How to Create Stereoscopic Cross-View 3D Pictures from Lytro Images

The newest feature to be added to the LightField capabilities of Lytro’s Destkop Software is Perspective Shift: Viewers can physically move the point of view a few centimeters in every direction, within the limitations of the lens system.
In order to create this stunning effect – remember, these are pictures taken with a single lens! – Lytro uses a combination of parallax information and an infinite depth of field version of the picture in regard.

With these two sets of data at hand, it is just a small step to create 3D pictures, and Lytro has already confirmed working on a 3D Export feature. But why wait? Using Perspective Shift, it is already possible to create stereoscopic cross-view 3D pictures.

Lytro-Fan and beta tester Jeff Wilson tells us how it’s done:

How did I do this? Pretty low-tech, actually:

• Select a photo that lends itself to good perspective shift. The Lytro software will assess this for you.
• Process the photo for perspective shift. This takes about 30 sec or so for each image.
• View the photo using perspective shift; that is, click and drag on it to change the perspective. Move the cursor to one side (left or right) and use a screen-grab program (in Windows, CTRL-PrintScreen) to capture the image.
• Paste this into an image manipulating program (I use the GIMP), and select just the photo, saving it as a separate image.
• Repeat Step 3, but move the cursor to the opposite side of the picture change to the other perspective before capturing the image.
• Repeat Step 4 to capture the photo and save it as an image showing the other perspective.
• Paste the two saved images side-by-side in the same image, and view it to ensure that you have the images in the correct position (you will know if you don’t — far objects will appear as if they are nearer than close objects if you have it wrong).
• When you are sure that the locations are correct, save the image.

There’s a whole collection of 3D pictures waiting for you in Jeff Wilson’s how-to article.