What is this?
New Pokémon Snap released worldwide on April 30th 2021. Finally we received a sequel to the beloved N64 classic Pokémon Snap.
This sequel not only brings us improved graphics and new gameplay elements. It also gives us the opportunity to convert our taken pictures to 3D.
This tutorial will try to explain to you how you can use the game’s features to create your very own 3D pictures. As a bonus I will also try to explain how you can view those 3D pictures on a Nintendo 3DS system.
The tutorial will take about 60 minutes from start to finish. It is written specifically for people with a Windows PC, but it should also be possible on Mac and Linux computers.
Unfortunately only newly taken pictures can be converted to 3D. Pictures you have already taken can not be used in this tutorial.
A little disclaimer: the pictures will not always turn out perfectly. Sometimes there are some artefacts. But most of the time the pictures are fine. I haven’t found out yet how to prevent these artefacts.
Requirements
So what do you need to be able to convert your pictures to 3D?
- Nintendo Switch
- New Pokémon Snap
- Screenshots of pictures taken in New Pokémon Snap
- Windows PC (should work on Mac or Linux as well though)
- USB C cable or SD card adapter (see the Copying your pictures to your PC section for more info)
- StereoPhoto Maker Pro (if you are not sure which version to download, pick “StereoPhoto Maker (32bit) Ver6.16”)
If you would like to view your pictures in 3D on a Nintendo 3DS, then you also need the following.
- Nintendo 3DS (any model)
- SD card adapter (only if your Nintendo 3DS uses a microSD or if your computer does not have an SD card slot)
- Philips/Cross screwdriver (only if you have a New 3DS (XL) model)
Overview
Here is a quick overview on what steps we need to take to convert our New Pokémon Snap photos to 3D.
- First we create new pictures inside New Pokémon Snap
- Then we copy the pictures from the Nintendo Switch system to the computer
- Finally we open and convert them in StereoPhoto Maker Pro
If we also want to view them on the Nintendo 3DS we also have to
- Save the 3D image as an MPO file
- Copy them correctly to the Nintendo 3DS SD card
- Open the Nintendo 3DS Camera to view them
At the bottom you will find any sources I used.
Creating your pictures
Grab your Nintendo Switch and a copy of New Pokémon Snap. Before we can convert any pictures to 3D we first need to take them. So open New Pokémon Snap on your Nintendo Switch system.
In the main menu of the game choose Research in the top left corner.
In the world map choose a course you would like to take. For this example I pick Florio Nature Park.
Pick a version of the course you have chosen. I just take the first one, Park (Day).
Now the course will start. You can play the course like normal.
After you have finished the course you can get your pictures evaluated by the professor just like normal.
When the evaluation is done you need to choose Save Photos to Album. Here we will pick the pictures we would like to convert to 3D.
Search for any pictures you like. (Don’t forget to save any pictures you would like to keep in-game as well. We won’t be saving any pictures in the game through this tutorial)
When you have found a nice picture you would like to convert to 3D make sure to select it, then choose Re-snap.
Now you can modify the picture or just leave it as is. When you are satisfied with how it looks you need to hide the UI by pressing the X button. Then make a screenshot by pressing the screenshot button on the left side of your controller.
When you have taken a screenshot you can unhide the UI by pressing the X button again.
Now make sure to not make any changes to the picture. If you now move the camera or change any settings you need to retake the screenshot before continuing.
So without having made any changes you need to navigate to the filter option. Then select the Silhouette 1 filter.
Hide the UI again by pressing the X button once more. Take another screenshot by pressing the screenshot button on the left side of your controller.
You should now have two almost identical screenshots. A normal screenshot of your picture and another that has the filter applied to it.
Quit the re-snap session when you are done. Make sure to save any pictures you would like to keep in-game. Or repeat the above steps for some more photos to be able to convert them to 3D.
When you are completely done press B to go back and choose Return to Camp.
We are now done with the game. You can shut the game down if you want.
Copying the pictures to your PC
Now we will need to get our pictures on our computer. There are two ways of doing this.
One involves using a USB C cable together with the Nintendo Switch’s Data Management features.
The other method is simply by plugging the system’s microSD card into your computer.
Choose the method your prefer, but the USB cable method is probably easier.
If you have no microSD card inserted in your Nintendo Switch you can only use the USB C method.
Connecting through USB C (Recommended)
Go to the system settings on your Nintendo Switch.
