Turn photos into 3D animations with Photoshop

Photo of man standing in a harbour

We all have a large store of memories taken as photos and it’s great to be able to reminisce. But what if you could go a step further and add a little life to those still images? Photo editors these days let us do just that. 

Photoshop allows us to add depth to photos, even animating the results, to truly breathe some fresh air into our old still albums. With that in mind I’m using a simple old photo from a holiday for this tutorial (also see these these 3D animated graduation shorts for inspiration).

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

TOPICS

Rob Redman is the editor of ImagineFX magazines and former editor of 3D World magazine. Rob has a background in animation, visual effects, and photography.

Latest in Photo Editing Software
Key art tutorial
How to create key art for video games in Photoshop and Blender
Photoshop tutorial
How to flesh out your creature art using Photoshop
Wonka poster
New Wonka poster features some wonky Photoshop
Luminar Neo adds AI tools in 2023
Skylum Luminar Neo 2023 review: New generative AI tools for editing photos
A shot of the XPPEN artist pro 16 (gen 2) tablet on a wooden table with a poster on the screen
How to make a movie poster with the XPPEN Artist Pro 16 (Gen 2) in Photoshop
A close up photo of an artist drawing on a large tablet screen
How to revitalise your old art using the XPPEN Artist Pro 16 (Gen 2) and Photoshop
Latest in How to
Venusaur art
How to paint Pokémon's Venusaur in Photoshop
Gesture drawing: all you need to know plus ways to practise in 2 and 5 minutes
How to draw a male figure
drawing of a naked woman with someone drawing it
How to draw a female figure
GIMP in pro work
Making GIMP 3.0 work for pro results: is it possible?
Pejman Rajabi 3D tutorial of Super Mario fan art
“One of the best creative experiences of my life, working with such an amazing artistic crew” – how VFX artist Pejman Rajabi and friends created a heartfelt tribute to Super Mario