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You can use your own photos to model and texture buildings in Building Maker. This feature is useful as user supplied photos can often be of better quality (and taken at a better angle) than the aerial photos supplied with Building Maker. Refer to Taking pictures for Building Maker for information on taking photos for use in Building Maker.

Watch this video for further information about this process:

Building Maker uses photos stored in your Picasa web album. To create a building using your photos:

1. Create your building using at least two aerial images. Refer to Creating a one-block building or Creating a multi-block building for further information. An "Add your images" menu item will activate in the menu above the images when at least 3 points are constrained in two aerial images.
2. Click on the 'Sign in' link to sign into your Google account. You must sign in before adding your own photos.
3. Click on the ‘Add your images’ menu item. The Picasa photo picker dialog box appears.



4. Click on each photo you want to use to model and texture your building. Each photo is selected.
5. Click on the Select button. The Confirm photo location dialog box appears. This dialog box is used to indicate where each of your photos were taken by positioning a pin at the location for each photo. The current photo is shown in the upper right-hand corner.



6. Click and hold the left mouse button on the green pin.
7. Move the cursor to the approximate position where you stood when you took the picture. It is actually better to place the pin a little farther away from the building (but on the same angle to the building) than the location where you took the picture as this will increase the size of the image for modeling.



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8. Release the left mouse button to place the pin. The pin is placed at a new location.
9. Move the cursor in the direction you were facing when you took the picture. The tip of the pin follows the cursor (the tip represents the direction you were facing when you took the picture).



10. Click the left mouse button to indicate the direction you were facing when you took the picture. The pin turns dark green to indicate that you are done.
11. Click the Next button to establish your camera position and direction for subsequent photos. The following image shows two position camera pins:



12. Click the Finish button when you are done establishing camera position and direction for all of your photos. Your photos appear in the Image views area within Building Maker.



13. Click on one of your photos. The photo appears in the building area. Current blocks are shown over the top of your photo.



14. Adjust the blocks to the photo. You must constrain at least 7 points in your picture before you can add additional blocks.



Refer to Editing model proportions in user-added photos for further information about adding additional blocks to your photos.

15. Click on your remaining photos and adjust blocks in those photos.
16. Click on the 'Viewer' link to preview your building once you have adjusted all geometry to your pictures.