Flower Photogrammetry
3D Printed Flower from Photographs
This is an instructable for the course I am taking at the California State University, Long Beach, "DESN 551: Materials, Tools, and Techniques of Prototyping" taught by Behnaz Farahi."
Supplies
Camera, Agisoft Metashape, MeshMixer, 3d printer
Photo Backdrop Setup
Effective photogrammetry requires a clean and consistent background. this can be done with common and simple supplies. Find a plain background; such as a sheet of paper or bedsheet. Sufficient lighting is important. Find as many lamps as you can spare to light your subject. A clean white surface can be used to bounce light on the subject as well. Finally, find a way to secure your subject in place. Skewers in cardboard worked well for me. You could also try some clay or wire. Something that can be easily rotated is idea. If you have a turntable or lazy-Susan, use it!
Photograph Subject
When photographing your subject, it is helpful to keep the camera as still as possible. Use a tripod, or a makeshift support for your camera or phone. Photogrammetry can work with a handheld camera, although your results will be less successful. Take photos from a specific location, rotating the subject a few degrees each time. Once you've gone all they way around, move the camera angle, and take another 360 degrees of photos. The more photos you get, the better. Be sure to not take photos with too much degree of difference, the photogrammetry software needs overlap in the photos to be able to stitch them together.
Upload Photos to Metashape
I used Agisoft Metashape to turn my photos into a 3D model. The software uses overlap in the photographs to determine three dimensional location and geometry. After creating the 3D model in Metashape, I exported an STL file that could be edited in MeshMixer. This step is important if you need to fill holes, simplify geometry, or make other adjustments necessary for 3D printing.
Depending on the subject or results of your scan, you may or may not be able to 3d print your results. This 3D printed rose was only possible with a Strataysys J750 because of the massive overhangs between the pedals of the flower.