Is it possible to use portable lighting in 3d scans?
The answer is yes, but it really depends on what the scan is designed to do. You can use portable lighting in 3D scans before by adding a light on top of the Matterport camera and allowing it to spin. The light stays on the camera and it does light a dark space. However, depending on the type of light used, the overall finish in the capture may not be aesthetically pleasing.
We generally use lighting to capture spaces for insurance purposes where there is no electric due to fire or flood damage. Here I was asked to bring some portable lighting to enhance some dark corners in these rooms within Hampton Court Palace.
Yellow circles
You can see that the lighting above provides a rather nasty yellow circle on the dark wood panelling. It lit the space fine, but the purpose of this scan was to show off the space to the public. Having huge yellow circles on these beautifully panelled walls, does not enhance the space nor encourage you to go visit.
The difference
As a consequence we captured the same space again only using the natural light. There may be a bit of differential in the darker corners, but overall the scan looks a lot more inviting. Things that look artificial in the scan really detract from the experience of being in an immersive tour.
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