Scanning Techniques

Lighting

It is absolutely essential to have the right lighting when scanning or taking photos to import into Trnio. The ideal lighting for scanning is having soft, even lighting that does not create any harsh shadows or reflective surfaces. These scans were done by importing photos taken by a DSLR camera into Trnio.

You can see here that when I scanned the flower vase on a cloudy day, the light covers the flowers and the vase evenly, creating a much more sharp and detailed scan. 

When I scanned the flowers on a sunny day in a harsh shadow, the scan is messy and incomplete. The reason for this is not only that the photos taken were not as high quality, but also that the difference in the light on the flowers creates a discrepancy between the light and dark sides in the scan, making it much harder to match up the two sides in one model. 

Close vs. Far

One of the most important tips for scanning with Trnio, whether you are using ARKit or Photo Import, is to make sure that the object you are scanning is filling up the entire frame.

You can see in this example that when I scanned this cookie from a close range, there is much more detail and very little background noise. On the other hand, when I scanned from a farther range, capturing the plate and table on which I was scanning, the object (the cookie) is much harder to see and does not have the detail that is present in the first scan.

Also, don’t be afraid to zoom in on your object when scanning or capturing photos in order to get those little details, as long as you have a complete 360 of the whole object beforehand (see our latest tutorial on scanning tips). This can help capture more texture, detail, and harder-to-reach spots on your object!