Stamm360 Virtual Tours Blog

RealTour Fusion is Coming - Are You Ready?

2012-02-03T18:05:00.000-08:00

Make your Commercial/Residential Real Estate Stand Out | Houston, Galveston, Clear Lake

2011-11-15T15:32:00.000-08:00

Make your Commercial/Residential Real Estate Stand Out | Houston, Galveston, Clear Lake

Veterans Day - What Does It Mean?

2011-11-11T13:50:00.000-08:00

Veterans Day - What Does It Mean?

Attract More Clients

2011-11-04T18:39:00.001-07:00

In today's challenging markets, the proper presentation of advertising has become increasingly more important. With 85% of home shoppers turning to the Internet before they pick up the phone it is now more important than ever to increase your reach online and deliver a lasting impression. Please allow me to introduce myself on behalf of Stamm 360 Virtual Tours, Houston, Clear Lake, and Galveston property marketing experts. Whether you are a listing agent or an owner of a local business large or small our services are just what you need to turn heads and make you look your very best. Our wide variety of services include state of the art interactive 360 virtual tours, professional photography services, powerful slideshow presentations, interactive 2d and 3d floor plan services, 3d walkthrough video presentations, colorful and vibrant listing flyers, panoramic sign riders, single property websites, listing syndication services, professional voice talent and so much more! Our virtual tour exposure engine is currently something that no other virtual tour company in Texas offers. Your real estate listings and virtual tours are distributed to over 100 portal sites worldwide. Listing syndication just makes sense. You know that when you generate more exposure for your listings, they are likely to sell faster and for more money. If you are a real estate agent or a business owner we can also show you how to make your website receive more traffic.

Are good photographs the key to selling your real estate property online?

2011-10-31T16:38:00.000-07:00

You must have been familiar with the proverb “a picture's worth more than a thousand words”. Photos, when incorporated in websites or newspapers change the total worth of the news or the content as visitors or readers feel more interested in reading something when it is supported by an image. Similarly, if you have a real estate website and you want to boost the sales of your company online, you should integrate some good photographs that are professionally presented. If things look shabby and unprofessional, not only will the buyers find the property to be unappealing, but also associate you and your company with unprofessionalism.According to a Realtor's Association survey, it has been revealed that when it comes to the online features that most visitors consider, 85% of them cited pictures or images, 80% cited a Will you go for article exchange ?detailed representation of the real estate property and 55% cited virtual tours. As the real estate buyers begin to search and narrow down their search, the key enticing element is certainly real estate photographs. The listings that you have in your website might have to be visually enticing and also of superior quality.The size of the photo that is being used in your real estate website is very important. The shots should be large to display the details of the room easily be visible. On the other hand, while it should show the intricate details of the room, it must also be small enough so that it gets loaded within few seconds. It is often seen that online visitors waver away from the websites that have a high loading time. The internet users are usually accustomed with pictures getting clear within seconds and if your real estate website is not able to do that, you may lose traffic very soon.The second factor that you need to keep in mind is to maintain professionalism as much as possible when you put photographs on your real estate website. There are many good digital cameras that can perform this job well. You must invest your dollars in getting yourself a good digital camera and use the camera with wide angle lens. Get a hot shoe attachment as this will work best while shooting the pictures of your real estate photo.Now that you have the best camera to take your real estate photograph, you have to determine the purpose of adding the photo. Sometimes, staging rooms with the best things can often be helpful to grab the attention of the highest number of eyeballs but you must take care that you do not focus all attention to the furniture or the decoration of the house. Focus more on the architecture, design and space of the room.Remember that the front exterior shot is the most important featured image of your real estate website. Make sure that the exterior shot is strong enough so that it communicates in a better way to the online visitors and gives them a clear idea of what they're going to purchase.Therefore, real estate photography is of utmost importance if you have a website that caters to the needs of the prospective homebuyers. Follow the tips mentioned above so that you can grab the awareness of most online visitors and thereby boost profit.Reprinted with permission from Peter Harper

