Photo to 3D print

Image to STL: turn a photo into a 3D print

Upload a picture of an object, get a 3D model back, and export it as an STL your slicer opens — from a photograph, a product render or concept art.

Open the 3D StudioSee pricing

Generating from a photo and exporting the STL both work on the free plan.

From picture to printer in four steps

The model is made from your picture, so the picture decides most of the result. The steps after it are about getting a file a printer can use.

  1. Pick the picture

    One object, whole in frame, in even light against a plain background. A three-quarter angle reconstructs better than straight on. A photo, a product render or concept art all work.

  2. Generate the 3D model

    Image to 3D reconstructs the object as a textured mesh. Background removal is on by default, which is usually the cheapest quality improvement available.

  3. Export it as an STL

    In the Studio, Inspect’s Export writes the model as an STL — in your browser, free, on every plan. Every slicer reads it.

  4. Scale and slice

    A reconstruction carries no real-world size, so set the dimensions in your slicer. That is also where wall thickness, overhangs and supports get decided.

The two tools behind it: image to 3D model and the free export.

What a photo cannot give you

  • No exact dimensions. Reconstruction infers shape from appearance, and appearance carries no measurements — anything that has to fit another part is a modelling job.
  • The back is inferred. Symmetrical objects survive it; anything with a distinct rear needs reference views.
  • Printability is not checked here. Thin parts, overhangs and supports are decided in your slicer.
  • Glass, chrome and transparent subjects reconstruct badly, because the camera recorded the reflection rather than the surface.
  • STL carries geometry only, so the textures you see in the studio do not reach a single-colour print.

What it costs

Generating a 3D model from a photo works on every plan, including the free one, and so does exporting it as an STL — that is written in your browser and costs nothing. Retopology, texturing, rigging and segmentation come with a paid plan.

Start free. Keep everything you make.

Everything here is on the free plan. No card required.

Create your first model
  • Commercial use of everything you make, on any plan
  • Zetta N1, from a prompt or a single image
  • Image generation, unmetered — no credits, up to 2K