Scroll a bit down and choose Data Management.
Navigate down and choose Manage Screenshots and Videos.
Scroll all the way to the bottom and select Copy to PC via USB Connection.
Wait for the system to show the connection prompt. Then connect your USB C cable to your Nintendo Switch and computer like shown in the prompt on the system.
On your PC go to This PC and choose Nintendo Switch.
If you don’t know where to find This PC then simply click on the Windows logo in the bottom left corner and type “this pc”. The first result should open an explorer window that navigates to This PC.
Open the Album and look for the New Pokémon Snap folder.
Copy all your images in that folder to a location on your computer. For this tutorial I created a new folder on my desktop called PokemonSnap3D and copied all the pictures into it.
When copying is done you can click Disconnect on your Nintendo Switch to safely disconnect the system from your computer.
You should now have all the necessary pictures stored on your computer. Continue to the Converting your pictures to 3D section.
Copy via microSD
Hold down the Power button on your Nintendo Switch for 3 seconds. On the menu that appears select Power Options and then Power Off.
Take out the microSD card on the back of the system and insert it into your computer. Use an SD card adapter if necessary.
On your PC go to This PC and choose the SD card you just inserted. In my case that is SDXC (G:).
If you don’t know where to find This PC then simply click on the Windows logo in the bottom left corner and type “this pc”. The first result should open an explorer window that navigates to This PC.
Open the Nintendo folder and then navigate to the Album folder.
Then choose the year, the month and finally the day you took the pictures on. For me it was August 19th 2021, so I picked the 2021, 08 and 19 folders respectively.
Copy all your images in that folder to a location on your computer. For this tutorial I created a new folder on my desktop called PokemonSnap3D and copied all the pictures into it. Be aware that there could be more images from other games included in the folder if you have taken screenshots in other games on that day.
When copying is done you can go back to This PC. Right click on the SD card and select Eject.
Wait for the prompt that tells you the SD card can be safely disconnected.
You should now have all the necessary pictures stored on your computer. Continue to the Converting your pictures to 3D section.
Converting your pictures to 3D
If you haven’t downloaded StereoPhoto Maker Pro yet, this is the moment to do so.
Open StereoPhoto Maker Pro on your computer. In the top left click on File and then on Open Left/Right Images….
Open the first screenshot you made as the left image.
Now choose the right image, which should be the screenshot with the Silhouette 1 filter applied to it.
This opens the two images side-by-side. Check if you picked the correct images.
In the top left again click on Edit and then hover with your mouse over Depth Map. Finally click on Create 3D image from 2D+Depth map….
A new windows should pop up where you can change some settings. You may want to experiment with the depth value later on, but the default value, 30, should be just perfect.
Click on OK and now the program generates two almost identical images. However they represent the left and right eye images.
If you have a 3D monitor you can now view your created 3D image. For example when using a DIY 3D monitor you can click on Stereo then hover over Interlaced and finally clock on Column Interlaced.
Another option is to use those fancy red and cyan 3D glasses. To view the 3D image this way simply click on Stereo then hover over ColorAnaglyph and click on color(red/cyan).
Below you can see the results. Right click on them to save the images or to open them in a new tab.
Finally don’t forget to save your newly created image for your specific monitor or 3D glasses. This can be done by first selecting the correct stereo mode (interlaced, color anaglyph, etc.). Then click in the top left on File and then choose Save Stereo Image….
That concludes the main tutorial.
If you have any questions feel free to ask them in the comments.
If you have a Nintendo 3DS system you may want to check the Viewing on your Nintendo 3DS section below. There I explain how you can view your 3D images on a Nintendo 3DS system through the system’s camera app.
Viewing on your Nintendo 3DS
After you have followed the above sections you should still have a 3D image open in StereoPhoto Maker Pro.
If you closed StereoPhoto Maker Pro already or if you follow this bonus part at a later time, then go back to the Converting your pictures to 3D section. Follow that section again and then return here once you have the left and right eye images generated by StereoPhoto Maker Pro.
First let’s create a new folder called 100NIN04 to store our 3D images in, specifically for the Nintendo 3DS. I create it in the same folder where I previously saved my images. In my case this was PokemonSnap3D on my desktop.
You may wonder why we need to call it 100NIN04. This is to follow the naming convention of the system. You don’t have to worry about it for now, we will make sure it works for your system.
