For generating realistic images of a three dimensional object, two aspects of information are fundamental: the object’s shape (geometric information) and reflectance properties (photometric information) such as color and specularity. Significant improvements have been achieved in computer graphics hardware and image rendering algorithms. However, it is still often the case that three dimensional models are created manually by users. That input process is normally time-consuming and can be a bottleneck for realistic image synthesis. To overcome this limitation, we are developing a new approach to obtain photometric information as well as geometric information of an object model automatically by observing a real object. We believe our approach to be useful for many practical applications.