Virtual Tours & 360° Photography

Virtual tours have become increasingly popular since the pandemic, and many agents now offer them as standard. They allow buyers to explore a property remotely, reducing unnecessary viewings and attracting serious buyers.

Matterport is the industry leader in virtual tours. Their system creates a "digital twin" of the property that users can navigate through in 3D.

1. You scan each room using a Matterport camera or compatible 360° camera

2. The scans are uploaded to Matterport's cloud

3. Their AI stitches the scans together into a seamless 3D model

4. You share the tour link with the agent

The Matterport Pro 3 is the current professional standard, it's what I use on every shoot. It's not cheap (around £3,000-£4,000), but the scanning speed, accuracy, and image quality are a significant step up from the older Pro2.

One important consideration with Matterport is the ongoing hosting cost. Each active tour requires a Matterport subscription:

Factor this into your pricing. Some photographers absorb the hosting cost; others pass it on to the agent as a monthly or annual fee. Be transparent about this, agents don't like surprise recurring charges.

Matterport isn't the only option. Other virtual tour platforms worth considering:

Integrating virtual tours with your photography business

Virtual tours work best as an upsell to your core photography service. Offer packages that bundle photography and virtual tours at a slight discount:

This approach increases your average order value while giving agents a convenient one-stop service.

Before delivering a virtual tour, walk through it yourself on both desktop and mobile. Check for: