Facebook 3D Photos: How to Create, Share, and View 3D Photos

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(Pocket-lint) – Facebook offers a 3D photo feature designed to add a layer of depth to photos in your feed.

It can capture the distance between the foreground subject and the background of a photo to “bring scenes to life with depth and movement,” Facebook said. The company describes it as a “new way to share your memories and moments in time with a fun and realistic dimension both in the news feed and in virtual reality.”

Here’s how Facebook 3D photos work, including how to view and create them.

What are Facebook 3D photos?

First deployed in May 2018, 3D photos are essentially immersive photos that appear in your feed. The feature takes inspiration from the depth map in an image captured by a dual camera phone, then adds custom software enhancements. The end result should be a pseudo-3D perspective shifting image.

How to view 3D photos from Facebook?

In October 2018, everyone on Facebook had the opportunity to view 3D photos through the Facebook mobile app. You can also view them with the web browser on the Oculus Go VR headset or with Firefox on the Oculus Rift. But you don’t need a VR headset; you can just use the Facebook mobile app on your phone.

When using your phone, if you see a 3D photo in your feed, scroll or tilt your device to change the perspective slightly.

How to Create and Share 3D Facebook Photos

The easiest way to create 3D photos is to use the Facebook app for iOS. You can share them on your news feed, group, or page.

Terms & Conditions

You will need an iPhone with two cameras:

• iPhone SE
• iPhone 6S
• iPhone 7, 7+
• iPhone 8, 8+
• iPhone X, XR, XS, XS Max
• iPhone 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max

Create and share a 3D photo

It’s easy to get started. Just create a new Facebook post …

1. Open the latest version of the Facebook mobile app.
2. Tap What are you thinking? at the top of your news feed.
3. Tap Write something … in a group or Create a post on a Page.
4. Tap Photo / Video.
5. Select your photo and tap Done.
6. Tap Create 3D at the top left of your photo.
7. Tap Share or Post.

Note: To remove the 3D effect, tap Remove 3D at the top left of your photo

Tips and tricks

Here are some things to consider when creating and sharing a 3D photo:

• You will get the best results if your main subject is three or four feet away.
• Capture scenes with multiple layers of depth (like your family in a field of flowers).
• Capture subjects with contrasting colors (avoid a blue truck in front of a blue wall).
• Capture subjects that have a certain texture, solid edges, and are not too bright.
• Avoid transparent objects like clear plastic or glass, as depth sensors may miss them.

Anything else you should know?

Only one 3D photo can be shared at a time. (In other words, your post cannot contain multiple 3D photos.) They also cannot be added to an album.

When will Facebook 3D photos be available?

Anyone on Facebook can already see 3D photos in their news feed with the Facebook mobile app or with Oculus VR headsets.

But only iPhone users can create and share 3D photos on Facebook. It is not yet known when Android users will be able to do so.

Written by Maggie Tillman. Originally published on October 11, 2018.