In StereoPhoto Maker Pro click on File in the top left, followed by Save MPO File….
A new window will pop up. Navigate to the folder we just created.
Change the name of the file we want to save to HNI_0001.mpo.
Before you click save, make sure to select For Nintendo 3DS and enable Resize to 640×480 in the bottom left of the window. Also check if border(pixels) is set to 0.
Now you can click on save and the program will generate an MPO file that works with the Nintendo 3DS system.
If you have more pictures you would like to convert you can follow the above steps together with the Converting your pictures to 3D section.
However make sure that these new files have the correct name. You need to increase the number behind HNI_ when you want to add pictures to your album.
So for example if I have two pictures the first one will be called HNI_0001 and the second HNI_0002. Then when I later add a third one, I need to name it HNI_0003. Otherwise the Nintendo 3DS may have problems finding the image.
Copying to the Nintendo 3DS
Grab your Nintendo 3DS and make sure it is turned off.
New 3DS (XL/LL)
Take out the SD card and connect it to your computer.
You need a screwdriver to take off the back. As well as an SD card adapter to connect the microSD to your computer.
3DS (XL/LL) & 2DS
Take out the SD card and connect it to your computer.
You may need an SD card adapter to connect the SD card to your computer if your computer does not have an SD card slot.
New 2DS XL
Take out the SD card and connect it to your computer.
You need an SD card adapter to connect the microSD to your computer.
Navigate to This PC and open your SD card to access the files of your Nintendo 3DS.
Open the DCIM folder. If you do not see one, you can create it.
Check if there is already a folder called 100NIN04 inside DCIM.
If there is, you need to navigate back to the folder we created at the beginning of this section.
Then simply rename the folder with the converted 3D images from 100NIN04 to 100NIN05.
So NOT the folder on the SD card.
Check again if the 100NIN05 folder already exists on the SD card. If it does, repeat the above.
Now copy your created 100NIN0# folder into DCIM on the Nintendo 3DS SD card.
When copying of the files is done, safely eject the SD card from your computer.
Finally reinsert the SD card back into your Nintendo 3DS.
Viewing in 3D
With the SD card reinserted power your Nintendo 3DS on.
Open Nintendo 3DS Camera through the HOME menu.
In the camera app choose View Photos/Videos.
Wait for the Nintendo 3DS to update some information. When it’s done loading you should be able to see your New Pokémon Snap pictures in glorious 3D.
When you want to add more pictures in the future, you simply copy the MPO files directly to your Nintendo 3DS SD card. However you need to make sure the names are correct like explained above. As well as placed in the right folder.
Enjoy your New Pokémon Snap photos in 3D!
How does this technique work?
You may be wondering now how this is possible.
How is it possible to create a 3D image from such a simple filter in the game?
The Silhouette 1 filter is actually a Depth Map.
A Depth Map contains depth information.
Most 3D games use a depth map for rendering the game correctly.
The developers of New Pokémon Snap probably thought this depth map would make for a cool filter.
If you take a look at the depth map you can see that objects that are close to the in-game camera are darker. Objects that are far away are shaded closer to white.
Black is actually the value 0 and white represents a value of 1.
When converting our pictures taken in the game we were able to set a depth value. This depth value actually specifies how strong the depth effect is. It basically determines what the distance is between an object at depth 0 (closest to the camera) and an object at value 1 (far away from the camera).
Nowadays a lot of smartphones also create depth maps when shooting photos.
This can enable the user to change the focus in the picture for example, after the photo is taken.
New Pokémon Snap uses the same method for most of the re-snap options.
StereoPhoto Maker Pro is a great tool that actually is able to use this depth map and create a lot of different format 3D images from it. Luckily for us it supports the Nintendo 3DS format as well.
But even if you have more modern hardware like a holographic/volumetric display you may be able to view your New Pokémon Snap pictures on there.
If this got you interested I recommend you to experiment a bit with the program to see what neat features it holds.
Maybe you figure out how to convert your phone pictures to 3D as well 😉
Sources
You can download the images that I have used during the tutorial by clicking the download button on the right. Plus some extra pictures are included to enjoy on your Nintendo 3DS
A big thank you to the creators of New Pokémon Snap and StereoPhoto Maker Pro.
Without both of them we wouldn’t be able to enjoy taking pictures of Pokémon in actual 3D.
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