INDUSTRY STATISTICS VS 360 VIRTUAL TOURS

2011-10-31T15:25:00.000-07:00

As of August 2006, over half of American adult internet users (61%) have taken virtual tours of another location online. (2006 Pew Internet & American Life Study)On a typical day, more than six million people are taking virtual tours in cyberspace, up from roughly two million in 2004. (2006 Pew Internet & American Life Study)79% of repeat buyers & 84% of first time buyers use the internet to search for a home. (2006 National Association of Realtors Survey)Images are one of the biggest reasons Internet marketing has become so popular.54% of home buyers who are searching for their next home on realtor.com will not even look at a home unless there is a featured tour. (National Association of Realtors, January 2006)96.2% of travelers use the Internet as a source of information when planning a trip80% of internet shoppers say images are imperative when deciding to buy or use a company’s product or services. (2006 Pew Internet & American Life Study)A compelling use of virtual tour technology will keep visitors on your site, and will also keep them coming back. When the time comes, and the prospective buyer is ready to initiate contact, your sales person and web site, that have been most successful in “branding” and “bonding” with the potential buyer, can be assured an opportunity.In cyberspace, a site with a virtual tour and interactive media will receive 38% more views than a competitor’s site that is lacking media. (2006 Pew Internet & American Life Study)80% of consumers search for information online. That means at least 60% of your marketing dollars should be spent optimizing your company online.The daily cost for print advertising varies between $66-$150 per day and has a shelf life averaging around 30 days. Print advertising has a limited market penetration based on your distribution and does not allow the consumer to interact or engage with the advertisement. While the cost of a virtual tour averages around 27 CENTS per day. With a shelf life of 365 days and WORLDWIDE penetration the cost to interact with your client is MUCH less.Home Buyers who used the Internet as a significant portion of their home-buying experience spent an average of two weeks with a Realtor® looking at homes, compared to those who did not use the internet, who spent an average of seven weeks looking for their home. (2008 RIS Media)44% are searching after hours – websites ARE your 24-hour leasing center. (2008 Ellipse Group)Many apartment communities report that Internet Marketing is quickly becoming their number one source of traffic and leases. (2008 Ellipse Group)Internet marketing has the lowest cost per lease of any form of advertising. (2008 Ellipse Group)A 360 virtual tour is a great way to turn web site visitors into customers by installing confidence in your business or property. (2008 Ellipse Group)While only 15% of all hotel bookings are made over the Internet, 65% of all travel bookings are researched online. The Internet has become the top choice for consumers to investigate travel destinations, whether for business or leisure. (2007 Gomez Travel)75% of those surveyed, visited 3-4 Hotel Web Sites before making their choice. (2007 Gomez Travel)The estimated Return on Investment (ROI) for Hotel Virtual Tours is less than 4 weeks. (2007 Gomez Travel)Hotel Virtual Tours increase on-line bookings by up to 85%. (2007 Gomez Travel)Unlike most other marketing tools, Hotel Virtual Tours continue to earn you revenue until you refurbish. (2007 Gomez Travel)Nearly three in four online travelers (73%) say a 360º virtual tours would be “very useful” in helping them select a hotel that matches their preferences and expectations. (2006 VFM Interactive)A recent study conducted by Carlson showed that Radisson hotels that feature virtual tours on Radisson.com are averaging 52% more online revenues than those that do not. (2007 VFM Interactive).

