To quickly get an image from the camera's point of view in Blender, you utilize the Viewport Render function after entering the active camera's perspective.
Understanding how to capture what your virtual camera sees is fundamental for creating renders and animations in Blender. This process leverages the active camera in your scene to define the viewpoint for the output image or sequence.
Getting the Camera View
Before you can render from the camera's perspective, you must first enter that view.
- To get an image from the camera point of view, enter the active camera view with Numpad0. This aligns your 3D Viewport to match exactly what your active camera is looking at.
While in the camera view, you can still navigate the scene using standard Blender controls (like Shift+Middle Mouse Button to pan) or adjust the camera's position and settings directly to frame your shot perfectly. As with a normal render, you can abort it with Esc.
Rendering from the Camera's Perspective
Once you are in the camera view (via Numpad0), you can then use the Viewport Render options to capture the image or animation from that specific angle.
There are two primary options depending on whether you need a single image or a sequence of frames.
Rendering a Still Image
If you want to capture just a single frame from the camera's viewpoint:
- Ensure you are in the active camera view (Numpad0).
- Go to the menu: 3D Viewport ‣ View ‣ Viewport Render Image.
This will generate a quick render of the current frame from the camera's perspective based on the settings visible in your viewport (e.g., Eevee or Workbench engine, lighting, materials). The result appears in a new image editor window.
Rendering an Animation
If your project is animated and you want to render the entire timeline from the camera's viewpoint:
- Ensure you are in the active camera view (Numpad0).
- Go to the menu: 3D Viewport ‣ View ‣ Viewport Render Animation.
This will render a sequence of images or a video file (depending on your Output settings) covering the frames defined in your timeline, all from the active camera's perspective. This is often used for quick previews of animations.
Here's a summary of the steps:
| Action | Keystroke/Menu Path | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Enter Camera View | Numpad0 | Align viewport to active camera perspective |
| Render Still Image | 3D Viewport ‣ View ‣ Viewport Render Image | Capture one frame from camera view |
| Render Animation | 3D Viewport ‣ View ‣ Viewport Render Animation | Capture animation from camera view |
| Abort Render (Either) | Esc | Stop the current render process |
Using the Viewport Render options from the camera view is a fast way to get an output that matches exactly what you see in the 3D Viewport while looking through the camera. This is distinct from a full render (F12), which uses the render engine's full capabilities and output settings.
