Part 3: Shoot Your Riverview

The Shoot Process

Video tutorials are also available to guide you through each step of this process. Each video is less than a minute long, and shares top tips for creating a great Riverview!

Step 1: 360° Virtual Tour

It should take you 10-15 minutes to shoot your 360° virtual tour. For the most streamlined process, we recommend that you shoot the hallway first, then make your way through the property, doing final shots in the garden and on the street.

Initial setup:

1. Attach the Insta360 X2 to the tripod.
2. Turn on the Insta360 camera.
3. Connect your iPhone to the camera.
4. Open the Immoviewer X app and select “Create a New Tour".

For each room:

1. As stated in the image below put the camera on the tripod so the lens is about 1.50m/5ft high.
   
   • A step-by-step guide to setting up your tripod is available on this page, along with a variety of other helpful videos!
   • Expert Tip- mark with a pen/bit of tape where the tripod is to reach so that it saves you time when setting up for future use.

1. Place the tripod in the centre of the room.
   • Expert Tip: When positioning the camera, point the side of the camera with the small screen on it towards the best-looking part of the room; that angle is the first thing that your potential applicants will see when they "enter" the room in the digital tour, so you want it to leave a good first impression!
2. On your iPhone, select the appropriate room and floor from the Immoviewer X options.
3. Shut all of the doors and leave the room.
4. Photograph the room using your iPhone as a remote.
5. Preview on the app, reshoot if necessary.
6. Tag the room using the hotspot feature.

Once you are happy that the 360° virtual tour is complete, you can select the upload tour button in the Immoviewer X app to finalise your tour. You may wish to wait to do this until you're back in the office, as it can use a sizeable amount of data if you are not connected to wifi. 

Step 2: Floor Plan

Once you have uploaded your 360° virtual tour, it will be used to generate a floor plan of your property. This process is handled entirely on our end, so there are no extra steps needed on your part!

Step 3: Video Flythrough

Before shooting anything with your iPhone, you will want to update the device's camera settings. Under camera settings, set "Format" to "Most Compatible", and set "Record Video" to "720p HD at 30 fps" from the available options. A video walkthrough can be found at the bottom of our video tutorial page.

You'll be using the gimbal to record your videos. Attach your phone to the gimbal before you turn the gimbal on. Use the wide lens and press (M) twice to put the phone in landscape mode. If you're unsure of any of these steps, you can find a complete walkthrough in our collection of video tutorials.

You should take two videos: one starting outdoors and walking towards the property, and the other walking through the property. Here are a couple of top tips to help you shoot a great video flythrough:

• First and last impressions matter. First and last impressions are the most important, so we recommend beginning and ending your interior flythrough with rooms that you want to spotlight. You never want your flythrough video to begin in a bathroom, no matter how nice that bathroom is!
• Take a look outside. Every time enter a new room, walk over to the window, record the view out of the window, and then turn to record the interior of the room. This mimics what a person might do upon entering a room, making your flythrough feel that much more natural.

Step 4: Still Images

Before shooting anything with your iPhone, you will want to update the device's camera settings. Under camera settings, set "Format" to "Most Compatible", and set "Record Video" to "720p HD at 30 fps" from the available options. A video walkthrough can be found at the bottom of our video tutorial page.

Now that your iPhone is ready, go to the Camera app. Hold the iPhone in a landscape position and select 0.5x zoom before you start shooting.  

The key to great interior photography is capturing the whole room in one photo, and presenting it in a way that's both realistic and appealing. Here are a few expert tips that you can use to get the best internal photos of a property:

1. Get in the corner. Standing in one corner of a room, so you can capture the other three, will enable you to get the widest perspective. If you’re having trouble doing this, try and align the cover of a door or window frame.
2. Different heights for different rooms. It is best to choose the height on which to shoot a room based on its contents. Most photos should be shot at eye level as this is how buyers will walk through the property and the photos will match their sight in real life. Kitchens look best when shot from chest height due to the number of cupboards and benches. 
3. Open all doors. Always open doors in a home to give your photos depth, create a more open atmosphere, and display the flow of the property. In particular, doors that open into an outside living area are fantastic for creating the feeling of space. 

Most people want to picture their new home as an open, bright place - and nothing rains on that parade quite like grey skies in all of your property photos. That's why we're happy to offer a Blue Skies service on all of our Riverviews; simply identify any images with cloudy windows during the image upload process (described in our next guide), and our editors will transform those dark skies into sunny days!