How to prepare for a professional 360° session of the property?

In this article you will find everything you need to know about mesures needed taking before a 360° session. We will tell you what you should remember to do before setting out to take 360° photos of the apartment for your virtual tour for the first time and what you should pay attention to when in the apartment with a 360° camera.

Before a 360° session in the apartment

While planning on to visit an apartment for a photographic 360° session, you should bear in mind that some knowledge will be needed as well as patience, especially when it is your first time.

Does time of day matter when taking 360° photos?

Similarly to 2D photography, lighting is one of the most important factors influencing the quality of a 360° photo. Usually, when we want to take a perfect shot of the living room, whose windows and balcony doors are facing south, the best time to capture it is in the early afternoon hours. For 360° photography, however, direct light in the afternoon hours is not desirable. In morning hours, east facing rooms will be overexposed. It applies as well to the situation in which rooms with south facing windows are photographed in afternoon hours.

The perfect time of day to plan a photographic session for virtual tour is around noon. Between 11 am and 1 pm we have two hours of even light, which will enable us to take even, in terms of temperature of colours, photos.

How to plan out photos for a virtual tour?

In traditional 2D photography, photo of an apartment should present the main virtue of the place and capture its atmosphere. In 360° photography, however, photo of an apartment should allow to walk around the presented space and get familiar with each room and their layout. The virtual tour should reflect a real-life presentation of the property.

We present a few tips on how to plan out each “stop” and where to put a camera in different spaces in a virtual tour so it would resemble a real-life tour of the property as closely as possible and facilitate a natural flow of the presentation.

It is not advisable to always place a 360° camera in the centre of the room. The bedroom, for instance, would be better presented when captured from the entrance. Furthermore, as to a kitchenette in the living room, it would be more effective to present functional areas instead of the centre of the room linking those two spaces.

Try to place a camera in the place where it will ensure smooth passage from one room to another. The viewer should understand how did he get into a room and how to go back.

Divide larger rooms into several viewing points. If the corridor is too long, the living room is too spacious, it is more natural to be able to look around the apartment from several points.

Turn on all the lights in the apartment. The more light the better. At the same time, pay attention to the strong light points above the camera – strong halogens near the camera disturb the exposure balance of the two lenses.

“For prestigious properties there isn’t more attractive form of presentation than a 360° intro. The opening scene of a virtual tour, with a realtor inviting to visit a property.”

Before you set out to property, remember about preparations!

Tip 01 – Charge battery in your 360° camera

 With full battery, Theta cameras will work for approximately 2 -3 hours. When it comes to 360° videos, however, it will suffice only for 1 hours so better take a power bank with you.

Tip 02 – Download useful applications beforehand

You shall need two apps – Ricoh Theta for taking photos and Evryplace for creating virtual tours. Make sure you have those apps on your mobile phone.

Tip 03 – Pair your mobile phone with the camera

Indispensable step to creating professional 360 photos of the property in which there aren’t visible realtors’ fingers tightened around the camera.

Tip 04 – Don’t forget a tripod

Great quality photos of the property require a tripod. You can use a camera or a lamp stand. Theta cameras can be mounted as well on a lamp stand (around 60 PLN).

Beware of…

While doing your first 360° real estate session you can easily make mistakes that are not noticeable during shooting, but they can eventually reveal themselves when creating a virtual tour. Here are some tips worth remembering while taking 360° photos.

While taking traditional photos of the properties we pick up habits that we should wean off while taking 360° photos. Like taking photos from a corner of the room for instance.

Grzegorz Jabłoński Evryplace

Avoid:

• Photos taken near walls or in the corners of the apartment. Nobody from your clients would like to find himself facing a corner of a room.
• Closed doors. Open apartment invites visitors inside and facilitates navigating around flats’ layout. The sole door that should remain closed is the one leading to the bathroom.
• Placing a camera on objects (tabletops, beds, windowsills). What’s more you should refrain from taking photos by hand. 360° selfies featuring clients content with their choice can be posted on social media sites. In virtual tours, however, use a tripod only.

Implement 360° technology to your business

Wow effect is guaranteed

We hope our article will prove useful in your work. May your photos emphasize what’s best in every apartment. If you are struggling to find answers to arising questions, don’t hesitate to ask us! We will be happy to help 🙂