Social
media website Facebook includes a new feature, known as 3D photo, which adds a layer of depth to photos in your news feed.
The company described it as a “new way to share your recollections and moments in time with a fun, lifelike
dimension in both news
feed and VR”.
It can capture the space between the subject in the foreground and the background of a photograph to “bring
scenes to life with depth and movement”.
Here’s how it works, as
well as a way to create, share and view 3D photos.
What is a Facebook 3D photo?
3D photograph is
new feature on Facebook designed to
make photos seem more immersive in your news feed
(and from your VR headset.)
First announced in May 2018,
3D photograph basically draws from the depth map in an image captured by a dual-camera phone, and then it adds some
custom software system enhancements. The end result should be a perspective-shifting,
pseudo-3D image.
How to view Facebook 3D photos:
Starting in October 2018, everybody will be able to view 3D
photos via the Facebook mobile app, or from the oculus Go VR headset’s web browser. You can additionally use Firefox on
the oculus Rift.
While viewing a 3D photograph from a phone, scroll or tilt your device to
slightly change the perspective.
How to create and share Facebook 3D photos:
You’ll need an iPhone
with dual cameras
(iPhone 7 plus, iPhone 8 plus, iPhone X, iPhone XS or XS Max). Other flagship phones also have dual cameras, as well as android devices just like the Samsung Galaxy
Note 9 and LG V35
ThinQ. However Facebook said support isn’t yet accessible for
those devices.
It will be “adding support for additional devices in the future”.
Create and share a 3D photograph
Start by making a brand new Facebook
post via the Facebook mobile app, and
then tap the
icon with 3 dots to see your post options. From there, tap 3D photograph to access your
iPhone’s Portraits folder, then choose a photograph and preview it.
Finally, add a caption and hit share.
Here are a number of things to think about when creating and sharing a 3D photo:
You’ll get the most effective results if your main subject is 3 or four feet away. Capture
scenes with multiple layers of depth (like your family in a field of flowers). Capture
subjects with contrasting colors (avoid a blue truck in front of a blue wall). Capture
subjects that have some texture to them, solid edges, and aren’t too shiny.
Avoid transparent objects
like clear plastic or glass, because
the depth sensors can miss
those.
When will Facebook 3D photos be available?
Everyone on Facebook can already see 3D photos in
their news feeds and in VR. Soon, Facebook said everybody will also be given the choice to create and share 3D photos.
That functionality should be wide accessible by finish of
2018.