This video provides a comprehensive walkthrough on how to export and share “living pictures” using the Lytro Desktop software. It transitions from the basics of 2D file generation to advanced 3D and raw data options, ensuring users can showcase their light-field photography across various platforms.
Exporting Living Pictures (Source: Lytro, Adam Gould, March 13, 2018, Original URL, Archived URL)
Video Summary
Time
Description
00:00 – 00:05
An introduction to exporting living pictures.
00:05 – 00:17
A guide on how to export living pictures from Lytro Desktop.
00:17 – 00:22
A demonstration of the different export formats available.
00:22 – 00:37
An overview of the 2D export formats and the adjustments that are preserved.
00:37 – 00:54
An overview of the 3D export formats and how to view them.
00:54 – 00:58
An overview of the Lytro camera raw image export format.
00:58 – 01:09
An overview of the editable depth map and living picture export formats.
01:09 – 01:30
A guide on how to export your living pictures.
Key Takeaways
Tailored Export Formats: Choose between standard 2D formats (.jpg, .tiff) for everyday sharing, or specialized 3D formats (.jps or Red-Cyan) for immersive viewing on 3D TVs or with glasses.
“Baked-In” Adjustments: When exporting to 2D, your specific edits—including focus point, f-number (depth of field), and perspective shifts—are preserved exactly as you’ve set them.
Pro-Level Post-Processing: For advanced users, the software allows you to export Editable Depth Maps and Raw Images (.lfr), giving you the flexibility to manipulate depth data in external editors like Photoshop.
Effortless Batch Processing: Save time by selecting multiple images at once; use the Prefix feature to automatically name and number your files (e.g., “Vacation_01”) for an organized library.
Real-Time Progress Tracking: Keep an eye on the Activity Monitor in the top-right corner to see exactly when your high-quality renders are finished and ready to use.
The “Living” Advantage: Even after a shot is taken, the export process lets you decide exactly how that “living” moment should be presented to the world as a static or 3D image.
If you have a Samsung Galaxy phone that takes Dual Capture photos while in Portrait mode like the Samsung S10+ then you might have run into some trouble trying to extract the embedded depth map from the photo. Many online tools designed to extract depth maps fail to recognize the hidden depth metadata of these images because they were originally developed for the Google Camera app called Lens Blur. This leads them to incorrectly assume the photos are flat. The screenshot below shows an example where no depth data was found using a popular app.
While web-based image editors are also convenient, they may not always recognize depth maps as a separate layer, let alone provide the ability to view it. The screenshot below shows that same Portrait-mode image file where no depth data was found.
Using ExifTool (Version 12.30 or newer) to Extract Depth Maps
Don’t worry, there’s a solution! You can use the free software called ExifTool to extract the depth map yourself. ExifTool, a versatile command-line tool, is ideal for extracting and manipulating metadata from various image file formats. An update to ExifTool was released in August 2021 to decode DepthMapTiff from JPEG images of more Samsung models.
Comparison of observable Portrait-Mode image with Color Point effect applied and extracted Depth Map TIFF image
2. Install ExifTool: Follow the installation instructions for your operating system.
3. Open a command prompt or terminal: The exact steps may vary depending on your operating system. To open the Command Prompt (CMD) in Windows, you can use the keyboard shortcut “Windows key + R” to open the Run dialog box, then type “cmd” and click OK.
4. Navigate to your directory: Use the cd command to change to the directory containing your photo. In the following example, the file path “C:\Users\Realistec\Pictures” refers to a directory (or folder) on a Windows computer. Here’s a breakdown of its components:
C: This is the drive letter of the primary hard drive on the computer.
Users: This is a folder that typically contains subfolders for individual user accounts on the computer.
Realistec: This is the name of a specific user account on the computer.
Pictures: This is a subfolder within the user’s account that is typically used to store images and photos.
Therefore, the full path “C:\Users\Realistec\Pictures” points to the “Pictures” folder within the “Realistec” user account on the primary hard drive (C drive) of the computer.
Example: cd C:\Users\Realistec\Pictures
5. Run ExifTool: Start by using the following command to generate an output (*.txt) file with detailed metadata information:
exiftool -a -u -g1 -w txt myphoto.jpg
Remember to replace “exiftool” with the entire file path to your installation.
Also, remember to replace myphoto.jpg with the actual filename of your photo.
The text file will be saved as myphoto.txt
Example: C:\Users\Realistec\Desktop\exiftool-12.97_64\exiftool -a -u -g1 -w txt 20240901_113727.jpg
6. Open the newly created sidecar text file: This file provides important metadata, including Image Size, Megapixels, and Depth Map details.
7. Check for the ‘Depth Map Tiff’ Metadata Tag: If the file contains this specific metatag, as shown below, proceed to the next step.
8. Extract the Depth Map: Use the following command to extract the depth map image, which is identified by the ‘-DepthMapTiff’ Composite Tag:
9. Extract the Embedded Image: Copy the last command by pressing the up arrow key. Then, replace “-DepthMapTiff” with “-EmbeddedImage” by pressing the left arrow key and backspace to delete. You will also need to replace “_right” with “_image” to create a new file. The command will look like this:
That’s it! If done correctly, you should have the original photo, a depth map, an unfiltered image, and a metadata text file.
Now that you have your depth map, you can use it for a variety of applications, from creating depth-of-field effects to generating creative assets like perspective-shifted animated GIFs and videos.
