How to Capture in 3D for a 3D print - 2 Min 10 sec : 6.8Mb

3D Portraits - 3D Lenticular - Auto Stereo Prints

Mark, Wow!
This is BLOODY GREAT! The best quality portrait I’ve seen!
Russell Brown Sr. Creative Director Adobe Systems Inc.

After many years of hard work Mark Ruff has designed and developed a proprietary camera system which can capture 3D portraits in an instant.

With Mark's unique system the BIG difference is that no matter the size of print it has continuous depth over the subject and is demonstrably more impressive than other ways of producing 3D.
And because Mark's method of 3D capture and print is 'auto stereo' there’s NO need to wear goggles, glasses or headsets to view the image.

Until now only three options were available to create 3D.
In the first, a single camera scans the subject capturing all the views necessary.
This is not so practical for a portrait since a scanning camera fails to capture anything that moves.
The second involves a 2D to 3D conversion which is, again, not that practical for portraiture as peoples’ faces are extremely difficult to convert.
The method requires many days to perform, is very expensive with all its computer labour and the result is not particularly convincing.
The final option is 2D layers in a 3D environment which is generally considered as the ‘gimmicky’ way of producing 3D.

There are three secrets to creating 3D - capture, post production and printing - none of which are easy or trivial to master.
However, Mark now offers the secret of 'capture' to photographers by providing the hardware to facilitate capture and thereby broadening their offer to clients.
This can be achieved in one of two ways.
1. Photographers can acquire Mark's services directly to capture 3D.
2. Photographers can rent or purchase a licensed system and take control of all the image-making steps themselves.
In either case, after capture is performed, images are sent to Time Splice for post-production and printing which means that professional photographers do not need to acquire the skills and hardware for these critical stages.

Capture:
A subject is captured with an array of five cameras, fixed to a horizontal rail and supported by a tripod with a dolly or a camera stand.

Post Production:
From the five 'key' views almost any number of required views can be generated and then 'interlaced' or 'spliced' together to create 3D.

Printing:
Special combinations of printers and jigs are used for print manufacture. After the capture process, selected images are processed for viewing.
A preview of the 3D effect can be made on-line using supplied cinema style 3D red / cyan glasses.
Your 3D print is then manufactured and sent to you or can be picked up from our studios.

This web site uses small looping animations which is a common way of presenting images that are used to make a 3D print. The 'smoothness' of these images is a reflection of print quality.
For maximum viewing effect in a web site environment you will need 3D glasses so click here to subscribe to the newsletter, leave your postal details and receive a complimentary set from Time Splice™.

Another couple of points:
3D cannot be copied or reverse engineered.
As 5 cameras are used for capture, a 2D version from any single camera is available.

Also referred to as lenticular, the process has generally been the domain of the offset, high volume printers, that is, a single piece printed many times.
Time Splice ™ is a revolution that allows a volume of shots and a small number or one off prints to be manufactured.

Mark Ruff's business card is also in 3D!:

As seen in the Nov./Dec. AIPP newsletter, The Working Pro.
I have already had a report of the non appearance of a card in TWP.
If you did not receive a card, then click here, supply a postal address to receive a card and 3D glasses.
Sorry folks - this card was not printed to my expectation.

Click here for a explanation.

Click here to see a red/cyan anaglyph version

An image sequence indicates quality of the final print:

This print won Silver Distinction at the Australian Professional Photography Awards (PMA) 2009