygons on the object of interest.
• Avoid reflective surfaces.
  Reflections in a reflective surface might confuse the 3D-generation.
• Only color photos will work (do not use black&white photos).
• Do not change the camera zoom between photo shots.

Se our examples to watch how the pair of photos could look. And when you are ready, use our form to start!

Photos taken at a perfect angle of each other. Lots of surfaces common to both photos, likely to make a good 3D-model.

No surfaces common to both photos. The 3D-model created will be really bad or empty.

Contact information

If you have any questions not answered here, please send an email to: info@photo-to-3d.com