How Do I Start Using Photogrammetry to Create Assets for Unreal Engine?

Development Asset Creation Photogrammetry
1

Hi everyone,

I’m just starting to explore asset creation in Unreal Engine and recently came across the concept of photogrammetry. The idea of turning real-world objects into high-quality game assets sounds amazing—but also a bit intimidating for someone new like me.

I’d really appreciate some help understanding how to get started with this process.

Here’s where I’m at:

  • I have a smartphone with a decent camera, and I can take photos of real objects.
  • I’ve heard of tools like RealityCapture, Meshroom, and Metashape, but I don’t know which one is beginner-friendly or integrates well with Unreal.
  • I’m not sure how to go from “a bunch of photos” to a usable, optimized 3D model with textures, LODs, etc.

Some of my questions:

  • What’s the basic workflow from capturing photos to importing a finished asset into UE5?
  • Are there any free tools or beginner tutorials you recommend?
  • How do I handle retopology, UV mapping, and texture cleanup if the raw model is messy?
  • How optimized can these assets be for games? Is photogrammetry viable for real-time use in small projects?

I’d love to create some environmental props (like rocks, trees, old tools) using photogrammetry, and I’m just looking for the simplest, beginner-friendly path to do that.

Thanks in advance for pointing me in the right direction—I really appreciate it!

2

Welcome to the Unreal community, @LoganCamara! :raising_hands:
You’re stepping into one of the most rewarding (and visually stunning) workflows in game dev — photogrammetry. It can feel a bit intimidating at first, but you’re already asking the right questions. Let’s break it down:

:camera_with_flash: Step-by-Step: From Real Object to Unreal Engine

1. Capture Photos

  • Use your smartphone (it’s enough for starting!).
  • Take 40–100 photos of the object from all angles, evenly spaced, with consistent lighting.
  • Try not to use flash or direct sunlight — soft, even lighting helps.

2. Convert Photos into a 3D Model

  • Free Tools:
    • :brain: Meshroom (Open-source, easy to use)
    • :camera_with_flash: Polycam or RealityScan (great mobile apps)
  • Pro Tools:
    • [RealityCapture] — lightning-fast, great for game use
    • [Metashape] — powerful but a bit steeper learning curve

Tip: Meshroom is a great place to start — it walks you through the photogrammetry graph step-by-step.

3. Clean, Retopo & Bake

  • Once you get the dense mesh, clean it up:
    • Use Blender (free) to remove floating debris
    • Retopologize to create a low-poly game-friendly mesh
    • Use Bake tools to capture details (Normal, AO, etc.) from the high-res version onto the low-poly one

4. UV Mapping & Texturing

  • Still in Blender:
    • Unwrap your low-poly model
    • Bake textures from the high-res scan
    • Export all assets for Unreal (FBX + textures)

5. Import to Unreal

  • Use UE’s Import pipeline to bring in the FBX + textures
  • Set up Materials, Collision, and LODs
  • Tweak lighting to showcase your asset in-engine!

:wrench: Bonus Tools & Tutorials

  • Quixel Mixer (free from Epic) for texture cleanup & blending scanned surfaces

:white_check_mark: Is it Viable for Real-Time Use?

Yes — absolutely! Many games today use scanned rocks, tools, even entire ruins.
The key is optimizing with LODs, decimated meshes, and good texture maps. Even solo projects benefit from 1–2 scanned hero props to elevate realism.

:brain: Extra Help: Keeping Your Assets Organized as You Grow

Once you start scanning and creating assets, you’ll quickly build a library of complex models (some cleaned up, some WIP, some final). It gets overwhelming fast.

That’s why we built Asset Optics — a plugin that helps you:

  • :card_index_dividers: Track the state of each asset (“needs UVs,” “rebake normals,” etc.)
  • :white_check_mark: Attach checklists and comments per mesh or texture
  • :counterclockwise_arrows_button: Sync everything to a web dashboard so you stay organized across versions and scenes

It’s perfect for solo creators or small teams turning real-world objects into polished game props without losing track of the polish steps.

Feel free to DM or reply if you’d like a quick Blender-to-Unreal workflow template — happy to help get your first asset scanned and in-engine! :rocket::sparkles:

3

Hi @LoganCamara,

Let me see if I can offer some help.

First of all, I would highly recommend researching Nanite and adapting the Nanite/Lumen/VSM approach for your projects. Normally, I would never recommend this to a beginner (I rarely recommend it at all, actually), but photogrammetry is the one field where it really makes the most sense to use Nanite, as the assets really already come optimized for Nanite and the time it would take to prepare a photogrammetry mesh for traditional use in Unreal is more than its worth.

As far as learning photogrammetry goes, there are lots of options to choose from- which you’ve already listed several. Realistically, I would suggest using the program that you find easiest to learn and gives you the best results. I see a lot of people recommending Zephyr or Reality Capture. Here’s a good article that breaks down your different options.

What is going to be most important with photogrammetry is preparing and cleaning up your assets. Photogrammetry works best with clean, well-balanced images, so knowing Lightroom is important for quick and basic batch image processing. Your photogrammetry program will generate textures, UVs, and meshes for you, but likely your meshes will have some holes that need filled and your textures will have some blurriness that needs cleaned up. This is where you need to know tools like Blender and Photoshop.

As far as the photos-to-3d workflow goes, this is handled by your photogrammetry software. This article is a fantastic resource that breaks down photogrammetry and how it works, I highly recommend giving this a read before starting out. In general though, the more photos the better and keep consistent lighting.

I would also mention that at-home photogrammetry is great for small objects, but large structures and natural foliage is much more complex. I would suggest checking out Quixel Megascans, as they have an impressive selection of photogrammetry assets that are easy to import into Unreal via Fab.

Here are a few good start-to-finish tutorials to get you started:

Good luck! Let me know if you have any other questions.