The social giant Facebook is rolling out a feature which allows users to post photos with a 3D effect to their News Feed.
Called 3D Photos, they are essentially normal photos, but with richer details. So no, they aren't 3D. Users can't spin the photo around in 360 degrees, for example. But the photos have depth that lets users see things from different angles. The photos can also be tilted, too.
Facebook described 3D Photos like looking at a photography subject, as if they were standing still behind a window.
To create a 3D Photo, users need phones that are equipped with dual cameras. Facebook gives, as an example, all iPhones that have a "Portrait" mode.
Dual camera phones use two cameras to sense the depth of what they see. Usually, smartphone makers use telephoto lens accompanied by a wide-angle lens.
How these cameras work, involve one of the sensors (the telephoto lens) in making three-dimensional reading in the scene to determine what is in the front and what is the back. The second sensor then confirms the information, and together they can form images with the subject at the foreground, with the rest as the background.
As a result, these phones can take more data on each frame. The companies then use software and AI to analyse this data, and able to, for example, blur the background, creating what is known as the "bokeh effect."
This effect is similar to what lenses of DSLR cameras can do naturally, thanks to the set of lenses that integrate it.
After taking a photo using a dual camera smartphone, Facebook uses its AI to create the rest of the image based on the data the cameras have taken. Basically here, Facebook is repainting the parts of the picture the cameras didn't show.
In a brief tutorial, Facebook explained how to take the best 3D shots, which involves users to not "stand too close and use a subject with interesting color and texture." Also, Facebook advises users to "try to capture scenes with multiple layers of depth, including something in the foreground and something in the background—like a shot of your family standing in a field of flowers."
"Avoid transparent objects like clear plastic or glass, as they aren’t always accurately captured by depth sensors," Facebook continued.
Arriving to Facebook's News Feed as of the announcement, 3D Photos can also be viewed within Oculus Browser on Oculus Go or Firefox on Oculus Rift.