Backdrop Import
Place real site photos behind your 3D design to present it in its true surroundings.
Backdrop Scenery lets you attach a photograph to any of the four canvas edges — north, south, east, or west — so it stands vertically behind your 3D scene like a stage flat. This instantly grounds your design in its real-world context: neighboring buildings, a tree line, a fence row, or a street view appear behind the proposed garden when presenting in 3D or photorealistic view.
Each canvas edge accepts its own independent backdrop, so you can wrap a scene with up to four site photos. The wizard walks you through edge selection, image upload, cropping, and final height and opacity adjustments in four guided steps.
Open the Backdrop Scenery wizard
Open the Import menu in the top toolbar and choose Backdrop Scenery. The wizard opens and displays a four-step progress indicator: Select Edge, Select Image, Crop & Align, and Adjust. Because a backdrop is part of the 3D scene, switch to the 3D view using the view toggle in the top bar before presenting so you can see it standing behind your design.
Backdrop Scenery is part of the Designer tier and higher. If you do not see it in the Import menu, your current plan does not include it.
Import a backdrop image
Go to File > Import > Backdrop. A file picker opens — select a JPEG, PNG, or WebP image.
Aerial screenshots from mapping services, site photos taken from an elevated angle, or street-level photos all work as backdrops. Choose an image that best represents the site context you want to show.
A top-down aerial view works best for the backdrop because it aligns naturally with the plan view of your 3D model from above.
Set backdrop scale and position
After import, the backdrop is placed at a default size behind the 3D scene. To align it with the project site boundary:
1. Open the Backdrop section in the Scene Settings panel 2. Adjust Scale — set the backdrop image's width in real-world meters to match the site extent shown in the photo 3. Adjust Position X / Y — offset the backdrop horizontally and vertically to align the site boundary in the photo with the drawn site boundary on the canvas
The backdrop updates in real time as you adjust these values.
If you know the exact dimensions of the area captured in the aerial photo, set the scale precisely — measurements on the photo will then correspond to real distances.
View the backdrop in 3D and presentation mode
Switch to the 3D view or photo presentation mode to see the backdrop behind your garden model. The backdrop:
- Appears as a flat plane behind all 3D geometry
- Shows through transparent areas (open areas without model geometry above)
- Fills the sky/background visible through the scene
- Is not affected by scene lighting or shadow
In photo presentation mode, the backdrop provides realistic site context that complements the rendered garden design.
Lower the camera angle in photo presentation mode to make the backdrop more visible in the background of the scene.
Set height and opacity
On the Adjust step, use the Height field to set how tall the backdrop stands — between 1 m and 20 m (or the imperial equivalent). Use the Opacity slider to control transparency from 0 % to 100 %. A slightly reduced opacity helps the backdrop feel integrated with the scene rather than pasted on top of it.
Lowering opacity to around 70–80 % is a quick way to prevent a bright or busy background photo from distracting attention away from the garden design in the foreground.
Confirm and place the backdrop
Click Finish Import to place the backdrop. The image appears behind the 3D scene along the edge you selected. If the chosen edge already had a backdrop, the wizard asks whether you want to Replace it — confirm to swap it out. You can re-open Backdrop Scenery at any time to add a photo to a different edge or update an existing one.
Placing a new backdrop on an edge that already has one will replace the existing image. This cannot be undone, so make sure you have saved the original image file locally before replacing it.
Backdrops are part of the 3D scene and appear in raster image exports from the 3D and photorealistic views. They are not included in 2D plan exports or DXF/PDF drawings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Backdrop Scenery missing from the Import menu?
Backdrop Scenery is part of the Designer tier and higher. If the option is not listed in the Import menu, your current subscription plan does not include it.
Can I have a backdrop on more than one edge at the same time?
Yes. Each of the four canvas edges — north, south, east, and west — can have its own independent backdrop image. Run the wizard once for each edge you want to fill.
What is the difference between a backdrop and an underlay?
An underlay is a flat reference image placed on the ground plane in 2D plan view, typically used for tracing a site plan or aerial photo. A backdrop is a vertical image plane that stands at the edge of the canvas in 3D view, used to show surrounding context behind the design.
How tall should I make the backdrop?
The height range is 1 m to 20 m. A backdrop representing a two-story building or tree line typically works well between 6 m and 10 m. Match the height to the scale of the features in the photo so they read at the correct size relative to the garden design in front.
Will the backdrop show up in the AI photorealistic render?
The backdrop is visible in the standard photorealistic view exported as a raster image. AI render results depend on the rendering mode chosen — the backdrop contributes to the scene context passed to the AI render engine, but results will vary by style.