How to Take Shareable 3D Photos of Any Subject Using Your iPhone

3D has been all the rage for the past few years. It seems like every other film has a 3D aspect to it, our TVs have 3D capabilities, and we can even print functional objects using increasingly affordable 3D printers. And after some trial and error (ahem, Evo 3D), it's finally taking shape on mobiles.

While the Evo 3D (as well as a couple of offerings from LG) were largely seen as failures in terms of three-dimensional capabilities, Amazon's upcoming smartphone will likely feature a new way to navigate menus and apps with its four low-energy IR cameras.

Then there's the new Google Camera and its Lens Blur feature, which adds depth-of-field to photos, allowing not only for great focusing effects, but also for parallax photos and 3D models using embedded metadata.

While this is all good and well, how can iPhone users get in on the fun? With Seene for iOS, you can give now give static pictures a 3D effect on your Apple device.

Snapping a 3D Image with Your iPhone

Using points that appear in your viewfinder, Seene calculates depth based on how these points interact with certain objects when you move your device around. When you open the viewfinder, you'll want a good amount of these dots to appear on the screen when focusing on your object.

How to Take Shareable 3D Photos of Any Subject Using Your iPhone

Once enough dots appear, tap the shutter and slowly rotate the phone up, down, left, and right until all four segments on the screen turn green. Seene will automatically begin to process the picture when the last segment turns green.

A Few Quick Notes:

If a small amount of dots appear, use flash. If too many dots appear, use a less reflective object.
You can only snap photos on the iPhone 4S and above. If you have an iPhone 4, you will only be able to view others' "seenes".

Fine-Turning Your Images & Sharing

By either rotating your phone around or using your finger, you can see the 3D effect in motion. If your results aren't great, you can retake or edit the depth of field for the picture (left screenshot below). Once you're satisfied, go to the next page and share your image through Seene, or on Facebook, Twitter, or Tumblr.

Getting More Social on Seene

Of course, Seene wouldn't be a real photo app if it didn't have a social networking aspect. If you share, you can edit your profile, follow people, and view other popular and trending 3D images.

3D Rendering in the Future

As for the future of Seene, it seems that the next update will allow users to create textured 3D models. Using the same points as it used for the previous effect, it calculates depth based on how you move your device—creating a 3D rendering of the model.

As you can see below, a 3D rendering of someone's head can be seen on an iPhone. With that 3D model, you can then use it to create an actual model, built by a 3D printer.