How Virtual Photography Works

When they first view a 360º virtual tour or panorama, most people mistakenly believe they’re viewing an interactive video. In reality, what they’re really seeing are photographs that have been “stitched” together and then digitally enhanced using specialized software.

Because it's photography rather than video, which requires experienced camera people, lighting, and equipment, the costs associated with virtual photography are considerably reduced. A virtual 360 tour can help you maintain your advertising budget while still giving online visitors an interactive experience.

Virtual reality (VR) photographs give viewers the ability to look around in all directions, including “behind,” and to zoom in and out. This simulates a real life experience because when we look around, we stop and pause as we see something that captures our interest. We also walk closer to something if we want to study it further – an action you can also perform with the “zoom” feature in a VR photographs.

Additionally, a VR photograph features a continuous 360-degree view. This allows you to see the spatial relationship among locations, which is what we normally do when looking around wherever we are standing.

Most panoramas allow one to view only 110º up and down, which means the you end up feeling confined and you lose exquisite details in the photograph. Panospin™ Studios shoots 360º x 180º+ so that viewers can look up and down as well as all around – including “behind”!

When to Use VR photography

Locations that successfully use VR photography to entice in-person visits include residential and commercial real estate properties, spas, vacation resorts, hotels, conference centers, reception halls, museums, rental locations, shopping malls, schools, ski lodges, retail stores, tourist destinations, and restaurants. (See our Projects page for more ideas and inspiration!)

Owners of these businesses know that once a person “sees” the facility, it’s much easier to progress with the sale. With VR photography, you can help move Website visitors to call or email you because they can “see” your facility top to bottom and side-to-side – a real benefit if your target audience is brides-to-be looking for reception halls, for example. Compare how they’ll think when they see a virtual tour of your light-filled reception hall versus a “flat” photograph of your competition’s poorly lit hall!

Other use of virtual reality photography include:

1) Combining VR images with a map, floor plan, or other directional tool – a great user-enhancing experience for 360 virtual tours of historical homed, castles, universities, or other locations of interest with multiple views.

2) Online project portfolios for:

• Architects and interior designers – Show your whole work, including spatial relationship among various design elements.
• Event organizers -- Record a slice in time of the action as it occurred, for example, weddings, celebrations, festivals, and parties.
• Builders and developers – Archive your progress of construction and restoration as well as emphasize the spatial relationship within the 360-degree views.

3) Programmers who integrate flash components within the panorama, creating a virtual reality gaming experience.

4) Unique group portraiture of people looking for something different and eye-catching. At a wedding or family reunion, for example, people are arranged in a circle during the photography, but the final image is a long panoramic print with normal perspective people, but an interesting distortion to the ceiling and floor. Examples of this are here.

For more information, please give us a call at 781-275-0923 or send email to info@panospin.com.