If you are using a Ricoh Theta camera to make your property virtual tours, you will have already experienced how easy it has become to make your own virtual tours of properties. No longer do you need an expensive photographer with complicated equipment to take hours of your precious time to make a property walkthrough virtual tour. You can do it all yourself! And with our easy to use virtual tour software, it is made even easier!

Many of our users have asked us if we have any tips to make the perfect property virtual tours so we have created this shortlist to take with you so your virtual tours are produced like a PRO and your properties sold faster!

10 Tips To Make The Perfect Property Virtual Tours

1. Check Your Equipment.

Always make sure your equipment is in perfect condition. The battery is charged to the max, your SD card has full memory and your smartphone has sufficient juice to take the pictures.

 

2. Choose The Perfect Shooting Time.

At lunchtime you will have the most light, but this might make your images look blown out (with lots of white light in the image) so the best time to take your property virtual tours photography is at sundown, when the light is warm and of better quality.

 

3. Control Your Shutter Speed.

If you have to shoot at lunchtime, or when the light is very bright, make sure your shutter speed is lower. A lower shutter speed means it lets less light in and your images will be darker. So equally if you are in a dark room, you should make sure your shutter speed is higher, letting more light in.

 

4. Tidy Up

Make sure the area you are going to shoot is clean and there’s no mess. Even your own mess! You forget the camera sees everything in 360º so if you leave your camera bag on the table to take the pictures, that bag will be in the picture! A good way to check if the area is in perfect condition is by standing on the place where you will put your camera and simply do a 360º turn. Look around you, do you see something out of place? Then the camera will see it too, so make sure it’s hidden.

 

5. Re-Organise.

Get rid of unnecessary furniture & decorations. If there’s an ugly bin, many trinkets on the kitchen top, cables for the TV or remote controls in the shot, try to take them out, hide them or place them in cupboards to there’s a more organised picture to look at.

 

6. Open All Curtains And Switch On All The Lights.

This one is super important especially when using the Ricoh Theta camera. Because the camera does not have a build in flash, you need to make the room as bright as possible. Every light, including the bedside lights, ceiling lights and even a nightlight will help. Switch it all on so you give the home a warmer feel. Open all curtains, and if you have terrace doors, make sure they are opened too to make the most of the views.

 

7. Get Out Of The Way!

Remember, if you can see the camera, the camera will see you! So make sure you and your guests are all hidden in another room, preferably with the door closed to avoid accidents. Don’t forget mirrors, you might think you are hiding properly only to find your mugshot in one of the mirrors afterwards! Also think about your shadow, if you can’t hide in another room, make sure your own shadow is not on the floor showing in the image.

 

8. Show Off.

If you take an outside shot of a property, make sure you stand far away from the property so the first show has the entire property in 1 shot. If you are too close to the front door, all you see is a door, which is a shame.

 

9. No Close Ups.

Don’t make images too close to other objects. If you are in a room, make sure the camera is in the middle (not against the wall or against the sofa) so the viewer gets a good perspective of a room, and is not looking at a blank wall for the duration of half the tour. If the room is small, perhaps perch the camera on top of the item in the middle of the room, like a coffee table or the bed. In a small room it is also recommended to close the door when you take the image so the open door does not take up all of your shooting space.

 

10. Be Aware Of Mirrors & Reflections.

Not just your own reflection, but the reflection of the camera itself might show in a mirror, so if there’s many mirrors, try to take the image without showing the camera in the mirror. This is also important in the case of windows, if you have reflective windows, you might see your own reflection or that of the camera, so always do a double take!

So there you have it, if you follow these 10 simple rules, your result should be perfect property virtual tours! And remember you can take many pictures with the Ricoh Theta camera so don’t hesitate to take extra images if you are not sure about the lighting.

You can preview the actual shot using your phone or tablet, so before you take the shot, have a look what the shot will look like. Do you see a lot of white in your image? Then lower the shutter speed and see if this makes it better. It is always easier to edit an image afterwards if  it is a darker image, it is harder to edit an image with too much light in it.

We hope this helps, leave your commends below with your own tips and tricks to make the perfect property virtual tours!

Information from: my360propertyvirtualtours.com

2024-06-24 08:28:30