Capture Basics

Instructor-only material. Not published to academy.photorobot.io public site.

Delivery context

Capture basics is the module that determines operator competence. Students leave B05 (Workspace) able to configure hardware; they leave B06 able to actually shoot a customer’s products. If they fluently complete Exercise 6 (production workflow design) without notes, they’re production-ready for simple shoots.

This module is density-heavy — 16 sections, more concepts than any previous module. Pace matters; don’t try to cover every menu option. Cover the model (4 areas, 3 paths to items, 3 folder types, hardware → sequence flow) and let students explore details in workbook.

Calibration: ask the class their photography background. Experienced photographers (DSLR users, studio operators from non-PhotoRobot systems) catch on fast for camera + lights but need the CAPP workflow specifically. Beginners need more time on basic photography concepts (which are largely outside B06 scope — refer to B08 Camera, B09/B10 Lighting).

Time allocation (75-min textbook + 30-45 min workbook + hands-on)

Textbook block (75 min)

Workbook block (30-45 min)

• Exercises 1-5 (15-20 min): quick checks
• Exercise 6 (15-25 min): production workflow design — single most important exercise. Do together on whiteboard.
• Exercise 7 (5 min): pre-flight checklist

Hands-on block (separate, 30-90 min if hardware available)

Each student captures a real test object end-to-end:

1. Open / create a workspace
2. Create item (manual or scan barcode)
3. Add Spin folder, 36 frames
4. Configure camera + lights
5. Run capture (Play)
6. Review captured frames

Instructor walks the room. The first time a student presses Play and watches the robot rotate + camera trigger is THE moment that ties everything together.

Live demo points

This module is heavily demo-dependent. Allocate ~50% of time to live demos.

1. (at minute 12-22) Manual item creation — open project, click Add item, fill Name + barcode + dimensions, click Add. Then demo CSV import — drag-drop a sample CSV, show 5+ items appearing. Then demo barcode scanner auto-create (if scanner available; otherwise screencast).

2. (at minute 22-30) Status flow — create an item, mark Captured, switch to filter “Captured” → only it appears. Add another item, mark Edited. Filter to “Edited” → only the second appears. Show the kanban behavior — multiple status filters per studio role.

3. (at minute 30-42) Folder + frame mechanics — create Spin folder with 36 frames, show empty thumbnails. Take a test shot, see thumbnail populate. Show the folder menu options (especially Import images, Activity, Create 3D model). Demo per-frame menu (Set label, Change angle).

4. (at minute 42-50) Sequence Control — Press Play, demonstrate full capture sequence on a test object. Press Emergency Stop mid-sequence. Show what happens (sequence halts, frames stay captured up to stop point). Then take a snapshot in Stills folder.

5. (at minute 50-58) Spin + multi-row — add a row at 0° swing, then add a row at 45° swing. Capture both. Show how this enables 3D model generation (if MacOS, demo Create 3D model).

6. (at minute 58-65) Freemask demo — enable Mask checkbox. Capture with front lights on (main image), capture with back lights on (mask). Show the composited result (transparent background). This is a wow-moment for students; do it well.

7. (at minute 65-72) Preset save + load — save current configuration as preset “Standard-Handbag-Spin”. Create new item, assign preset → item gets all folders, frame counts, lights config pre-populated. Show 3 assignment methods (drop-down, Add item dialog, bulk assign).

If delivering online without lab access: use pre-recorded screencasts of all 7 demos. Capture is too visual / spatial for text descriptions alone.

Common mistakes / misunderstandings to anticipate

“I’ll just click Add item every time”

Reframe: works for 1-5 items. For 50+ → CSV import is 10× faster. For continuous production → auto-create via barcode scanner. Sell the operator on matching workflow to volume.

“Why do I need item status if I’m just the photographer?”

The operator’s role is the start of a chain (photographer → editor → reviewer → publisher). Status enables every downstream role to filter their work without slack channels / spreadsheets. Even solo operators benefit from “today I shot these, tomorrow I’ll edit” workflow split.

“Fast-shot is always faster, why would I not use it?”

