Thanks for taking an interest in trialling our 3D photo creation process. If you have any issues you need to troubleshoot or any questions, do email us, Marc@allaxisstudio.com & Tim@allaxisstudio.com

Overview

The 3D photo generation process requires a video or photo input. You will need to shoot your product on a flat surface from a range of angles, then upload the file(s)  to our portal from where a 3D photo will be generated.

For continuous shooting (video) you should shoot a single take and upload 1 file per product. For still photos, you should aim to capture around 200 photographs per product.

You will receive a link by email once your 3D photo is ready, just like the one below, but for your product:

https://allaxisstudio.com/preview?client=disney&product=stitch03&size=540&disableYSpin=true&motion=2

Your 3D photo can be integrated anywhere you like, including your ecommerce page.

Video capture guidelines

Camera

Whilst any camera can be used, the 3D reconstruction of your product will only be as good as the input images.

A phone can be utilised but will not give you the very best results. In-house we use a Canon R5. To get high quality results your camera ideally should have:

-The ability to shoot in a high quality video format such as Canon’s All-I or or Nikon’s N-RAW.

-The ability to keep focus on an object as you walk around it to capture the necessary coverage.

Lenses

Most  prime lenses (fixed focal length) are fine as long as you are able to frame your product, however fish-eye lenses don’t tend to give good results. A zoom lens is not ideal as the focal length can unintentionally change slightly throughout the capture which will adversely affect the 3D reconstruction.

Camera settings

Always use manual exposure settings. If any exposure setting changes throughout capture this will negatively affect results.

Shutter speed

In the interest of minimising motion blur, shooting with a shutter speed of 1/200 or faster is advised.

Aperture

F22 or smaller is preferable in order to get the greatest depth of field and keep as much of the subject in focus.

ISO

Set the ISO as low as your lighting will allow. With a Canon R5, you can go up to 6000 ISO whilst keeping noise at an acceptable level for the purpose of 3D reconstruction, however lower is advised if possible. With an older generation DSLR such as the Canon 5D, noise will be present at lower ISO values.

Video format

Use the highest quality format available to you, whilst aiming to not exceed 11gb if shooting in 4k, or 22gb if shooting 8k. 

With our Canon R5C we use All-I 29.7 fps 4k-D/8k-D. This gives us the desired file size for a capture around 2.5 minutes long, which is the average time it takes to get sufficient coverage of your product. 

Shooting in 8k will give better reconstruction of detail in certain cases, but not always, it depends on the subject. It does of course result in a larger file size so will take longer to upload. If you are shooting a product with a lot of intricate detail and texture, it can be worth trying 8k capture if your camera supports it.

Focus

Automatic focus is preferable so the subject is always in focus. 1-point AF mode is best, ensuring you keep the ‘focus area’ of your camera always pointed at your subject as you shoot.

The shooting process

Take your product, place it on a flat white surface and capture a video of it by walking around it in circles and filming one continuous take.

You will get the best results by circling the product at least five times and capturing it from 5 different elevations. This means going around 360 degrees at each of the camera positions below:

Try to avoid jerky movements to minimise motion blur. Keep the camera as steady as possible. Walk at a relatively slow speed. The whole video should be between 2 and 3 minutes long.

It is preferable to shoot your products with objects always visible in the background, rather than a featureless white backdrop for example. This is to aid 3D reconstruction.

Lighting

Natural light can be used, however remember that exposure should remain consistent. If there is a sudden change to the light (cloud cover changes and hides/reveals the sun for example) then you will have a less than ideal result.

Studio lighting is preferable to keep the illumination consistent & static (the lighting should not move during capture), as well as have enough light to use the optimal settings outlined above. 

In our studio we use at least 5x 60W LED panels, emitting approximately 650 Lumen at 1 meter each, for a total of 3250 Lumen @ 1m.

Your light output requirement will vary of course, depending on the size of your product & the nature of the surfaces and textures.

How to Send Us a File

We can set up a Google Drive folder for you to upload your video files. We’ll email you the link to the drive.  Once uploaded to this drive, please let us know by email. 

Alternatively, if you have your own Google Drive or Dropbox, send us the link, and we’ll take it from there.

It usually takes a few days to generate a 3D photo. Once it's ready, we’ll send you a link to the result.

We’re working on a portal for direct uploads, but it is not yet available. 

What happens next?

We’ll return a preview of the product in 3D for you to inspect. Feel free to let us know if any adjustments to the lighting or styling are needed. If you have existing product photos online, we can grade the images to match their color.

This is an example of the page you’ll be directed to: All Axis Preview

We provide parameters that allow you to adjust the size, animation on page load, and starting position.

On this page, you’ll also find the HTML code needed to integrate the 3D photo into a webpage. It is compatible with nearly all platforms (except Amazon and eBay) and is straightforward to implement.

Our developer is available for direct support to troubleshoot any integration questions.