Create Facebook 3D Photos with DepthCam Pro
Facebook 3D photo format is changing the way we experience mobile photography. As you scroll though Facebook photos, you’re likely starting to see 3D photos that move and rotate as you scroll. These are depth photos posted as Facebook 3D photos.
DepthCam Pro for macOS makes it easier than ever to create 3D photos that can be posted to Facebook. A Facebook 3D post requires two things, a photo and a depth map.
Portrait Mode
The easiest way to create a 3D photo is with DepthCam for iOS or the iPhone’s built-in “Portrait” mode. Without any editing, you can post these to Facebook as a 3D Photo. (Note, you need an iPhone that supports depth capture in order to post a 3D photo. (Compatible devices: iPhone7+, iPhone8+, iPhoneX, iPhoneXR, iPhoneXs, and iPhoneXs Max)
Note: If you don’t see the 3D Photo option, you need to go to Facebook 360 and like this page.
I recommend using DepthCam iOS to capture depth photos. DepthCam is a dedicated camera app to capture depth photos and is faster than the builtin Portrait mode. Plus, you can immediately see your photos and depth maps after capturing a shot..
Editing Depth Photos
If you wish to do any editing with your depth photo such as cropping, you’ll need DepthCam Pro.
Open your depth photo in DepthCam Pro and you’ll see the photo and depth map. You can crop your photo with the crop button on top. Keep in mind, Facebook expects photos to have a 4x3 or 3x4 ratio. (Portrait or Landscape). Square photos won’t work correctly. I often crop my photos because they’re off center, zoomed out too much, etc. DepthCam Pro has smart cropping that will crop the depth map behind the scenes to keep everything aligned.
In case you’re wondering about Portrait photos containing people, DepthCam Pro also intelligently preserves and translates the new Portrait Effects Matte (PEM) so no data is lost when cropping. The PEM isn’t required for Facebook 3D Photos, but is preserved for possible future uses.
Creating Depth Maps
For adventurous users, you can create your own depth map for any photo. Again, start with a photo that is landscape or portrait with a 4x3 or 3x4 ratio. From this photo, create a depth map. A depth map is a grayscale image that encodes the distance to each pixel by a shade of gray. Black is close and white is furthest away.
Creating custom depth maps is beyond the scope of this article but here are a few methods below. Tip: keep the contrast low, avoiding solid black next to white.
Posting to Facebook
Once you have a photo ready to post, you need to send the final photo to a compatible iOS device to post to Facebook. In DepthCam Pro, click Save and make sure the Facebook 3D box is checked, or click Send to iPhone to AirDrop directly to your device.
I hope this is helpful. I look forward to seeing your 3D Posts!
DepthCam Pro
Originally published at www.brainfevermedia.com.