A Million Reasons To Use 360 Virtual Tours

2011-09-19T05:43:00.000-07:00

“A Million Reasons to Use STAMM 360 VIRTUAL TOURS & REAL ESTATE PHOTOGRAPHY…”From the Desk of Vernon Stamm, OwnerStamm 360 Virtual Tours & Real Estate Photography 5930 Spanish Oak, Houston, TX 77066

An Open Letter To All Real EstateAgents Who Are Sick And Tiredof Throwing Away Money On Useless Advertising!!Dear Prospective Client,First, I am sure you are wondering why I included a “Million Dollar” bill with this letter. I did this for two very important reasons:1. Obviously, I wanted to get your attention, because I have something very important to tell you and how better to draw attention than with a ‘Million dollar’ bill?2. And secondly, since what I have to tell you can save you time and money, I thought using a million dollar bill as an “eye-catcher “ was appropriate. In today’s competitive real estate market, you simply cannot afford to waste your time and money on marketing services that take forever to get your listings online and in front of potential buyers. When it’s time to market your listings, you need results, not promises. That is why I am writing to you today; to explain the difference between my company and other virtual tour providers.Stamm 360 Virtual Tours & Real Estate Photography Is Your Answer For Online Marketing Of Your Listings! With Stamm 360 Virtual Tours & Real Estate Photography, you benefit from:1. Personalized Service – We are a local company that only services local realtors. Let’s face it, you can use a lot of different virtual tour solutions to market your properties, but the question is, what kind of service are you going to receive? When your homeowner signs that listing agreement, the clock starts ticking. As a virtual tour professional I understand the importance of getting your listings, photographed, processed, and online as quickly as possible. After your scheduled virtual tour appointment, we will process your tour and have it online within 24 to 72 hours GUARANTEED!2. The Best Technology - When I started this virtual tour company in January, 2011, I could have very easily chosen any processing software for your virtual tours. However, I chose to team up with Real Tour Vision, an innovative virtual tour software company that allows me to provide you with interactive virtual tours. Interactive virtual tours differ from other virtual tours, because they allow viewers to go from room to room without ever leaving the viewing area. Other tour software only allows drop-down menus or links to the side and bottom of the tour. I have always found that distracting, for the reason that you don’t use ‘drop-down menus’ in a true on-site visit of the property. Interactive virtual tours allow viewers to get a better feel for the true flow of the home.3. Online Marketing - It is simply NOT enough to have a virtual tour of a property. What good does a virtual tour do for your property if no one ever sees it? Just posting the tour on your personal site limits the property's exposure to viewers that visit your site. Some virtual tour companies may lead you to believe that linking the tour to your website is the end of the process. We take it to the next level. When Stamm 360 Virtual Tours & Real Estate Photography completes the production of your virtual tour, we then add your customized banners, logos, property and contact information. The tour is then sent to Real Tour Vision servers for automatic internet distribution to national portal sites. We provide you with two links to your tour. One is branded with all of your contact information and displays key property information. The second link is completely unbranded and can be used on MLS/IDX websites. 4. Realtor.com® Distribution - If you provide us with an MLS number at the time of your order, your tour is automatically linked to active listings on www.homeseekers.com and www.homes.com free of charge. We can also link your tour to Realtor.com FREE of charge for Enhanced Realtors with Realtor.com (Showcase). If you are not enhanced, we can still link your tour to Realtor.com for a nominal $25 fee. When your tour is submitted to Realtor.com your tour is then also sent to www.move.com, www.homestore.com, MSN Home Advisor, AOL Real Estate, AND 30+ additional websites in the homestore.com network.The list goes on and on. But, don’t just take it from me. In fact there is nothing that I can say about my business, but our clients can’t say better:[TESTIMONIALS – MINIMUM 3… USE THE WHOLE NEXT PAGE IF YOU HAVE ENOUGH TESTIMONIALS MORE TESTIMONIALS = BETTER RESULTS]So, as you can see, as you drive around the area, it’s a pretty good chance that a lot of the listed homes you are passing are currently being marketed by Stamm 360 Virtual Tours & Real Estate Photography. When buyers are looking for a home in this area, they will be able to find those listings on the Internet, and take a full virtual tour of the property. And if you still have doubts that our virtual tour service is far superior to other virtual tour options, take it from a successful real estate agent from Eden Prairie, Minnesota who recently posted this comment on the real estate network, ActiveRain.com.~ I am looking for my own home and find it so annoying to run into the slide-shows disguised as virtual tours. It is really a disservice to the homeowner as it is a cheap way to do it. I want to see a 360 to get an idea of the layout and traffic flow. I don't want to zoom into the fireplace that, you guessed it, is a fireplace. If I see it is a slide-show of pics already on the MLS, then I just close it and move on. ~~ Jennifer Kirby GRI, ABR, E-PRO, Exit Realty, Eden PrairieI would love the opportunity to talk with you in person and go over your different options for online marketing and virtual tours of your current and upcoming listings. Give me a call at (281)236-2375. Sincerely,Vernon G Stamm5930 Spanish Oak Houston, TX 77066http://www.stammfamilyphotographers.net(281)236-2375PS – For a limited time only, I am offering 50% off all packages!!

