PHOTO GUIDE

How to Take the Perfect Photo for Your 3D Tour

One great photo is all it takes. Follow these tips and your 3D tour will look incredible. No professional camera needed — just your phone.

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5

sections to read

2 min

to prep your space

1

photo needed

01

Before You Shoot

Prep your space — 5 minutes here saves a full reshoot

Clean and declutter the space — the camera captures everything, including that pile of paperwork on the counter
Turn on every light in the room: overhead fixtures, lamps, and accent lighting
Open all blinds and curtains to let in as much natural light as possible
Pick a time with the most natural light — typically 10am–2pm works best
Remove personal items, coats, bags, and anything that shouldn't be part of your permanent tour

Pro tip: Walk through the room with fresh eyes. Pretend a customer is visiting for the first time. Anything that would distract them in person will distract them in the tour.

02

Camera Setup

Two quick tweaks make a significant difference

Hold your phone in landscape (horizontal) orientation — always, no exceptions
Clean your lens with your shirt or a soft cloth before shooting
Turn off flash — it creates harsh, uneven lighting and blown-out highlights
Turn on HDR mode if your phone supports it (improves dynamic range in tricky lighting)
Use the default camera app, not Instagram, Snapchat, or any filtered camera
Portrait
→
Landscape
03

Take Your Photo

The most important section — one great photo is all you need

Stand in a corner or doorway facing into the room — this gives the widest view of the space
Capture as much of the room as possible in a single wide-angle shot
Keep the camera at chest height — not too high, not too low
Include the key features customers care about — the focal points, furniture, equipment, and decor
Avoid standing in the center — corner positions show more depth and dimension

Want even more detail? Upload a video instead

Record a slow, steady 15–30 second walkthrough of the space. Walk at a natural pace, keep the camera at chest height, and avoid sudden movements. Video produces richer 3D tours with more coverage of the space.

04

What Makes a Great Photo

The difference between a good tour and a great one

Do this
Bright, even lighting throughout the room
Sharp focus — hold steady for 1 full second before moving
Full room coverage — floor to ceiling visible in each shot
Overlapping angles (50–60%) between each consecutive shot
Consistent camera height for all 8 shots
Don't do this
Dark corners or a single harsh light source
Blurry or motion-blurred shots from moving too fast
Extreme close-ups of objects or details
Photos pointing directly at mirrors or bright windows
Mixing indoor and outdoor shots in one set
05

What to Avoid

These are the most common reasons a tour needs a redo

People or pets in the frame

Moving subjects create artifacts in the 3D reconstruction and will make the tour look broken. Clear the room completely.

Large mirrors or highly reflective surfaces

Reflections confuse the 3D mapping algorithm. If you can't avoid them, angle your shots to minimize what's reflected.

Moving objects in the room

Turn off ceiling fans and TVs. Anything that moves between shots will appear ghosted or distorted in the final tour.

Extreme contrast — half in shadow, half in sunlight

The camera can't expose for both extremes at once. Close blinds on the bright side and add artificial light to the dark side to balance it out.

Shooting through doorways into another room

Walk into each room and shoot it as its own separate set. Doorway shots produce confused mapping between two spaces.

06

Multiple Rooms

Each room is its own independent tour set

Take 1 photo (or video) per room — each room becomes its own separate tour
Keep lighting consistent across rooms if possible — same time of day, similar brightness levels
Shoot your most impressive or customer-facing room first

Pricing for multiple rooms

Your base tour ($99) covers one room or open area. Additional rooms are $39 each. So a dental office with a waiting room + two treatment rooms would be $99 + $39 + $39 = $177 total.

See full pricing
07

Pre-Upload Checklist

Run through this before you hit submit — check each item off

Checklist progress 0 / 7 complete
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