Reflectance Transformation Imaging

This document is intended to help you locate all of the equipment and software
which you will need to make your own RTIs. Before we begin looking at the
practicalities I will briefly re-introduce the technique and describe how it works.
RTI stands for Reflectance Transformation Imaging and describes a set of
techniques which use multi-light photography to produce interactive
representations of a subject. We make an RTI by taking between 20-70 identical
photographs. Within each photograph we light the subject from a different
direction. By combing these photographs (using software called RTI builder) we
are able to make interactive visualisations which allow users to move the light
and change the surface appearance. This can be useful in a range of
archaeological/heritage scenarios including reading gravestones, investigation of
graffiti and imaging documents.

Project Website
You can check for more information on the project that we have been working on
with churches across the UK. http://ourti.org/

Contact Details
Gareth Beale
Research Fellow
Centre for Digital Heritage
University of York
gareth.beale@york.ac.uk
@cdhyork & @gcbeale
http://www.york.ac.uk/digital-heritage

Nicole Beale
Research Associate
Department of Archaeology
University of York
nicole.beale@york.ac.uk
@nicoleebeale
http://theculturalheritageweb.wordpres
s.com/

Left: St. Peter inscription in porch entrance of St. Andrews Church,

Holcombe. Top is a photograph; bottom specularly enhanced RTI. Right: An
RTI Capture in action at St. Winifreds Church in Branscombe. Photograph by
Rose Ferraby.

RTI Equipment
The basic equipment which you will need to make an RTI:

A camera (with the ability to manually focus and manually adjust exposure
settings)
A remote to fire the camera (alternatively, you can fire your camera from a
laptop, connecting it with a cable and using software provided with your
camera, or this free version: http://digicamcontrol.com/ for Windows)
A tripod - for the camera
A black/red/silver shiny ball the key is that this is spherical and reflective
A powerful light with a nice even beam i.e. no rings or imperfections in the
beam.

From this basic set you can start to build a more complex RTI kit. The two areas
where you can improve the setup above are:
1) Elevating the Ball: You will need to support the ball somehow unless you
are able to lay it on the floor next to the object you are recording. We use a
tripod which has been adapted to hold a ball on a metal rod. A studio umbrella
clamp (7-15) is screwed onto a tripod, this holds a piece of threaded bar which
is then attached to a ball. You will need to make sure that the ball can be
screwed onto a threaded bar. This can be done by gluing an M6 nut to its surface
or by cutting a thread into the ball.
2) The Light: While you can get away with a torch, it is useful to get a flashgun
as this will make your setup more versatile. It will mean that you can use it in
any light conditions as they tend to be very bright compared to other portable
lights. You will also need a way to connect the flash to the camera. You can use a
physical cable but we recommend using a wireless flash trigger set which allows
you to move the flash as much as you like without pulling on the camera.

RTI Software
All software needed to process and view RTI files can be downloaded from
Cultural Heritage Imaging; an organisation dedicated to providing training and
access to RTI technology. On their website you will also find comprehensive
guidance and a lot of good examples. You will need two softwares; RTIBuilder to
make your RTIs and RTIViewer to see the finished results.
RTIBuilder software:
http://culturalheritageimaging.org/What_We_Offer/Downloads/Process/index.html
RTIViewer software:
http://culturalheritageimaging.org/What_We_Offer/Downloads/View/index.html

You will also need to download Hewlett Packards PTMFitter software, in order for
some of the functionality in RTIBuilder to work. Get it here:
http://www.hpl.hp.com/research/ptm/downloads/download.html
You will need to check that your machine has Java (the programming language
that the software is written in) that is version 6 or higher. Check here:
http://www.java.com/en/download/manual.jsp

RTI Guides
Re-reading the British Memorial Projects Introduction to RTI:
http://ourti.org/RTIGuide
Historic Englands Multi-light Imaging for Heritage Applications Guide:
https://www.historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/multi-lightimaging-heritage-applications/
Cultural Heritage Imagings RTIBuilder Guide:
http://culturalheritageimaging.org/What_We_Offer/Downloads/rtibuilder/RTI_hlt_Pr
ocessing_Guide_v14_beta.pdf

RTI Capture
To capture an RTI with the minimum fuss you just need to follow these steps:
1) Set up the camera in front of/looking down at the object to be captured. Set
the camera to manual.
2) Make sure that the ball is in shot
3) Adjust the camera settings to exclude the majority of ambient light (e.g.
sunlight). You can do this by adjusting the shutter speed or adjusting the
aperture. Shutter speed is measured in fractions of a second. The faster your
shutter speed is the darker the image will be (see figure below). The aperture is
the hole through which light passes in order to enter the camera. The smaller the
aperture is the darker the image will be (see figure below).

More Light

Aperture

Less Light

f2f2.8f4f5.6f8f11f16
1/1000

1/500

More Light

1/250

1/125

1/60

Shutter Speed

1/30

1/15

Less Light

4) Take a photo and check that it is dark

5) Take a photo with your light on (flash or torch or whatever you decide to use)
and make sure that the image is nicely exposed.

6) Take more photos (20-70) with the light in different positions. Ideally you want
to create a dome of lights over the object, as such the light should be at
approximately the same distance from the object in each shot.
7) Process the data using RTIBuilder. The resultant file, with the extension .ptm,
is completely standalone. You do not need to keep the photographs that you took
in stage 6), but may wish to do so as they are also useful records.
8) View and manipulate your .ptm using RTIViewer.