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April 13, 2022

360 View of 3D Real Estate Photography: The Virtual World of Real Estate

3d real estate photography

What is 3d Real Estate Photography?

3D Real Estate Photography is one process that photographers can utilize to create a virtual world of commercial and residential spaces that appeals to a broader amount of clients. This format of media is a way to provide accessible home tours while encapsulating real estate photography and virtual tours into one experience. 3D Real Estate Photography creates an immersive experience in which potential clients can enter a virtual space before entering its real space.

An advantage of 3D Real Estate Photography is that the realtor and the photographer have direct control in the ways that they showcase a property. The process of creating 3D Real Estate Photography is a collaborative effort as videos, photos, 3d panoramas, etc, all are meshed together to create a final product.

The photographer and real estate agent work together to target points of interest and detail within a property and showcase these points at the forefront of the tour and photography. This control gives the photographer and real estate agent a more creative domain in showcasing a virtual experience.

Real Estate Photography 3D with Matterport Cameras

In its essence, 3D Real Estate Photography captures the reality of a property into a twin virtual world of its own. The biggest difficulty in creating this virtual reality is the process of capturing the images and content. The tools and steps necessary to take a high-quality 3D Real Estate Photography image come from practice and experience within the industry.

Take, for instance, the walk-through format of virtual touring. To create a walk-through, a grouping of photography, video, and panoramas are stitched together so that a client can accurately see the best representation of a property at any time and anywhere. This requirement of content requires the best tools possible.

A walk-through requires a level of photography and film and panoramas so that a client can see the best representation of a property at any time and anywhere. Matterport, a company focused on creating 3D cameras and virtual tours is a great tool to produce 3D Real Estate Photography and virtual replicas of spaces. Matterport has a selection of cameras that can be utilized in a variety of ways to fit the needs of a project.

Matterport ranges in a selection of mobile applications to assist with photography to high-tech 360 cameras that use the best technology to take pictures of all corners of a property. This selection of cameras makes shooting for all levels of 3D Real Estate Photography much easier and more accessible.

How do I create 3D Real Estate Photography?

3D Real Estate Photography works as a reflective online experience of property in actuality, thus the tour should feel as realistic as possible when using the service. Clients in virtual tours will find themselves able to walk around a living room as if they were in the room itself. The client should be able to turn corners into hallways and to nearly reach out and touch the details on kitchen cabinets.

Use a 3D Camera and Tripod

Unfortunately, 3D tours and 3D Real Estate Photography are hard to create without the proper tools. Just as a real estate photographer should never go into a shoot without a wide-angle lens, a 3D real estate photographer should not go into a shoot without a 3D camera. A 3D camera with a high frame rate and excellent image capabilities to prevent lagging in virtual tours.

Another piece of equipment in 3D Real Estate Photography is the tripod. Though the tripod is a simple piece of equipment, it is essential in producing a high-quality product in most real estate photography to ensure stabilization and a lack of distortion within images and video. A stable tripod not only increases the quality of the visuals but, it will make sure that images and video can be stitched properly to create a quality virtual tour.

Clean Up the Space

Before shooting a 3D Real Estate Photo, it is essential to make sure the home is prepared. Just as preparing for an in-person tour of a home, a 3D Real Estate Photography tour requires the same amount of cleanliness. A messy home does not look good on camera and clutter is distracting.

Project the Amount of Rooms Included

Though most rooms in a home will be included in a 3D Real Estate Photography tour, it is important to know if there are any spaces that you will be leaving out of the tour, i.e. not showing a garage within the virtual tour. Ideally, all rooms would be included in a tour created by 3D Real Estate Photography but, it is not always feasible with time, space, and 3D real estate photography prices restrictions.

Shoot from a Point of Interest

The first question to ask yourself when shooting a property is what is the most interesting part of the room? A kitchen with marble counters should have photos that showcase the quality of the finishes in the foreground versus a photo that shows them in a hidden background.

The photographer should orient the camera toward the point of interest and begin to take images concerning that point. The image and tour should also display typical appliances like dishwashers or gas stoves to help give expectations to a client before they enter the physical space.

Make it Easy to Navigate

3D Real Estate Photography and virtual tours should be simple to navigate and understand directionally. There are two typical types of navigation within 3D virtual tours: floorplan navigation and visual navigation.

Floorplan Navigation

A floor plan navigation allows the client to click through rooms based on a floor plan laid out to them. This style moves the client through rooms directly versus through a “virtual walk.” This also shows a broader layout of space so that there is a sense of depth and movement from a constructive standpoint.

Visual Navigation

The visual navigation in 3D Real Estate Photography tours is what most people think of when they think of a virtual tour. This is the type of navigation that which the person uses their mouse to drag themselves through various rooms. This is a very popular style of it but it is a bit slower when moving through spaces online as you are clicking for movement through rooms versus clicking directly on points of interest.