by Dan Smigrod, We Get Around Chief Photographer
To create a We Get Around WalkAround™ 3D Tour – powered by Matterport – of the Hudson hotel suite 1120 last week in New York City, I shot 23 scans, but deactivated 10 of those scans.
Why shoot nearly twice as many scans?
When I do a Matterport photo shoot, I am always thinking:
- how to make the best walk around experience
- how to make the best floor plan view
- how to make the best dollhouse view
- how to make the best virtual reality experience
- how to prevent camera selfies (in mirrors)
We Get Around WalkAround Mini-Map – powered by Matterport – Shows scan locations within Hudson hotel suite 1120 | Mini-Map by We Get Around Chief Photographer Dan Smigrod
In the bathroom, for example, I only used one of seven scans. While I only want the viewer to step into the bathroom to look around (one scan), I needed two scans in the bathtub to make the floor plan and dollhouse views look nice. I also needed four additional scans to make the rest of the bathroom's floor plan views look nice (no black holes).
So, in Matterport 3D Workshop view, I deactivated the scans that I did not want the viewer to 'step' on. Matterport deactivated scans are still used for the dollhouse and floor plan views. For clarity, I deactivated: not deleted 10 scans.
Screen Grab: Matterport 3D Workshop view of deactivated scans. ("X" indicates deactivated scan.)
I shot scan 13 (hidden behind scan 22 in the center of the room) when scan 12 failed (not pictured). I had moved the camera too far from the previous scan. That said, scan 13 shows up in BOTH mirrors in the room. So, I shot scan 22 as the "sitting" view – not in the mirrors – and deactivated scan 13.
I did not delete scan 13 in case the Hudson team did not mind the camera selfie (and did not want a sitting view).
In the door jam between the bedroom and the bathroom are two scans: 8 hides scan 6. I deactivate scan 6 (because I decided I wanted to tweak the positioning of the lamp in the living room area that the camera would see. (I started the project in the most challenging space in the suite – the bathroom.
While I could have deleted scan 6 instead of deactivating it, since the model is so small (23 scans), I try not to delete scans. If the model was shot with over 200 scans, then I would delete scans until I was under 200. (Matterport supports up to 200 scans in the finished model. That's a best practice to keep the model from crashing on a smartphone, for example.)
I did enjoy my stay at the Hudson, including dinner in Hudson Common "modern-day beer hall and burger joint and the view from the English garden-in-the Sky Terrace rooftop oasis win an un obstructive view of the Hudson River, including the Statue of Liberty.
I would love to do a 3D Tour of the Sky Terrace. While Matterport does not support outdoor shoots, here's how I shoot outdoor spaces successfully. The Sky Terrace would be a great We Get Around WalkAround VR Tour – powered by Matterport VR Showcase Beta. The viewing experience would feel like this.
I look forward to my next stay at the Hudson in three weeks.
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Dan Smigrod is We Get Around Founder, CEO and Chief Photographer. We Get Around is Georgia's first and only photography service company dedicated solely to the Matterport platform. Atlanta-based Dan also is the founder of the Referral Network of Matterport Pro 3D Camera Photographers and the Matterport User Group Forum.
View from the Top | Hudson Sky Lounge panorama by We Get Around Chief Photographer Dan Smigrod