Taking and publishing 360-degree photos is at basic level very simple. It doesn’t require special technical skills. Editing a 360 photo is also simple and it doesn’t require participating in a month-long webinar series.
The easiest way to publish a 360 photo is to publish it in Facebook. If you use some of the free software services found online, you get little more options and more quality. While taking and publishing a 360 photo is technically simple, taking a 360 photo that captures the attention of the viewer and tells the intended message requires vision and more brainwork.
Basically, all you need to take a 360 photo is a 360 camera. Photographers with stable hands can use their phones to take 360 photos, but usually the intended purpose of the photos is more professional, so a 360 camera is preferred. An entry-level camera can cost less then 300 euros. One camera used in Digi2Market-project is Insta360 One X, which was mentioned in this buying guide as the best available camera based on price, resolution and video quality.
Embed 360 photos in free online services
360 photos can be published in many online services. You can use the photo in full screen mode or embed it inside a website, if the website platform does not block the functionality.
Most 360 photo online services have free versions that you can try and even use longer with some restrictions. Some popular online services have paid versions for a yearly cost of 50–200 euros. In business use free version is usually not enough, since companies usually want to replace the watermarks of the service with their own logos, and have less limits in publishing amounts, properties or quality.
Popular 360 photo and video publishing platforms
Kuula
Website: kuula.co
Service is easy to use. You can publish only 360 photos and not combine them in to a connected unit, but the quality of the photos and ease of use for both publisher and viewer makes it one of the best options available. Embedded photos do not have many hovering objects and therefore it is very user-friendly. Also very mobile-friendly.
Price: Free version available. Pro license, that for example enables branding the photo with company logo, costs 12 USD/month.
Example: kuula.co/post/7JGZc
This photo was taken with Insta360 One X -camera in March 2020 from a viewing spot in Juuka, Finland. The camera was connected with an extension rod of about half a meter. Timer was used. The photo was published in Kuula service with free license. The photo was adjusted to move the view only horizontally, but it is possible to allow the view to move also vertically.
You can open the photo in mobile by reading the QR-code in this page.
Thinglink
Website: thinglink.com
Service can be used to create interactive 360 photos and videos and use them in virtual tours with hot spots. Looks good both in mobile and desktop and also as an embedded version.
Price: Free version available. License with your own logo starts from 25 €/month.
Example: thinglink.com/video/1290042110438801409
You can explore Thinglink media and ideas in their website: thinglink.com/featured
Momento360
Website: momento360.com
Easy to publish 360 photos and videos, and like the previous services, works well in mobile. Although at first glance it looks like a software with less properties than some of similar services.
Price: Free version available. License with your own logo starts from 12,50 €/month.
Seekbeak
Website: seekbeak.com
Good for interactive 360 photo combinations and virtual tours. Embedding is possible and also mobile-friendly. Has had some praise, but is not as easy in the beginning as Kuula or Thinglink are for example.
Price: Free version available. License with your own logo starts from 10 €/month.
360 cities
Website: www.360cities.net
A popular service for 360 photos which are connected and could be tagged to certain locations.
Price: Free version available. Ad free version with your own logo starts from 179 €/year (price per month 14,92 €).
Website: facebook.com
Yes, Facebook works for this too. The simplest way to publish 360 photos without any added functions is to upload them in Facebook. The same photo can be published in prementioned specific photo software services and also in Facebook, if your goal is to get as much reach as possible for the content.
Price: Free.
Youtube
Website: youtube.com
An easy choice. Youtube detects if you are trying to upload a 360 video, so practically it doesn’t differ at all from uploading a regular video to the most popular video service in the world. If you have just a 360 video you could consider, if the option of uploading it to Youtube is enough.
Price: Free.