Vertical misalignment
Even a few pixels of vertical offset between the left and right frame forces the brain to fight instead of fuse the images, causing near-instant eye strain. Always run a vertical alignment pass before exporting.
Excessive interocular spacing
Wider isn't automatically better. Spacing that's too wide for the subject distance creates a miniaturized 'toy' look or an uncomfortable, exaggerated depth effect instead of natural depth.
Moving subjects with a single-camera slide shot
The slide technique only works on completely static scenes. Anything that moves between the two exposures — leaves, water, people — will misalign and break the illusion.
More mistakes worth watching for
- Tilted horizon in one frame but not the other
- Flat, single-plane compositions with no foreground/background separation
- Skipping a headset or viewer preview before publishing
- Ignoring convergence, leaving the entire image floating uncomfortably in front of the screen plane
The fastest way to improve
Preview every shot on the actual device your audience will use before calling it finished — problems that are invisible on a flat thumbnail are often obvious the moment real stereo viewing begins.
See it in action at 3dstreaming.org