Imagery-based reconstruction models the top of the canopy. That is often not the surface the project needs.
Field Notes · Published Aug 28, 2026 · 3 min read
Photogrammetry can only reconstruct what appears in overlapping images. Where a canopy closes over the alignment, the resulting surface follows the treetops, not the ground — and no amount of resolution changes that.
The practical test on site is simple: stand under the canopy and look up. If you cannot see sky, the camera cannot see ground.
Key takeaway
Under canopy, the question is not image quality. It is whether the ground was ever visible to the camera.
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