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Create tours with an iPhone

Your simple guide to capturing with the Zillow 3D Home app..

Before you get started

  1. Make sure you’re using an iPhone® 7 or newer device.
  2. Wipe down your camera lens.
  3. Put away any documents/materials that contain personal information.
  4. Tidy up each room.
  5. Turn on all lights and open all interior doors.
  6. Turn off fans, TVs and any moving objects.
  7. Plan your route through the home.
  8. Start your tour from outside the front door or street view of the home.
  9. Remember to capture a panorama for each room, doorway and hallway.

Capturing a multifamily property? We got you.

Zillow 3D Home® lets you create panoramic tours for apartment communities, including multiple units and common spaces.

Capturing rooms at different sizes -- from tiny to expansive

picture of a bathroom

Small rooms

Stand in a corner or the doorway, and hold your phone lower to capture the entire space.

picture of a bedroom

Medium rooms

Stand near the center of the room to capture the entire space in a single panorama.

picture of a kitchen

Large rooms

Take panoramas from more than one point in the room to highlight special features.

Start capturing your tour

  1. Open the Zillow 3D Home app and sign in to your Zillow account.
  2. Tap Start capture and select Use iPhone Camera.
  3. Choose the listing address of the home. If you don’t have it, select Add home address later. Watch the video below.
  4. Select the room you would like to capture first. We suggest starting at the front door or front yard/street view to show off the home’s curb appeal.
  5. Once inside, stand with the most interesting feature behind you, and position yourself based on our recommendations for capturing rooms of different sizes (see above).
  6. Position your phone vertically and hold it close to your chest (4 to 5 feet high) to keep it steady and level. You can also use a tripod with a rotating head and phone mount.
  7. There is no “Start” button. Start capturing the room by lining up the phone icon with the row of white rectangles. Slowly turn to the right, following the yellow line until all the rectangles are captured.

    Note: If you rotate too quickly or miss a frame, the app will tell you to go back. Simply turn left and start slowly rotating right again once the “go back” message disappears
  8. Continue to capture until the room is complete. You must complete the full 360-degree circle to complete the capture.

Adding more rooms

After completing your panorama, tap Add to select your next panorama location.

It’s important to capture each connecting hallway and doorway of a room so the app is able to successfully connect your images for the 3D Home tour.

Upload and finish -- presto!

  1. When you’ve finished capturing on your iPhone, you can upload and finish your tour using your iPhone or iPad® device (version 7 or higher for both), or Android® smartphone (version 7 or higher).
  2. In the mobile app, review your panoramas. Check for any blurry images or artifacts, and retake any panoramas as needed.
  3. Connect to the internet via mobile data or Wi-Fi (if not already) and your panoramas will automatically start uploading.
  4. Once your panoramas have uploaded, tap Finish.
  5. Double-check that you have captured all rooms that you want to show off.
  6. You now have a choice. Select Post to listing to save your tour to Zillow and publish it to your Zillow listing, or select Build, but keep private to save your tour to Zillow for review in the My 3D Homes dashboard later.
  7. We’ll automatically create your 3D Home tour and email you when it’s complete. A tour with 10-20 panoramas should process within four hours.

Edit and share with the world

After your tour is processed, check to make sure everything is built and labeled correctly. You can change the default view, add or edit the arrows between panoramas, change the room order, edit room details, and hide a panorama from the tour. A moderator will also review your tour within 72 hours to address any necessary fixes.

To edit or share your 3D Home tour, visit My 3D Homes dashboard. For more information, visit the dashboard support page.

Have questions?

See our FAQ or contact us at 3DHome@ZillowGroup.com.