Press Release

2011-09-18T01:17:00.000-07:00

Press Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEReal Tour Vision™ Announces A New Full Service 360 Virtual Tour and Real Estate Photography Provider in the Houston, Clear Lake and Galveston areas.Stamm 360 Virtual Tours and Real Estate Photography has recently partnered with Real Tour Vision™ (RTV), the world’s largest and fastest growing virtual tour software provider. As a Real Tour Vision full service provider Stamm 360 Virtual Tours and Real Estate Photography will be able to offer state-of-the-art virtual tours and innovative online marketing solutions to local real estate agents and businesses. Stamm 360 Virtual Tours and Real Estate Photography has completed proprietary training as a certified RTV full service dealer and will also be offering their clients and customers expert advice on internet marketing. Jason LaVanture, Vice President of Real Tour Vision™ said: “[CLICK HERE TO SEND A REQUEST FOR A UNIQUE QUOTE FROM Stamm 360 Virtual Tours and Real Estate Photography”. Since 1999, Real Tour Vision™ has continually led the way in the virtual tour industry with marketing implementations such as their proprietary interactive software, RTV™ PanoRider™, single property websites, on-demand Virtual Tour Traffic Reporting 2.0, 2D/3D interactive floor plans, animated walk-throughs, custom websites, proprietary order-dispatch system, tour audio solutions, tour discs and sketch-and-fax services. For more information call (281)236-2375 email vernon.g.stamm@stammfamilyphotographers.net or visit their website at http://www.stammfamilyphotographers.net. About Real Tour Vision™ Real Tour Vision™ is a recognized leader in interactive 360 panoramic virtual tours and virtual tour software. Over the past 8 years, the virtual tour software company has built up one of the world's largest and most powerful networks of virtual tour providers. The company encourages prospective virtual tour provider and real estate agent network clients to begin by making logical business decisions, working out the numbers, and finally choosing the Real Tour Vision™ virtual tour software system to drive their virtual tour company or enhance their real estate website with virtual tour software products. RTV™ virtual tours are chosen over other virtual tour software programs daily by intelligent business owners who demand the best virtual tour software to showcase and market their businesses online. Real Tour Vision™ and RTV™ are trademarks of Real Tour Vision, Inc.About Vernon G Stamm, CEO Stamm 360 Virtual Tours and Real Estate PhotographyVernon Stamm has been a freelance photographer for the past 42 years and has his Masters Degree in Photography with a Professional Photographers Certificate from New York Institute of Photography.He began his photography career at the age of 16 while still in high school. Needing elective credits to graduate, Mr. Stamm took a beginning photography course offered by his high school. Liking it, he continued until graduation in 1971 taking the advanced courses. By the time he had graduated from high school, Mr. Stamm had a profitable photography business going, taking portraits and shooting events in the area. He continued in and out of the business during the rest of his life until the present, always maintaining the freelance status. In 2010, he began to take photos, which would later appear in his photo book. He has published photos in the USA in magazines such as V-Twin Motorcycle and the Western Horseman. In 1997, Mr. Stamm worked for a small Eastern Colorado Newspaper as a photojournalist and editorial writer. In February of 2011, Mr Stamm publish his first photo book entitled "Dateline Zamboanga" available through the I-Proclaim Bookstore. One of my latest works has been published on "Wikipedia", the online encyclopedia. Mr. Stamm is now working full time in the Industry as a 360 Virtual Tour Photographer and Interactive Media Marketing Provider. He has plans to write a second addition of his book, “Dateline Zamboanga” to be published by the end of 2012. Contact: Vernon G StammStamm 360 Virtual Tours and Real Estate Photography5930 Spanish OakHouston, TX 77066(281)236-2375vernon.g.stamm@stammfamilyphotographers.net

