Real Estate, Marketing, Software

Photography is undoubtedly growing as a singular technology, but more importantly, photography is becoming an integral part of a greater multimedia merge.  The days when photos were viewed as static, single images are coming to an end.  Photography will continue to play an important role in the future of real estate, but mainly in two ways: to provide photorealistic texture for 3D virtual properties, and as the primary medium for communal, interactive viewing systems.  Allow me to explain in more detail:

We are currently building a 3D model of the entire earth so that we can tour businesses, shop, interact with others, search information, and so on.  I use the term “we” because I believe we will all directly or indirectly contribute data to this project in due time.  The projects currently being undertaken are time consuming, meticulous, and labor-intensive.  Nevertheless, they are still undoubtedly worthwhile.  This project will grow to be so large and so integral in our daily lives that it will simply consume real estate marketing and photography.  To give you an idea of how massive this project will be, we need to look no further than Virtual Philadelphia:

Virtual Philadelphia is the first of what will become many interactive replicas that will eventually combine to mirror a large portion of the Earth as we know it.  The platform for this technology already exists in products like Google Earth and Microsoft Virtual Earth. Companies like GeoSim Systems (the producers of Virtual Philadelphia) will be on the rise as more and more cities discover the numerous benefits of this technology.  The end product will encompass exterior and interior 3D models, 360° Virtual Tours – achieved through equirectangular solutions, Google’s StreetView, 2D to 3D photo services like Microsoft’s Photosynth, and general photo/video sharing outlets like Flickr and Picasa.

I believe that in the end we will all contribute data to a multi-dimensional, interactive map that allows you to toggle between photorealistic, 3D environments, and a more jumbled collection of photos and videos that will be viewable from their actual mapped locations using GPS metadata, keywords, and advanced triangulation techniques.

So what will the real estate marketing process be like?

In time, a collection of commercial and residential properties will accumulate that will be fully modeled and placed within a 3D environment.  When these properties go up for sale, a real estate agent will simply provide the geo-location so that prospective buyers can “fly” to a property, link through to interior tours, and check out the surrounding neighborhood.  Main city centers will be commissioned and designed on a massive scale by the cities themselves and through online postings, but many residential properties will most likely be the owner’s responsibility to create.  To watch the process for how a urban center is designed check out this impressive video by Hook Commercial Art.

If a property has not yet been added to the 3D grid, then another process will have to be completed:

1) A basic 3D model will be obtained using any combination of the following: an existent model from a house made from the same general blueprint, core files obtained from the architect’s CAD exports, free services like Google SketchUp, advanced CAD software like Corel Designer Technical Suite X4, an automated rendering using a compilation of photo stills and advanced triangulation,  hiring a 3D graphics specialist, and/or automated shape dynamics using publicly available LIDAR scans.  *As this process becomes common, and technology advances, a more simplified solution will likely emerge, and perhaps even an automated one.

2) The model will be textured with photographic data using prospective programs like PhotoSketch.  The photographic data will either need to be shot yourself, or downloaded from Internet databases where images exist with matching geo-locations.  The process will be surprisingly easy as more cameras record geo-ocations using internal devices or external additions like the Nikon GP-1.

3) The interior will be textured in the same way if you have a 3D model of it.  If not, interior views will be incorporated into the grid using panoramic tours, or by loading a number of interior photos into a program like Photosynth and embedding the finished product into the interior layout.  Programs like EasyPano are quite feature-rich and allow a lot of customization when building panoramic tours.  Again, Google Street View technology will likely play an important role.   Eventually, a global property wiki will begin where 3D homes are viewable, information can be stored, gathered, and shared, and ownership of the data will be passed on from owner to owner.  Owners will be free to share whatever information they wish, but also have control over private data.  Additional objects like trees, fences, swing sets and so forth will be accessible via online warehouses like this, and will become as easy as dragging and dropping them onto the grid in their suitable location.  In addition to small objects, you’ll find that warehouses like these already include a large number of popular buildings already modeled that are free for download.  Google is also asking for people to assist with specific models listed here.

The virtual city models will have a much grander purpose than real estate marketing alone, but real estate poses to benefit from these technological movements more than almost any other commercial enterprise.  What other product could possibly be marketed in such a limitless way?

And yes, processes like these are still somewhat theoretical, but all of the technological advancements I mentioned are happening right now.  Furthermore, with companies like Google and Microsoft leading the charge, I assure you that the mass implementation of these technologies are impending, and they will have an effect on how your business is conducted.

From what I can tell, the effort so far has been to create a number of models and encourage the free sharing of them.  The next stage will be integrating platforms like Google Earth into a larger number of online niches including real estate.  3D photo texturing, and communal photo integration will allow for a more realistic, and growing database of files to emerge but the technology is still being produced – PhotoSketch, for instance, is currently being built which will simplify the photorealistic texturing process.  Inevitably, real estate photography will cease to exist as we know it and become consumed by this massive, world-mapping initiative.

2 Responses to “The Future of Real Estate Photography”

1. Chris Dowell says:

   February 19, 2009 at 5:31 pm

   This sounds extremely good. The mapping tools at our disposal now make mapping tools of last year look so primitive. The realistic models are incredible.
2. Homes in Overland Park says:

   September 21, 2009 at 12:08 pm

   The mapping tools for web site, MLS, etc. have done wonders for searching our local areas – it really helps our Overland Park relocation buyers.