How to render a scene photo match simulation of your project in context with the surrounding environment
Here’s how to render a scene photo match simulation of your project in a professional, simple and fast way with a BIM software
Have you ever wanted to visually simulate your project in context with the surrounding environment?
Looking for an easy solution that doesn’t require any third party software? Do you think it takes too much time and too complicated to set up?
In this article I’ll be taking you through all the necessary steps to achieve a professional scene photo match simulation with an easy-to-use architectural design software which you can use freely for 30 days.
Simply follow the video tutorial that shows you how to get amazing results.
What is a scene photo match simulation?
Before starting off with all the details, let me explain what a scene photo match simulation actually is and what it’s used for.
A scene photo match simulation is a photographic elaboration that allows you to view your project in the urban and landscape context within which it will actually be built before even starting the construction phase.
In practice, the objective is to simulate the transformation of the territory following a renovation or new construction project in order to assess its impact already during the design phase.
To get this kind of simulated project imagery, we need to start from a photograph of the construction area and then blend it with a correctly scaled representation of the 3D model from the right perspective.
How to produce a scene photo match simulation with Edificius
In order to get a professional and realistic image, we obviously need to start with a good quality photo of the area and then adapt the model so that it overlays the photo while keeping an eye on the lighting conditions, shadows, colors and, above all, aligning it to the observation point (perspective) from which the photo was taken.
To get professional results, you need to use specific software.
Let’s see how it’s done with Edificius.
What are scene photo match simulations for?
Scene photo match simulations are very useful tool for the designer and can be used in various cases.
For example, it’s one of the documents required to accompany the building permit and also essential for getting landscape authorizations and important for communicating the design results to your client. Then it can also be of help to the designer during the design phase to avoid any evaluation errors and have greater awareness of any conflicts that can be detected visually.
How to produce a scene photo match simulation
If you need to make a scene photo match simulation of your project and you are looking for a quick way to do it, here’s how to proceed. The easy to follow step by step guide with Edificius.
First, click here and download the trial version of the software for free.
The second step is to create the 3D model of the project.
With Edificius you can take advantage of all the parametric BIM objects to create the complete model of your project in just a few steps or, if you have already created the 3D model with another software, you can import the file in IFC format.
At this point, get hold of a scenery photo to set the photo match environment and proceed with Edificius.
From the tool box on the left, choose the Scene Photo Match node, do a right mouse button click and select “Add PhotoMatch“.
Insert the photo in which to set the scene by clicking on the Load PHOTO command.
At this point you can reconstruct the perspective of the objects present in the photo.
Identify two planes orthogonal to each other in the photo and then position the vanishing lines correctly, also paying attention to the positioning of the vertical line.
You can verify the correctness of the perspective recreated automatically by the software by checking the position:
- of the horizon line;
- of the perpendicular;
- of the perspective planes of the reference Box that you can size manually and use as a verification tool.
How to produce a scene photo match simulation of the project with Edificius
Once verified, you can confirm the perspective view.
The 3D model of the project is automatically inserted into the photo-montage session with the same perspective as the objects already present.
Just place the model in the right position by holding down the mouse scroll-wheel, scale it and rotate it if necessary with the right button.
For a precise and correct positioning you can also take advantage of the specific Edificius features, such as 90° rotations, visibility and transparency options and zoom.
When satisfied with your model positioning, pin down the model using the lock button.
To obtain a realistic and professional result, you can also use the shadows and render the scene by clicking on the Start Rendering command.
You can use the scene photo match simulations as additional drawing models created directly with Edificius, export the image for use in other projects (reports, video presentations, etc.) or simply print it.
Video
For even more details, you can watch the video tutorial that shows you how to produce your scene photo alignments simulations with Edificius