What Are Virtual Tours

2011-09-10T06:13:00.001-07:00

A virtual tour is a simulation of an existing location, usually composed of a sequence of video images. They also may use other multimedia elements such as sound effects, music, narration, and text. The phrase "virtual tour" is often used to describe a variety of video and photographic-based media. Panorama indicates an unbroken view, since a panorama can be either a series of photographs or panning video footage. However, the phrases "panoramic tour" and "virtual tour" have mostly been associated with virtual tours created using still cameras. Such virtual tours are made up of a number of shots taken from a single vantage point. The camera and lens are rotated around what is referred to as a nodal point (the exact point at the back of the lens where the light converges).A video tour is a full motion video of a location. Unlike the virtual tour's static wrap-around feel, a video tour is as if you were walking through a location. Using a video camera, the location is filmed while moving from place to place. Video tours are continuous movement taken at a walking pace.

The Advantage of Online Marketing

2011-09-09T20:02:00.000-07:00

1. Are you ready to look your best online and in front of your clients? Our Company is a recognized leader in interactive virtual media specializing in online property marketing. 2. Our services include powerful marketing tools such as:• Interactive 360 Virtual Tours• Virtual Tour and Listing Exposure• 2D & 3D Interactive Floor Plans• Panoramic Sign Riders & Single Property Websites• 360 Tour Discs3. The use of interactive media online offer many advantages!• Convenience: Imagine a 24/7 interactive open house made available to the world through the World Wide Web. • Details & Perspective: Interactive media offers the perfect synchronization between close detail and a wide 360 degree perspective. Both are creatively brought together to win the buyers eye and make a winning first impression. • First Impressions: Have bad weather, nearby construction, or other superficial circumstances ever hindered potential buyers from an ideal first impression? Marketing with interactive media automatically eliminates that possibility. No matter the weather, no matter the time, buyers can direct their browser to your interactive virtual tour and view the benefits of what your listing has to offer, in its best light! • Motivate Potential Clients: The Internet is a portal to market to the broadest audience possible, while at the same time search friendly. In order to target a very specific audience, consisting of the most qualified and motivated buyers. A compelling use of virtual tour technology will keep visitors on your site, and will also keep them coming back. When the time comes, and the prospective buyer is ready to initiate contact, you and your web site that have been most successful in “branding” and “bonding” with the potential buyer, can be assured an opportunity. • Cost Effective: Interactive Media is a cost effective marketing strategy that can save you time by motivating only serious buyers and increase your profits by showcasing the actual value, rather than it’s perceived. 4. The facts are simple:• As of August 2006, over half of American adult internet users (61%) have taken virtual tours of a home for sale online. • On a typical day, more than six million people are taking virtual tours in cyberspace, up from roughly two million in 2004.• 79% of repeat buyers & 84% of first time buyers use the internet to search a home.• Home Buyers who used the Internet as a significant portion of their home-buying experience spent an average of two weeks with a Realtor® looking at homes, compared to those who did not use the internet, who spent an average of seven weeks looking for their home.• 80% of all house and property hunting is done online. That means at least 60% of your marketing dollars should be spent optimizing your real estate business online.• In cyberspace, a listing with a virtual tour will receive 38% more views.• 54% of home buyers who are searching for their next home on Realtor.com only view property’s with featured tours or multiple images.