With the strange times that we’re living in now, we are faced with getting creative and coming up with new ways to get the job done. The traditional open house is out of the question. But that doesn’t mean you can’t invite potential buyers to “take a tour”. Use a real estate walkthrough video!

You can create a professional-looking video that gives potential buyers the feeling of walking through the home. People can head online and view the video whenever they want, however many times they want.

This guide is going to help you create a professional walkthrough video that you can be proud to share.

Start with Your Equipment

If you don’t have the right equipment, then you won’t get the results that you want. As with any project, you need the right tools to get the job done. This list will help you get started:

• DSLR camera
• Wide-angle zoom lens
• Tripod with a slider
• Another tripod head that sits on the slider
• bonus: a drone

To keep your shoot simple, skip the lights. Plan your shoot around the weather. Thankfully, Florida has plenty of partly sunny days that will help you with lots of natural light.

Don’t Give in to the Fisheye

You may see some people using a fisheye lens to make the room feel bigger. Don’t do this. It won’t do what you want, and instead, the rooms will look oddly warped. This will turn your real estate walkthrough video into a funhouse video.

Prepare the House

Before you try to shoot anything, you need to make sure the house is ready for its shoot. Take a walk around the house with a critical eye. Hide anything that could be distracting.

• Remove the clutter
• Close closet doors
• Make the beds
• Clean the bathroom
• Stage the living room
• Hide the pets

Plan Your Real Estate Walkthrough Video

This will be a challenge starting out. You need to get enough shots to accurately capture the rooms, but you don’t want to waste time overshooting the interior. The goal is to capture the home and give potential buyers a feel for the home.

You should be able to capture the bedrooms and bathrooms with two to three shots each. These rooms are smaller, so you should be able to capture them fairly quickly.

Larger rooms will take more time and require more shots. You want to get enough shots that you have plenty to work with and can create the full impression of the room.

Don’t be afraid to delete a shot if you mess it up. This will keep your shots clean and organized for faster editing later.

You don’t need a ton of exterior shots. This only changes if the home is large and the exterior is impressive, or it’s situated on a large piece of property. Try to get this list of shots for the exterior:

• Wide shot of the front
• Wide shot of the back
• Close up shot of the front door
• Any unique feature on the exterior

Capture Your Video

You’re now ready to start shooting your video. The idea is to create a sense of motion in what is a static environment. This is where the slides come in.

It doesn’t take a lot to get creative with your shot. Position your tripod so that the slider is half behind the doorway. Then when the camera slides, it will reveal the room.

Then set the tripod up in the room and create motion by panning around the room. This creates a wrap-effect and gives people the full impression of the room.

If you don’t have a slide, you can create a similar effect by panning and slow zooming. The idea is to inject motion into what would otherwise be a boring still shot.

Check Your Camera Settings

You need to check your camera settings. Since the room is the subject, you’ll need the camera to stay focused on it. This can be a challenge.

Check the shutter speed so that you can balance the brightness. You don’t want a bright window to wash out your entire shot.

Use the Drone

If you have a drone, you can use it to capture some stunning aerial shots of the home and surrounding community. The trick to good drone shots is to keep the movement subtle.

Make minor adjustments and do them slowly. This will create the same gliding effect as the slider on the inside of the house.

Edit Your Footage

Once you have all of your shots, the next step is to edit them and put them all together into a video. Your first step is to put the clips you want to use in the order of how you would walk through the home.

Start with an exterior shot of the front of the home. Then use your close up shot of the front door. You’ll then use your interior shots as if someone were actually walking through the home.

This helps potential buyers to understand the layout and mentally follow along with you as you move through the house. Remember, your viewers have not seen the home in person, so they’re totally dependent on you.

Don’t overshow a room. Be selective in your shots and only use the best. If a viewer wants a closer look, they can pause or rewind your video. You can then track this behavior in your video stats.

Once you have the video put together, you should add music. This will take your video from amateur to polished. There are websites where you can license music. This is a smarter option than using free options.

Contact Page

Don’t forget to include your contact information in the video! You want to let interested parties know how to contact you. Including it in the video will ensure that if your video gets shared, you go with it.

A simple page at the end of the video with your logo, email, and phone number should be sufficient, but feel free to include any contact information you want.

Hire a Professional

If the idea of taking on one more responsibility sounds like too much, then fear not. I can help you create beautiful real estate walkthrough videos. This will save you time, effort, and money.

As a professional real estate photographer, I know what shots need to be taken and how your video needs to look. I can create a shot list, capture the needed video, and edit it into a professional-looking real estate walkthrough video.

Contact me today, and let’s help potential buyers tour your homes virtually.