Photomontage can be used to anchor the proposed
scheme into a real site photograph and give the impression
of a completed building within its actual context.
The process involves taking a suitable photograph on site
from an aspect that will best illustrate the new intervention
when complete. A 3D model is created with the correct real
world characteristics, and light sources and camera positioned
in this model to match the photograph. The settings and position
of the virtual camera are matched to those of the real camera
used for the source image on site to provide a rendered image
and photograph sharing the same viewpoint of the development.
These images are digitally combined to create the illusion
of the building already having been completed.
Although the compositing process takes time, the scheme may
not require any contextual modelling and therefore cost no
more than a single rendered view.
A photomontage is useful for:
showing exactly how a building will look it it’s
actual context
showing extensions and modifications to existing buildings
illustrating a new development in a particularly distinctive
setting