• The daily cost for print advertising varies between $66-$150 per day and has a shelf life averaging around 30 days. Print advertising has a limited market penetration based on your distribution and does not allow the consumer to interact or engage with the advertisement. While the cost of a virtual tour averages around 27 CENTS per day. With a shelf life of 365 days and WORLDWIDE penetration the cost to interact with your client is MUCH less.5. Win more listings with Real Tour Vision virtual tour technology!With increased competition, market instability and tech-savvy clients, the bar for marketing a home has been raised. Those agents who understand that they must offer something truly unique and valuable to their sellers are closing more listings with Real Tour Vision Virtual Tours. RTV 360 interactive virtual tours are fully loaded with features such as, maps, local school and city information, floor plans, brochures, videos, music, professionally voiced audio, scene by scene text, agent banner, photo, email, and website link, and much more! 6. Surpass your competition with 3 levels of virtual tour and listing distribution!In today’s market, it is more important than ever to differentiate yourself from the competition by offering unique services that add value for your sellers. Show your clients that you are a property marketing expert by using tech-savvy sales tools. Basic tour exposure includes virtual tour distribution to your local MLS, your Company Enhanced tour exposure includes distribution to Realtor.com, Move.com, Homes.com, MSN Home Advisor, AOL Real Estate, and over 75 additional national and local real estate portal sites! Enhanced virtual tour syndications is free for all Realtor.com “showcase listings”.Maximum tour exposure includes listing & virtual tour distribution to the latest trend setting real estate portal sites most frequented by the “Gen X” real estate shoppers of today’s market.Virtual tour and listing distribution is a one of a kind marketing tool that will make a lasting professional impression. Be remarkable and market your property with powerful marketing tools!Attract more buyers with a PanoRider and Property Specific Web site! With 71% of all home buyers mentioning the yard sign to be an important source of information, a Real Tour Vision PanoRider combines the exposure of the Yard Sign with the exposure of the Internet! By using a property specific Website to showcase your listing’s virtual tour, the buyer gets exactly what they were looking for; rich, detailed, images and information about the seller’s property. On average 49% more leads were produced with the combined use of a virtual tour, PanoRider, and property specific Website. PanoRiders are an easy and affordable way to market yourself and your listing both on and off-line!Generate more referrals with Tour Discs, making it easier than ever for your clients to tell others about you. Create a complete marketing program for your sellers and they will certainly spread the word about your unique ideas. The seller’s friends, neighbors, and family will have the right impression about your professionalism and use of cutting edge marketing and technology. Tour Discs make it easy for them to pass it on to their friends and family, and each time, your contact information will be seen!7. Save valuable marketing dollars with virtual tour traffic reporting!Through these unique statistics you and the seller will be able to view just how effective your marketing dollars and efforts are paying off! Weekly usage reports not only show where virtual tour views and leads are coming from but they also display which rooms and scenes from within the 360 tours are being viewed the most. These weekly hit reports will keep everyone involved and up to date! 8. Real Tour Vision not only offers the very best virtual tour technology, we also offer amazing floor plan technology allowing stunning 2D and 3D floor plans to be created for you and your team within 48 hrs of placing an order! When completed the floor plan is then easily integrated directly into your 360 virtual tour or can be delivered to you for print and web use.9. In its simplest terms, technology speeds your ability to communicate, leaving you more time to prospect and most importantly, close! With our company’s effective marketing weapons, the technology enables you to reach prospects before your competitor. And if you are going to win substantial amounts of business in the future (the past makes little difference) you’ve got to ADOPT and ADAPT the most aggressive systems, strategies and technology for reaching prospects BEFORE your competition. Our property marketing solution is so unique that you won’t find our time-tested, razor-sharp marketing anywhere else!

2011-09-03T05:19:00.000-07:00

Virtual Tour Industry News

Reasons To Use 360 Virtual Tours

2011-09-01T05:07:00.005-07:00

Reasons To Use 360 Virtual Tours

1. Tours support a custom virtual tour banner.

2. Agent or tour owner contact information and links to their e-mail, website, and online virtual tour galleries are included.

