This article describes the basic workflow for building a 3D model of an object. We also recommend thinking through the process of photography. You can find more detailed recommendations in the section - Image Capture Tips. The workflow described in this tutorial is suitable for Professional and Standard.



Add Photos 

1. To add photos select Add Photos... command from the Workflow menu (Workflow > Add Photos...).


2. In the Add Photos dialog browse the source folder and select files to be processed.


Recommended masking all irrelevant elements on the source photos (background, accidental, foreground, etc.). You can find more information in the tutorial - Masks.


Align Photos

At this stage, Metashape estimates the camera position for each photo and builds the tie point cloud. 


1. Select Align Photos command from the Workflow menu (Workflow > Align Photos). 


2. Set the following recommended values for the parameters in the Align Photos dialog:




- if you have a large number of images (more than 100), we recommend enabling - Generic preselection option, to reduce processing time;
- we do not recommend using parameters: Guided image matching, Adaptive camera model fitting;
- for Key point limit the recommended range of 20 000 to 100 000;
- for Tie point limit the recommended range of 2 000 to 40 000.


3. Click OK button to start photo alignment.


After photo alignment is finished, refine bounding box position and orientation to fit the desired volume for reconstruction:



This step is optional since Metashape calculates bounding box dimensions, orientation and location automatically. But it is recommended to check if any correction is needed because further reconstruction step deals only with the data inside the volume. Bounding box can be resized, moved and rotated with the help Resize Region, Move Region, and Rotate Region tools.


Build Model

Metashape can reconstruct polygonal mesh model based on the point cloud information (Point Cloud, Tie Points) or based on the depth maps data. The second approach supports GPU acceleration and mostly provides better results for the same depth maps quality for objects and scenes with a big number of minor details.


1. Select Build Model command from the Workflow menu (Workflow > Build Model...). Set the following recommended values for the parameters in the Build Model dialog:




2. Click OK button to start building geometry.



If you need a point cloud as a result (not only polygonal model), then use the Build Point Cloud command from the Workflow menu. 

Also, you can build a point cloud from mesh model using Model as Source data in the Build Point Cloud dialog window:

Uniform point spacing (m) - specifies the desired distance between points of the point cloud to be generated.
Estimated point count - defines the expected number of points to be generated.




Build Texture

1. Select Build Texture command from the Workflow menu (Workflow > Build Texture...). Set the following recommended values for the parameters in the Build Texture dialog:




2. Click OK button to start building texture.  


Usually, the texture atlas size in the range of 4096 - 16 384 pixels is sufficient. 


Export Model

1. In case the model should be exported to the file, select Export Model... command from the File menu (File > Export > Export Model...). 


2. In the Export Model... in the dialog box, select options to export the 3D model. 



3. Click OK button.



In the Export Model dialog indicate the desired export parameters. Note that the list of available exporting parameters depends on the selected file format. In the example *.fbx format was selecte


Upload Data

Metashape supports direct uploading of the generated data (Point cloud, Textured Model) to various online resources: 4DMapper, PointBox, Pointscene, Sketchfab.


To publish your model online use Upload Data... command from the File menu (File > Upload Data...).