Rendering Matched Photo in Sketchup

[Namielus]

Hey! I am helping someone design a change to a staircase, and I have aligned it perfectly in sketchup + applied materials.

If I could render from that exact view, I could photoshop the rendered graphics onto the photo.

However, when I click the button for exporting to Indigo Renderer, the scene leaves "match photo mode" and changes to a different view.

Have anyone succesfully rendered from the exact view you have while in match photo mode in sketchup?

[FoXar]

I usually do this by moving the orbit just slightly off, this exits and alters the photomatch perspective, but it's as close as I can get it to work, if you're careful you shouldn't be off too much.

[Namielus]

Well, you gave me an idea. What about a script that moves the orbit, and then moves it back the same amount?
That should allow for exact matches.

Do you do anything spesific with the lighting to make it match the picture btw?

[Bosseye]

The only way I know how to do it is this:

1) Orientate the model to the photo so you're happy.
2) Delete the scene containing the matched photo
3) Create a new scene from the same view.
4) Project the matched photo texture onto the geometry of the scene. I have to make big faces just for something to project the texture onto.
5) Select each face in turn and set each distorted texture as unique
6) Set up your lighting etc and render settings
7) Render.

It should render ok, but the problem with this method is as soon as you make the texture unique it goes ever so slightly blurry. I have no idea why, but it is annoying. I get round it by dropping the original photo over the final render in photoshop and erasing out the bit covering my rendering model but its not ideal.

I find matching photos very trial and error anyway, half the time it does terrible things to perspectives, makes them ridiculously stretched in the model so even if the photo/textures look correct and render ok, as soon as you try and add in geometry it gets tricky.