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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.

preparation for a 360 session

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.

lighting in the room and 360 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.

How to prepare for a professional 360° session of the property?, Evryplace Knowledge Base 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.

How to prepare for a professional 360° session of the property?, Evryplace Knowledge Base 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.

How to prepare for a professional 360° session of the property?, Evryplace Knowledge Base 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.

mirrors in 360 photography

How to prepare for a professional 360° session of the property?, Evryplace Knowledge Base Watch out for large mirror / glass surfaces – you will have to hide from them, because you won’t be able to hide the camera’s reflection.

How to prepare for a professional 360° session of the property?, Evryplace Knowledge Base 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.

photos of the outside in the real estate offer

How to prepare for a professional 360° session of the property?, Evryplace Knowledge Base Don’t forget about the photos of the outside. The view from the balcony will show the neighbourhood and adjacent streets. Underground parking is also important, and the photos of corridor or staircase will help to reflect the standard of the property.

“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).

kitchen staging

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

From year 2013 Ricoh has been consequently developing 360° business solutions thanks to RICOH THETA 360 camera series.

Theta Z1 camera 360

Wow effect is guaranteed

Using a 360° camera enables real estate agents to take professional photographs of the apartments in a few seconds and present the whole space in one photo. By doing so they are provided with the possibility of showing their clients around the property without the necessity of leaving their office. The RICOH THETA 360° camera means easy capturing and quick integration with a virtual tour software. Its small size and affordable price allow to take it everywhere with you. Learn more about all the RICOH THETA models on the site: https://theta360.com/en/

The RICOH THETA 360° camera means:

How to prepare for a professional 360° session of the property?, Evryplace Knowledge Base An innovative device which helps to save time and money

How to prepare for a professional 360° session of the property?, Evryplace Knowledge Base Economic way of capturing high quality photos

How to prepare for a professional 360° session of the property?, Evryplace Knowledge Base An efficient device which allows you to integrate quickly with a virtual tour software

pairing mobile phone with a 360 camera

Make a virtual tour easy and quick

taking 360 photos

Maximize yours and your clients’ time

presenting an innovative virtual tour

Offer innovative services

interactive virtual tours showdown

Attract clients’ attention thanks to interactive virtual tours

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 🙂

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