Panoramic photos and 360-degree photos represent one of the most widespread trends: to understand it, just take a look at social networks like Facebook and Instagram.
The reason? Unlike the past, today you do not need a professional camera to make these shots: everything is feasible directly from smartphones, thanks to filters and more and more advanced and extraordinary effects. Precisely for this reason, today we will see how to make 360° photos with Android smartphones and iPhone, and then share them on Facebook.
Take 360° photos with Android smartphones
Taking 360° photos with Android smartphones is an easy task. Especially if you have a Nexus or a Google Pixel, since the Android camera already has all its native features that will allow you to take both panoramic photos and 360-degree photos. The same was true of many Samsung smartphones with the Photosphere function, but it was inexplicably removed.
This means that, having removed these exceptions, most Android smartphones need the support of a specific app to take 360-degree photos: on the Play Store, there is a myriad, but we recommend to try Google Street View. Actually, they all work the same way: you have to open the app, move the smartphone following the orange dot and wait for the image to be acquired. After a series of movements, you can finally count on your fascinating 360 degree photo.
Take 360-degree photos with the iPhone
In the case of the iPhone, the list of apps to make 360-degree photos is equally endless, but unlike some Android phones, none has a native mode to take 360-degree photos. And the Google Street View app is once again the best answer to your needs: the procedure is therefore identical, compared to the example given above. A tip: when you take the various acquisitions by following the orange dot, wait until it turns green to close the camera.
How to share 360° photos on Facebook
First of all, there is something you need to know, and that will also influence the time of sharing on Facebook: some Android smartphones save photos in 360 degrees in different formats, and only those that are saved with XMP metadata can be shared on Facebook or managed from apps and similar sites. For example, a Nexus model, a Pixel or a Samsung Galaxy do this without problems, while a Moto X Style does not. When the photos are shared but they seem normal and do not have that little globe at the bottom right, it means that there are no XMP metadata and cannot be manipulated with the mouse.
In case you have a camera model that saves XMP metadata, all you have to do is share the photo as you would any other image. Otherwise, you must necessarily mount the Android OS KitKat 4.4 or later and install the latest version of Facebook. In many cases the Street View app is able to create 360-degree photos compatible: in case you do not succeed, there is nothing left to do but try other applications. Unfortunately, some of the low-cost smartphone models, despite being able to make 360-degree photos, can not create a photo with a format compatible with Facebook.