Stereoscopy and Stereography

Stereoscopy and stereography are often used as synonyms but, although related, they have different meanings.

Stereoscopy?

Stereoscopy is a technique that creates the illusion of depth in a flat image by presenting two slightly offset images for each eye. When viewed through a stereoscope, with modern 3D glasses, or by free-viewing, the brain merges these images, producing a perception of seeing 3 dimensions. This method is widely used in photography, cinema (3D movies), and virtual reality.

Stereography?

Stereography is the process of creating stereoscopic images, called stereograms. While sometimes this term is used interchangeably with stereoscopy, stereography specifically refers to the production of these paired images, whether through photography, digital rendering, or even artistic techniques like the famous Magic Eye auto-stereograms.

Key Differences

Let’s recap the differences:

• Stereoscopy is the visual effect of depth perception.
• Stereography is the art or technique of making images that enable stereoscopy.

In other words: stereography is how you make the images and stereoscopy is how you make them come to life in 3D.