diff --git a/gtsam/sfm/TranslationRecovery.cpp b/gtsam/sfm/TranslationRecovery.cpp
index 64953d2a5..2e81c2d56 100644
--- a/gtsam/sfm/TranslationRecovery.cpp
+++ b/gtsam/sfm/TranslationRecovery.cpp
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ Values TranslationRecovery::initializeRandomly(std::mt19937 *rng) const {
   auto insert = [&](Key j) {
     if (!initial.exists(j)) {
       initial.insert<Point3>(
-          j, Point3(randomVal(rng), randomVal(rng), randomVal(rng)));
+          j, Point3(randomVal(*rng), randomVal(*rng), randomVal(*rng)));
     }
   };