HOW TO TAKE PICTURES FOR PHOTOMODEL3D

Inferring 3D structures from 2D photographs is considered an “ill-posed” problem in computer vision in the sense that its solution is inherently under-constrained and unstable. Photomodel3D employs an analysis principle called “structure from motion” for such a 3D inference process, and the process comprises many intertwined components. Failure of any of the components can defeat the whole modeling procedure. Hence, to ensure success, some caution should be exercised in gathering pictures for the 3D analysis.

What types of 3D objects can be modeled?

Please take a look at our demo pages. While our Photomodel3D program can work with many different types of objects, the important thing to remember is that it does not work well with objects whose appearance is too plain (a single, or a few, colors with no texture), shinning (glass and mirror), or changing (moving or deformable objects).

Basic DO and DON’T

# Do take a lot of pictures (5 at least)

# Do make sure that adjacent pictures show significant overlap

# Do make sure that the direction where the camera is pointing at does not change significantly from one photo to the next

# Do make sure that the object of interest occupies a large portion of the photograph

# Do not change any camera setting (zoom, focus, and aperture) when taking pictures

# Do not stand at a single place to take pictures. Walk around the object of interest and take pictures from many different locations

If you desire 360^o construction, it is important that photographs are taken by moving the camera in a roughly “orbital” trajectory around the object of interest. You need to make sure that the viewing direction does not change too drastically from one photo to the next. Take more photos of narrow, curved parts of the object and less of large, planar regions. Generally speaking, you should take at least 30 pictures in a 360^o construction. Ideally, you should have around 60 pictures. Our demo program allows up to 10 photos, and you should contact us individually if you desire to build 3D models with more than 10 photos.