Gaussian Splatting Capture Guide
Last updated November 3, 2026
Use of AI: Claude Opus 5.5, for references, icons
A Gaussian splat (a 3D model that looks like a photo, made from many images of a scene) is only as good as the video you give it. The software has to see every part of the scene from several angles, sharp, and with nothing changing between frames. A normal phone is enough for that, if you film with it in mind.
The basics for any capture
Moving
Do: Walk all around
the 3D comes from your steps; turning on the spot gives nothing
Slow and steady
a calm walking pace; fast moves blur the frames
Do: Keep it in frame
the whole time; no sudden turns, no looking away
Do: End where you started
a full circle if you can; closing the loop joins everything
The scene
Do: Soft, even light
daylight or diffuse light; no strong shadows, no backlight
Avoid: Nothing moving
people or cars crossing, pets, leaves in the wind
Avoid: Avoid glass and shine
reflections change with every angle; if you can't avoid them, pick angles with less glare
Texture around it
a plain white table or a blank wall leaves nothing to match between frames
The phone
Do: 4K, 30 or 60 fps
30 is enough; 60 gives sharper frames, but only with good light
Avoid: Don't zoom
move closer with your feet, and keep the same lens all the video
Do: Lock focus and exposure
long-press on the screen, so the brightness does not jump
Do: Plain video mode
normal stabilisation is fine; no Action, Cinematic or Portrait mode: they warp, crop or blur the image
Depending on what you film
Pick what you are filming to see the path to walk, and four things to keep in mind.
An object on a table
A vase, a shoe, a toy, a small sculpture...
- 20–60 s
- 2 or 3 rounds
- fills half the frame
Walk slowly around it at its height (1), then a second round higher, looking down at it (2). That gets the top and the sides. A third, lower one (3) if you can. Same distance all the way.
Room to walk around
the middle of a table or a stool, not against a wall
Do: A textured base
a patterned cloth, a newspaper or wood under it
Do: Fill half the frame
close enough for detail, with some background to track
Avoid: Watch your shadow
with the light behind you, your shadow walks over it
A big thing outdoors
A statue, a car, a big rock, a fountain, the front of a building...
- 40–90 s
- 2 rounds, far and close
- cloudy, or all in shade
First a round far enough to see all of it (1), then a closer one for the details (2). If it is tall, lift the phone over your head for part of the way.
Do: Less sky
point a bit down; the sky has no depth and confuses the model
Do: Arms up for the top
part of the round with the phone over your head
Can't go around it?
a facade or a cliff: walk arcs in front of it, near and far
Avoid: Mind the wind
leaves and grass that move come out blurry
A room
A living room, an office, a lab, a small museum hall...
- 1–2 min
- along the walls, then closer
- every light on
Walk along the walls looking across the room, slowly at the corners. Then one more pass, closer, for the furniture and anything the first one missed.
Do: Look across the room
from near the walls; never spin on the spot in the middle
Do: Every light on
before you start, and don't touch them while filming
Avoid: Mirrors and screens
they look like windows to another room; cover them
Do: Ceiling and floor too
tilt up and down a bit as you walk, or they will be holes
A whole place
A street, a courtyard, a garden, some ruins, a building from outside...
- 2–3 min
- there and back, a loop
- steady light, not at sunset
Walk the street (or the path) looking at one side, and come back looking at the other side, so you finish where you started. The phone a bit turned, not straight ahead.
Do: Look to the sides
what is straight ahead barely moves between frames, so it gives little 3D
Do: Slow at corners and doors
turn while you keep walking; this is where the track gets lost
Don't stop recording
the walk between two spots is what joins them
Do: Exposure on auto here
from sun to shade, a locked exposure burns or darkens half the video
Before and after
Before you press record
- Clean the lens. A fingerprint puts a haze over the whole model.
- Battery and free space, 4K fills the phone fast.
- 4K at 30 or 60 fps, and HDR video off (in many tools its frames come out washed out).
- Decide the route: where you start and where you finish.
Before you leave
- Watch the whole video on the phone. Blurry parts? Somebody crossing? A side you forgot?
- If in doubt, film it again. One more minute now is much cheaper than coming back.
- Send the original file. WhatsApp and similar apps compress the video a lot, unless you send it as a document.
Other guides and references
Capture guides
- Taking photos for Gaussian splatting PlayCanvas
- Best practices for capturing scenes for Gaussian splatting FreeGaussian
- Gaussian splatting from video, complete workflow Polyvia3D
- How to capture Gaussian splats, camera guide Radiance Fields
- How to create a Gaussian splat from video SkyeBrowse
- Best practices for Gaussian splats SketchUp
- Getting started with Luma AI: guided capture mode pIXELsHAM
Rooms and indoor spaces
- How to capture high fidelity interior scans Polycam
- Reality capture best practices Autodesk
- Photogrammetry pointers Medium
- Indoor mapping game plan Pix4D
- Indoor space capture guide Aholo
Phone settings
- HDR iPhone footage washed out Adobe Community
- iPhone Action mode: 2.8K and a cropped image T3
- Sending original quality videos in WhatsApp MacRumors
Background
- Structure from motion, lecture notes Princeton COS 429
- Motion and the focus of expansion, lecture notes UCSD CSE 252A
- R3GS: Gaussian splatting for robust reconstruction in unconstrained image collections arXiv 2025, with a sky sphere
- Two-stage Gaussian splatting optimization for outdoor scene reconstruction arXiv 2025, on sky artefacts