3. Agent or owner photograph can easily be added to further customize the tour window.

4. We offer professional voiceover and/or music clips.

5. The Video button allows you to add video clips to your virtual tour.

6. The Slideshow button launches our V-Slide feature. V-Slides showcase up to 60 still or panoramic images in an elegant flash based presentation.

7. The Email button allows viewers to easily e-mail a link of the virtual tour to family and friends.

8. The Download button allows viewers to download the tour as a program file for quick and easy distribution by CD or other types of media.

9. The Favorites button quickly adds the tour to a viewer’s Favorites section of their web browser.

10. Custom printable flyers and floor plans can be included with every virtual tour.

11. Additional city information can be accessed on every virtual tour.

12. Detailed public and private school, as well as city information is included.

13. The location of each virtual tour is automatically mapped for the convenience of the viewer.

14. The mortgage information button allows estimated mortgage information to be calculated and can be directed to a preferred mortgage vendor’s site as a lead generator.

15. The “Back/Next” arrows return the viewer to the previous scene or takes them to the next.

16. A shortcut drop down button makes each scene within the virtual tour easily accessible.

17. This space is typically reserved for the real estate or business logo.

18. Detailed MLS information is included with every tour.

19. The RTV virtual tour window is larger than other companies and does NOT compromise download speed. Our images are crisp, clear and window shots are never washed out.

20. Hot spots can be customized for each client. Hot spots provide additional information, take the viewer to other scenes within the tour, other websites, or launch additional tours.

21. Navigation buttons give viewers control regarding zooming in or out, turning left, right, up or down.

22. Spinfo allows text based descriptions to be entered for each scene within the tour.

23. Marketing partner banners can be added in the lower right corner of the tour. Having marketing partners advertise reduces the price of RTV virtual tours.

24. Skin colors can even be customized allowing you to fully personalize your virtual tours.

25. The “secret” hit counter button enables virtual tour hit traffic reports to be run anytime.

26. The FULL SCREEN button instantly changes the tour view to be a FULL SCREEN, High Definition viewing experience.

27. Virtual tours are available for playback on three primary platforms; Flash 3D (for full experience), Flash 2D (removes optical correction), and Java 3D (when flash is not available).

28. Instantly post your virtual tours to your favorite social bookmarking sites. Tours are easily Tweeted and posted to Facebook.

29. Spider – The RTV virtual tour window has been specifically programmed to feed dynamic tour information. Using our online Tour Management System (TMS), you can control how search engines see your tour and how they index the information provided by your tour.

30. Create powerful back links and additional promotion for your company by advertising using customizable text based links.

What Ever Happened To The Art of Black & White

2011-08-28T20:51:00.003-07:00

Gone are the days when photographers used black and white film. The introduction
of color, around thirty to forty years ago, replaced black and white in the glo
bal market, the same has occurred today, with digital replacing color film. Ever
ywhere you go, you see digital cameras and camcorders. The only place you will s
ee black and white film being used almost exclusively is in the area of newspape
r photojournalism. Even some of the worlds best magazines use digital photograph
s. An Internet search is about the only other place you will find people using B
&W, or by visiting the local art galleries and museums. There are very few B&W p
hotographers left. But I guess that's progress.
What happened? Most of the great B&W photographers, including American photograp
her Ansel Adams, French photographer Eugene Atget, British photographer and Bill
Brandt, have died, leaving just their legacies. Today, people have realized the
ease of digital, thus making B&W a lost art. Gone are the days of the real phot
ographers, when you had set up the shot properly the first time, to keep from wa
sting film. Digital allows you to shoot the same shot over and over, until you g
et it right.
For those of us who can, remember back before digital and computers, when all yo
u could buy were film cameras, and had to use darkrooms to develop your negative
s and print that great photograph you had just taken? This was photographic art,
setting the timer on the enlarger for the proper exposure time, dodging this ar
ea, or burning that area to produce that award winning photograph. I can remembe
r when I couldn't wait to get into the darkroom. Some of the most memorable mome
nts in my freelance career, were the times I did print work. Now it's almost imp
ossible to find anyone who uses a darkroom or knows the art in using one. Alas,
those were the days.
One last question to ponder: Do you know what the four basic fundamental concept
s of photography are, the ones that allowed us to take those award winning photo
graphs without wasting film, the ones that enable us to spot the snapshots? Well
if you don't, they are lighting, exposure, composition, and camera angle. These
four basic fundamentals were essential back in those days and they are still a
vital part of photography today. By knowing how to use these fundamentals, you c
an drastically improve your photographic ability. To find out more about the wor
ld of photography, search the Internet site www.photography.com, or www.mastersof-
photography.com to find out more on some of the greatest photographers that e
ver lived.

