On-brand handcrafted 360° Virtual Tours & Gigapixel Photography
What is a Virtual Tour?
A virtual tour is a digital simulation of a real-world location, designed to give viewers the feeling of being present in the space without physically being there. It’s usually made up of a series of high-quality still images or video sequences and can include additional multimedia elements like ambient sound, background music, voiceovers, and informative text. Unlike live video streams, virtual tours are fully curated and controlled experiences. They allow your audience to explore your space at their own pace, focusing on what interests them most. This makes them especially powerful for marketing, storytelling, and documentation. When created using still cameras, a virtual tour typically consists of multiple 360° panoramic images that are connected together, allowing seamless navigation between different areas of a location.
What is Panoramic Photography?
Panoramic photography captures an ultra-wide, uninterrupted view of a space, showing much more than a standard photograph can. These images are created by rotating the camera around a central point, known as the no parallax point, to ensure seamless stitching and natural perspective.
Here is a link to experience an ultra-hi-resolution on-brand virtual tour with all the bells and whistles: Courtauld Permanent Galleries
Virtual Tour Creation Services in the UK
As 360° virtual tour technologies continue to gain traction, driven by major platforms like Google, they're becoming an essential tool for immersive digital marketing. Compared to still photography or video, virtual tours offer visitors a more interactive and self-directed experience. They can explore your space in a way that feels personal and intuitive.
Virtual tours give a first-person perspective of your environment. They’re particularly useful in challenging spaces like small rooms or high-ceilinged buildings, places that are often hard to capture effectively with still images.
I specialise in crafting professional, bespoke 360° virtual tours tailored for businesses across the UK. These tours can be embedded in your website or app and even published to Google Street View to boost your business listing. Individual panoramas can also be used on platforms like Facebook360 to increase engagement.
I use a variety of advanced shooting techniques, including realistic HDR, to overcome lighting challenges and ensure your space is presented at its best.
Ways You Can Use a 360° Virtual Tour
Virtual tours are highly versatile and interactive. You can enhance them with navigation menus, video intros, and multimedia hotspots that provide additional information through text, images, videos, or audio.
A professionally created 360° virtual tour is a powerful marketing and documentation tool that can be tailored to many industries. Here are ten common and effective use cases:
- Showcase Residential or Commercial Property
Help prospective buyers or tenants explore showhomes, flats, or office spaces from anywhere, ideal for estate agents, developers, and property managers. - Promote Hospitality Venues
Give potential guests a feel for your hotel, resort, bed & breakfast, or holiday rental. Let them explore rooms, amenities, and surroundings before booking. - Enhance Restaurants, Cafés & Bars Marketing
Highlight the interior design, ambience, and layout of your dining space to attract diners, event bookings, or private hires. - Document Heritage & Historic Buildings
Preserve and share detailed digital records of cultural landmarks, churches, museums, or listed buildings for study, promotion, or conservation. - Boost Visibility for Event Venues
Help clients visualise how your space works for weddings, conferences, or private events by offering a walk-through of key areas and layout options. - Improve Accessibility for Visitors
Allow people with limited mobility or those travelling from afar to preview schools, clinics, galleries, gyms, or religious buildings before visiting. - Create Visual Records for Insurance or Training
Capture a comprehensive visual reference of your facility for internal use, perfect for health and safety documentation, insurance coverage, or onboarding. - Showcase Retail Spaces & Showrooms
Let customers experience your retail shop, dealership, or showroom layout online, especially useful for luxury products or specialist goods. - Support Interior Design & Lighting Demonstrations
Present different lighting schemes, layout options, or seasonal decor setups to clients and stakeholders in architecture, design, or construction. - Attract Students or Clients to Educational & Professional Spaces
Allow prospective students, clients, or collaborators to explore schools, universities, training centres, co-working spaces, or studios before committing.
Tour Quality and Viewing Options
Depending on your needs, I can create standard-resolution (16K), high-resolution (28K), or ultra-detailed gigapixel panoramas. I can also build complete walkthrough tours by connecting panoramas and embedding interactive elements like info hotspots, background audio, and videos.
Tours are fully compatible with desktops, mobile devices, and VR headsets including Samsung Gear VR, Google Cardboard, and Oculus Rift. I also offer gigapixel flat panoramic photography with deep zoom functionality. All post-production is carried out using professional colour-calibrated Eizo monitors to ensure colour accuracy.
Since 2012, I’ve been helping businesses present their spaces in the most engaging way possible. Alongside virtual tours, I also provide high-quality architectural and interior photography for use in both digital and print marketing. Please explore those sections to learn more.
I continually invest in the latest equipment to provide you with the best possible results. I use professional mirrorless digital cameras and lenses mounted on a robotic panorama head to capture ultra-high-resolution panoramas with precision and clarity.
Planning Your Virtual Tour Photoshoot
Before we begin, it's helpful to consider how your virtual tour will support your marketing goals. The technology is often referred to by many names—360 film, 3D tour, Google tour, etc. but I’m happy to walk you through exactly what it involves.
If you'd like to move forward, I’m happy to visit your location to discuss your vision and demonstrate how a virtual tour can enhance your online presence. It’s also a good idea to coordinate with your web or graphic designer, or introduce me directly so we can align the technical aspects.
When you're ready to book a shoot, I’ll need details including the location, the date your space will be fully ready (free from scaffolding, clutter, etc.), and the areas you'd like to focus on or exclude. Based on your brief, I’ll provide a clear estimate of the cost and timescale.
Pre-Shoot Preparations
Please appoint a contact at the site to provide access on the day. A floor plan with key areas marked will be very helpful. It’s important to notify anyone present at the location and obtain permissions where required.
I'll review the layout using your floorplans, maps, and satellite imagery to develop a shoot plan. For outdoor locations, we’ll aim for a sunny day. Since 360° imagery captures everything in view, please ensure anything you don’t want featured, like temporary signage or clutter, is removed or hidden.
On the day of the shoot, I’ll walk through the space and suggest adjustments to get the best results.
On the Day of the Shoot
I always strive to minimise disruption to your regular operations. In some cases, showing the space in use can enhance the tour by demonstrating how it functions. I’ll direct the shoot as needed to make the most of your environment.
After the Shoot: Delivery & Archiving
I’ll process the images into high-quality panoramas and assemble the tour based on your brief and brand guidelines. My virtual tours are built with HTML5, JavaScript, and CSS, making them fully responsive and compatible with all major platforms—Windows, iOS, Android, desktop, or mobile.
Once your tour is ready, I’ll help you integrate it into your website. I can also upload it to Google Street View, guide you on using Facebook360, and demonstrate VR compatibility with devices like Oculus, HTC Vive, and Google Cardboard.
All images are securely backed up to both local and remote servers. I’ll send the final invoice once the project is delivered.
Let's Talk About Your Project
Whether you need a bespoke 360° virtual tour or gigapixel imagery, I’m here to help bring your vision to life. Get in touch to discuss your project and how we can create something truly immersive.
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