Virtual tours are the great way to show a apartments for sale or rent. It includes a series of spherical photos, that is 360-degree panoramic photos. This series allows to see interior of the apartment from every side. The virtual tour should reflect a real walk around the apartment.
How create the virtual tour?
Firstly, you have to take a series of photos around one point – usually you stand at the center of the room and take photos all around. The tour 360° is made by putting together these photos. Thanks to it, you can virtually look around a apartment, you can zoom on and see everything vertically and horizontally.
Thanks to the Walksee company, you can create such a tour even using photos taken with a smartphone. The creator is available at the website. This program will guide you step by step, it will explain how to set the camera, and will also put together the whole series of photos.
How to prepare the apartment for photos?
In order for the virtual tour to attract potential guests to rent our apartment, we first need to prepare it properly. At the beginning, every room should be thoroughly cleaned; windows, mirrors, etc, should be washed. Everything should be spotlessly clean and tidy. Additionally, unnecessary items such as mops and brooms, should be removed, because it can spoil the first impression.
Next step is doing home staging – to bring out the advantages of the apartment and make it more attractive in the eyes of the client.
When taking photos, it is worth taking care of proper lighting of the interior of the apartment. The time of the day for taking photos is best suited to the side facing the windows. To illuminate small and narrow rooms, it is also worth opening the door wide – we get the impression of spaciousness. If we take photos with a smartphone, we can use the built-in flash.
When creating a virtual tour, remember that each room should be photographed. If our living room is connected to the kitchenette, it is best to take a panorama in two shots: the first one after crossing the threshold of the room, and the other with a view of the kitchen. We can also raise the camera a little higher so that it covers a larger space and emphasizes the size of the room. In the case of small rooms, it is worth taking a panoramic photo while standing one step away from crossing the threshold.
Camera setting
We take photos while standing in the middle of the room. The lens should be at a height of 140-160 cm. The photos must not be blurry- they must be legible and unmoved. It is worth using a tripod or auxiliary lines (in a smartphone). When taking photos, we must make sure that the camera’s reflection does not appear in the mirror or windows.
What are the benefits of virtual tours?
A 360 ° walk will allow potential customers to familiarize themselves with the flat or apartment – by giving them this opportunity, you will gain their trust because you show that you have nothing to hide.
What’s more, the fact that the viewer has the freedom to move around the facility virtually satisfies the curiosity of customers and helps in making a decision that is favourable to us. A big plus is that walks make our offer more attractive and give us an advantage over the competition. Guests are more likely to choose an apartment that they can familiarize themselves with beforehand and can be sure that nothing will surprise them.