Reframe: Fast-shot requires (1) shutter cable + correct slot config (B05), (2) camera shutter speed faster than ~1/100s, (3) lights that recover quickly between rapid triggers, (4) stable object on turntable. Violate any of those → Fast-shot produces blurry / underexposed / inconsistent frames. Normal mode is the fallback for heavy / unbalanced / long-exposure scenarios.

“Calibration — I’ll just skip it, the robot looks like it’s in the right position”

Reframe: visual estimation is +/- few millimeters / degrees off. Spin reconstruction (especially multi-row 3D) needs exact reference. Skipping calibration = drift accumulates over the session, eventually frames misalign. 5 seconds of calibration saves you from re-shooting a 10-minute spin.

“Add scope sounds complicated, I’ll just use the default config”

True for simple shoots. But the moment your item needs Spin with strobes + Stills with constant lights, scopes become essential. Don’t oversell upfront; circle back when students hit a real use case.

“What’s the difference between a folder and a preset?”

Folder = where images go (Spin / Stills / Video). Preset = saved combination of folders + sequence settings + hardware config that can be re-applied to new items. Folder is the “what”; preset is the “how-to-set-up.”

“Why would I use CSV with preset assignment vs. assigning bulk after?”

CSV with per-row preset = one-step (import → items have presets). Bulk-assign-after = two-step. CSV is faster for new items; bulk-assign is faster for re-categorizing existing items.

Q&A anticipation

1. “How many frames per spin should I configure?” Answer: Industry default 36 (10° between frames). Lower (24) = smoother smaller file; higher (72) = ultra-smooth larger file. E-commerce standard 36. Custom (premium spinning car shots) sometimes 100+. Discuss with customer.

2. “What’s the max number of rows I can capture for 3D modeling?” Answer: No CAPP limit; practical limit by storage + time. Standard 3D: 3-5 rows (top + 3-4 elevation angles + bottom). Photogrammetry quality scales with rows but with diminishing returns past ~5.

3. “Can I run two sequences in parallel?” Answer: No. One sequence at a time per workspace. For parallel production, use multiple workspaces / multiple computers / multiple bays.

4. “If Edit auto fails (e.g., Freemask can’t isolate object), what happens?” Answer: The Original image is preserved; the Edited slot shows the failed mask. Operator can manually re-run editing or send for retouch. This is why “Edit auto” doesn’t mean “shoot and forget” — quick review is still expected.

5. “What if I press Play but no robot moves?” Answer: Common causes: wrong workspace active, robot offline (gray dot in Locator), camera not connected, no frames defined in folder. Cycle: verify workspace → check robot status → check camera → check folder has frames.

Workbook discussion plan

Diagnostic — is the student ready for B07 / B08 / B11?

Critical signal: Exercise 6 fluency. If they can answer 6.1-6.7 with reasonable answers (not perfect, but reasoning visible), they’ve integrated workspace + capture + sequence + preset thinking. Send to B07 (Wizard mode) for guided capture workflow OR B11 (Editing) for next stage.

If hesitant on Exercise 6: schedule 30-60 min office hour to walk through a fresh production design before B07.

Materials needed

• Slides — 4-area Capture interface diagram, Spin/Stills/Video folder model, frame anatomy (Original vs Edited), Freemask before/after pictures, Preset workflow diagram
• Lab computer with CAPP installed, workspace pre-configured
• At least 1 Control Unit with shutter cable + camera + lights
• Test object (handbag / cup / shoe ideal)
• Barcode scanner if doing auto-create demo (optional but valuable)
• Sample CSV file for item import demo
• Lights that can switch between front + back for Freemask demo
• Pre-recorded screencasts for online delivery fallback
• Workbook printed / PDF — one per student
• Module knowledge check ready

Notes for refresh delivery

Capture is daily skill — most operators retain it well. Refresh targets:

• New CAPP features added since student’s training (sequence options, preset improvements, etc.)
• Common-mistakes review — Fast-shot misuse, Calibration skipping, preset under-utilization
• Workflow optimization — Exercise 6 redo with their current production volume

Refresh delivery: 30-45 min, mostly Exercise 6 and Q&A based on operator’s actual studio experience.