10 Tips for Shooting Outdoors with the Matterport Pro 3D Camera

Atlanta Tech Village Rooftop Lounge Walk-Around at sunset created by We Get Around Chief Photographer Dan Smigrod. Atlanta Tech Village uses the We Get Around Walk-Arounds to help with rentals of its Rooftop Lounge, Community, Event and Conference spaces.

Here are 10 tips – for successfully creating 3D Showcases outdoors at night and during the day using the Matterport Pro 3D Camera – by We Get Around Chief Photographer Dan Smigrod.

  1. shoot at sunset (with buildings or clouds blocking the sun)
  2. shoot in shade
  3. shoot when clouds block the sun
  4. shoot at night

When shooting outdoors, anticipate that:

  1. it may take twice as long as an indoor shoot
  2. scan failures increase (move the camera scans closer. Shoot scans 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 one foot apart, for example; delete scans 2, 3 and 4 so the "Walk-Around" feels natural: not like baby steps
  3. scans may be "successful" but show-up in completely the wrong place within the Capture app; delete these scans as you go
  4. lower the camera a foot lower that eye-level (thanks to a publicity-shy member of our We Get Around Network of Matterport Pro 3D Camera Photographers for this tip). For example, set the tripod/camera to capture at 5' 4" instead of 5' 10")
  5. Stay on the same "linear scanning path" rather than jumping around the space to shoot. This will help with stitching scans together and lighting transitions looking natural
  6. When shooting at sunset – a limited window for the lighting to be right – ask your client to be diligent about no people entering the space. Every minute counts.

Matterport says its camera is not design to capture people or be used outdoors. We pleasantly surprised their team with this people example. We anticipate that the Matterport team will be equally pleasantly surprised with our outdoor examples.

In addition to creating We Get Arounds Walk-Arounds for our greater Atlanta area clients, Dan provides training to our Network of photographers that cover hundreds of cities on four continents.  In the first three months that the Matterport 3D Showcase has been possible (July 2014), Dan has created 200,000+ square feet of luxury real estate and commercial real estate spaces – including with people and outdoors – for more than a dozen clients.

Atlanta Tech Village Rooftop Lounge Walk-Around at night created by We Get Around Chief Photographer Dan Smigrod. Atlanta Tech Village uses We Get Around Walk-Arounds to help with rentals of its Rooftop Lounge, Community, Event and Conference spaces.

Atlanta Children's Shelter Walk-Around (includes large, outdoor playground) by We Get Around Chief Photographer Dan Smigrod



Dan Smigrod

http://about.me/smigrod