Basic Photography Concepts

2011-08-28T19:44:00.000-07:00

Basic Photography Concepts
Most of us aren’t professional photographers, but many of us take our amateur photography seriously. Over time, we come to realize that there’s a lot more to taking pictures than just pointing and shooting! In fact, a photographer who’s serious about his hobby should learn about topics such as lighting, exposure, composition and camera angles, justto name a few.
Lighting and Exposure
Have you ever taken pictures that are so light or so dark that you can hardly make out the subjects? If so, you’re aware of how important the proper lighting and exposure can be in photography. How the lighting of a scene affects the exposure of the film is one of the most basic photography concepts. The more light within the scene, the more the film will be exposed. Conversely, the less light a scene has, the less the film will be exposed. While overexposed film turns out pictures that are too bright, underexposed film will be too dark, appearing “blacked-out.” Understanding how to manipulate lighting will help a photographer properly expose his film. In any given scene a subject can be fully lit with direct light, fully lit with indirect light or partially lit with backlighting or ambient lighting. Any directly lit subject is relatively easy to photograph, meaning that the film will be properly exposed and the picture will “turn out.” On the other hand, partially lit subjects are a bit more elusive: generally, the lighting or film speed should be manipulated to ensure the adequate level of exposure.
Learning how to alter the film speeds and lighting in poorly lit scenes takes some effort. However, a photographer can purchase a light meter, a tool that measures the amount of light in a scene. Given this measurement, the photographer can choose the appropriate film speed.
Composition and Camera Angles
Another basic principle of photography is composition, or the technique of setting up the subject within the camera’s frame. The proper composition of a shot is directly related to the angle at which the photographer takes the picture. With a particular camera angle and a planned composition, a photo can draw in the viewer’s eye, add meaning to the image or add a sense of movement and dynamism to the scene.
If the photographer wants his viewer to focus on a certain aspect of the shot, he can place the subject in a certain area of the frame. For example, putting the subject higher in the frame gives the subject an imposing presence on the viewer. On the other hand, placing the image lower tends to make the subject more submissive and possibly more mysterious to the critical viewer’s eye.
By drawing the viewer’s eye to a particular part of a picture, the photographer also invests a particular meaning of feeling to his shot. Depending on the subject photographed, its placement within the frame can make it appear more mysterious, forceful, compliant, or intriguing.
Another set of basic photography concepts involves the skills used by a photographer to make an image appear dynamic. For instance, a shot with the subject framed directly in the middle can make the viewer feel as though he is falling into the subject.
An example of this would be a picture of a person looking through a hollow log while the photographer is at the other end of the log snapping a picture of the person’s face. In this shot, the viewer’s vision moves through this tunnel, shooting immediately towards the person’s face. While not as overtly dynamic as action shots, this sort of compositional concept adds a subtle sense of movement to the picture.
More Advanced Photography Concepts
If you want to further expand your knowledge of photography concepts, start experimenting with some more advanced techniques, such as:

aperture settings
depth of field measurements
focal lengths
shutter speed settings.

To Be Continued: