Nowadays, you can virtually visit a place on online platforms. The most effective way to do so is to visit virtual tours. Virtual tours are not only used to see what a location looks like. They are now effective tools used in many industries. One of the most common industries that use 3D virtual tour technology is the real estate industry. They used a VR tour for property viewings. Another example is the tourism industry wherein they allow viewers to catch a glimpse of the tourist destination and pique their interest to visit. This is the reason why many businesses are now using virtual tours to sell their products.
Creating a 3D virtual tour has become simple because of the many VR tour creator platforms. Furthermore, many companies provide services to help you create a great virtual tour. If it is your first time creating a virtual tour, here are 5 tips to note when creating a 3D virtual tour.
Tip #1 – Ensure the location is photoshoot ready
To get a good picture for your VR tour, the technique is preparation. You must prepare the location beforehand. If it is home for sale, it is best to clean up the house to its bare minimum. This is so the pictures will look clean and capture the necessary details of the house. If you will take shots of an outdoor location, it is best to reserve the place beforehand. This is so there will be little to no bystanders or other distractions. As a result, the images will only showcase the locations.
Tip #2 – Prepare VR tour equipment
To take a shot of a good virtual tour, you’ll need to prepare your equipment. Quality images are guaranteed if you are using a camera with great specifications. This means that you cannot just use any camera to take the pictures for the 3D virtual tour. It is good to take note that you will need panoramic images for the virtual tour. Therefore, your camera should have a panoramic setting to easily guide you on how to take pictures meant for virtual tours.
Furthermore, you will need other photography equipment aside from the camera. You will need a tripod that will help you gain a still and angular shot. You may also need lighting equipment which can be very handy with indoor shots. This is so you’ll get the perfect lighting for the pictures. Thus, before you go and take pictures for the VR tour, it is essential that you have prepared all the equipment that you will need.
Tip #3 – Capture what your audience wants to see
In taking pictures to be used on the 3D virtual tour, you must have a clear idea of what your customers want to see. Thus, you must research the target audience for the VR tour. It will help you be reminded of what part of the location should you take pictures of. Furthermore, you will also have an idea of what part of the place will not be of importance to the audience. Thus, you not only get the shots you need, but you also save time from taking pictures that are not needed.
Tip #4 – Take low shots
To take pictures that emphasize the details of the property, taking low shots is what you need to do. By lowering the camera as you take pictures, you will get images that are attractive and look spacious. The 3D virtual tour will look more cohesive if pictures like this are used.
However, taking low shots is not always applicable to every VR tour. That is because there are key details of a location that are placed high. In the case of a house, the kitchen and bathroom have furniture and equipment that are placed high. Therefore, you need to take high shots to capture these high details.
Tip #5 – Always edit the pictures
No matter how much you prepare the location, there will always be some obstacles in taking a clean shot of the location for the 3D virtual tour. However, there is no need to take multiple shots of that area until you got it right. If the angle is already right, it is okay to leave the distracting features for now. That is because you can always edit them out of the pictures. That is why if you are creating a VR tour, you need to have good photo editing skills. With that skill, you can make white balance adjustments, remove unnecessary objects, edit people out of the image, and fix lighting exposures. Thus, you will be able to have clear shots that can be used for the virtual tour.
Tip #6 – Make the 3D virtual tour easy to navigate
Once you have the photos taken and edited, the next step is to create the 3D virtual tour. During the VR tour creation process, you must think of the visitors. If they find it difficult to go through the virtual tour, they may just leave the website. Thus, you need to make sure that your virtual tour is easy to navigate. There are two ways to do this: first is the floorplan navigation where the 3D virtual tour uses a floorplan of the property that can be clicked to view the specific area. The next one is visual navigation where you can click hotspot bubbles to navigate within the images and move throughout the property.
Tip #7 – Test out the 3D virtual tour
Once you have finished creating the virtual tour, it is important that you test it out yourself. Act as if you are a visitor to the website. Through this step, you will be able to pinpoint areas in the 3D virtual tour that have errors. If there are any errors. you can go back to the VR tour creator platform and fix the mistakes.
In addition, you will be able to notice areas where improvements are needed. For example, in a home, you remembered that the dining table of the room can be put away. Thus, in the VR tour, you can include a short video on how to put away the dining table and set it up. This type of VR tour feature will be very insightful for potential buyers of the property. Thus, if there are ways that you can still improve the virtual tour, you should continue making improvements.
There are many benefits gained if you use virtual tours on your website especially if you are running a business. However, creating your 3D virtual tour can be time-consuming and very rigorous. It is even more challenging if you don’t have experience with creating a VR tour. Furthermore, you’ll need to purchase VR tour equipment to use for the photoshoot and this type of equipment is not economical.
That is why it is recommended to hire someone who can create a 3D virtual tour for you effectively.
