The virtual photo studio
The image below shows a shot I've created of a quick change machine tool on a brass surface lit by one light and shot through a 35mm camera at ISO100 through a 120mm lens. As you can see the different materials such as the stainless steel bearings and machined aluminium parts are nicely highlighted in this environment. However none of this scene exists in real life, it exists purely in 3D space as it's entirely computer generated.
I've done quite a bit of product photography for clients and have learnt a lot in a past few years about studio setups and lighting, I also have a long time love affair with computer generated 3D environments and wanted to see what can be done with the latest ray tracing software. I'm sure you'll agree the results are impressive. The image below is a virtual recreation of a very basic setup using paper as a back ground and infinity wall with three carefully positioned lights, most people I have shown this to have mistaken it for a real photography.
I created this experiment because I believe many manufacturers have a need to show promotional images of products but cannot due to the following reasons:
- The product exists only as a three dimensional drawing in software and is yet to be physically produced
- It is at prototype stage and unsuitable for photographing due to a rough production process or scuffs and marks from testing
- The product is too large to fit into a studio or has expensive logistical issues
- It needs to be shown in an environment that isn't possible to create in real life
- It needs to be shown in an unrealistic orientation such as floating mid air
- The product is yet to be patented and the manufacturer cannot risk any prototypes leaving their hands
To achieve this I first obtained a three dimensional drawing file from the manufacturer, in a format which is supported by most modelling applications such as SolidWorks. For this particular assembly I had to spend some time separating the individual parts however it's usually possible to supply these already separate. Something that's important to note here is that sending out this data could potentially supply a competitor with the blueprints to make the product; therefore if the data is sensitive it would be wise to remove any critical unseen components from the file.
With the latest ray tracing software it's possible to apply materials that will be rendered just how they appear in real life, reflecting, refracting and absorbing light as they should. For this I spent a lot of time specifying material surfaces which behave correctly. Once happy with the materials I created the various scenes shown on this page which could be used as PR shots, advertising images or exhibition materials. Let's say you wanted isometric style images of products for your online catalogue, again the orthographic projection would be hard to reproduce without a sophisticated camera lens and setting up the scene to be exactly the same each time you photographed a new product very time consuming.
The costs are comparable with photography too, particularly if a 3d CAD model already exists and especially further down the line when the product is modelled, materials applied and scenes set. The environment is saved as digital data and can always be recalled and used again or modified slightly. Plus, if the need arises, there's the option of animating the product to show how it operates.
There is a temptation for manufacturers to try rendering products in their own CAD software or they are told their design agency can do it, however the results are often poor due to lack of knowledge/experience and will often turn out something like below.
Another way this can be useful is for manufacturers who need to visualise how a product will look with different materials/coatings used, for example if a product would look far more appealing if certain components were made from stainless steel or anodised aluminium. Here is the same product with different materials applied.
