To start, while some Local Guides prefer to use DSLR, DSLM, or special 360 cameras, the only gear you need to be able to produce great images is a smartphone and an app with 360 photo capabilities, like the Google Street View app. Don’t believe us? The 360 photo shown below by Local Guide Inumula Vishwam was taken with a smartphone!
Your smartphone 360 photos can be just as stunning if you follow these 7 simple tips:
Avoid moving objects or people. People or objects in motion may be cut off when the photos are stitched together to create the 360 effect. A completely still environment will always produce better results.
Start taking your photos focusing slightly away from the most important featurе. This ensures that if the stitching ends up not being perfect it will not affect the area that matters most.
Shoot vertically rather than horizontally. You’ll be able to cover more ground vertically. Make sure you stay level as you capture each row of photos that make up the full 360.
Rotate your body around your smartphone and not your smartphone around your body. This is best achieved with the use of a smartphone tripod, but you can achieve a similar effect by holding your smartphone on an imaginary axis up from the ground and pivoting your smartphone on that axis while you shoot without deviating from it. Don’t move your device up or down either, instead tilt it to keep your photos level.
Distance is your friend. Objects in close proximity to your smartphone while shooting may cause stitching errors. If you’re inside, position yourself as far away from any walls or objects as possible. Keep in mind that 360 photography with a smartphone is best in open spaces, so a 360 photo is more likely to turn out well when shot outside.
Consider the lighting and go slow. Capturing good photos is largely dependent on the amount of available light. Sunsets might look pretty, but if the sun is below the horizon or there are a lot of dark shadows in your shots, your photos may come out blurry. Consider shooting your 360 photos when there is better light available. If you do choose to shoot in lower light, keeping very still while shooting can help combat blurriness.
Mind your feet. Stepping back from your smartphone a foot while shooting the bottom row of photos will ensure that your feet are not visible. Make sure not to move your phone while you step back.
Finally, remember to keep practicing! The more 360 photos you shoot, the better you’ll get. You can even share your best 360s on Street View with the Google Street View app, and once you publish 50 approved photos, you’ll unlock the ability to be a Google Street View trusted photographer. Learn more about earning the Street View trusted badge here.
Have you already added 360 photos? Show us your favorites in the comments!
Great tips @SonyaN some kind of what I always write
I’d add some technical tips:
ensure to be in airplane mode while shooting: receiving a call, or a notification, could break down the workflow, resulting in inconsistent results
take care to have enough free space; not only for shooting, because stitching took a huge amount of memory to work
use the undo button; if happened to include some moving people, or you are not satisfied with a single shoot, don’t worry, push the undo button and repeat the shoot.
Enjoy!!
This is actually shoot with my iphone, and won some prizes
Also this one, despite massive presence of people, worked well:
These are amazing tips @SonyaN ! Thank you very much for sharing them with us. They would have been very useful when I started taking 360’s with my phone. Later on I purchased a 360 cam, but that was after taking many many photos with my phone haha.
Here is my first 360 photo:
I was so happy when I took it because it went really well. It makes me proud of myself!
Great tips @SonyaN some kind of what I always write
I’d add some technical tips:
ensure to be in airplane mode while shooting: receiving a call, or a notification, could break down the workflow, resulting in inconsistent results
take care to have enough free space; not only for shooting, because stitching took a huge amount of memory to work
use the undo button; if happened to include some moving people, or you are not satisfied with a single shoot, don’t worry, push the undo button and repeat the shoot.
Enjoy!!
This is actually shoot with my iphone, and won some prizes
Also this one, despite massive presence of people, worked well:
Great advice @SonyaN and @LucioV ! Thank you, I will definitely take everything you guys said into account the next time I try shooting a 360 photo on my phone.
@LucioV LOVED your photo! It’s beautiful and with great quality
Hi @HUMBERTO_V ! When you finish taking the photo and upload it to Street View (so it’s in “private” and still not published to google. Just synchronized with your profile so you can upload it later), there is an option you can choose that says “detect faces and blur them”. Google will then use face recognition to detect people and erase their faces.
Great tips @SonyaN some kind of what I always write
I’d add some technical tips:
ensure to be in airplane mode while shooting: receiving a call, or a notification, could break down the workflow, resulting in inconsistent results
take care to have enough free space; not only for shooting, because stitching took a huge amount of memory to work
use the undo button; if happened to include some moving people, or you are not satisfied with a single shoot, don’t worry, push the undo button and repeat the shoot.
Enjoy!!
This is actually shoot with my iphone, and won some prizes
Also this one, despite massive presence of people, worked well:
Hi @HUMBERTO_V ! When you finish taking the photo and upload it to Street View (so it’s in “private” and still not published to google. Just synchronized with your profile so you can upload it later), there is an option you can choose that says “detect faces and blur them”. Google will then use face recognition to detect people and erase their faces.
These are amazing tips @SonyaN ! Thank you very much for sharing them with us. They would have been very useful when I started taking 360’s with my phone. Later on I purchased a 360 cam, but that was after taking many many photos with my phone haha.
Here is my first 360 photo:
I was so happy when I took it because it went really well. It makes me proud of myself!
These are amazing tips @SonyaN ! Thank you very much for sharing them with us. They would have been very useful when I started taking 360’s with my phone. Later on I purchased a 360 cam, but that was after taking many many photos with my phone haha.
Here is my first 360 photo:
I was so happy when I took it because it went really well. It makes me proud of myself!
Really nice @ValeriaA ! My first trials ended into a Picasso Panorama
These are amazing tips @SonyaN ! Thank you very much for sharing them with us. They would have been very useful when I started taking 360’s with my phone. Later on I purchased a 360 cam, but that was after taking many many photos with my phone haha.
Here is my first 360 photo:
I was so happy when I took it because it went really well. It makes me proud of myself!
These are amazing tips @SonyaN ! Thank you very much for sharing them with us. They would have been very useful when I started taking 360’s with my phone. Later on I purchased a 360 cam, but that was after taking many many photos with my phone haha.
Here is my first 360 photo:
I was so happy when I took it because it went really well. It makes me proud of myself!
Really nice @ValeriaA ! My first trials ended into a Picasso Panorama
