In the competitive world of student recruitment, the first impression you give prospective students can really be make or break.
Your imagery is often the very first moment a prospective student steps into your world. But while most university sites are excellent at explaining what a degree entails, they frequently fail at the one thing that actually drives decision-making: emotional connection.
Students today aren’t just looking for a course list; they’re looking for a feeling. They want to know if they can see themselves living in your halls, studying in your labs, and grabbing a coffee in your Student Union. This emotional connection is the catalyst for conversion. When a student can’t, or hasn’t yet had the chance to, visit in-person, a high-quality 360° virtual tour bridges that gap by offering a true sense of space and place.
But there’s a catch. The 360° camera has an unblinking eye. It sees everything, the good, the bad, and the stray coffee cup left on a library desk. At Vepple, we believe that if you’re going to offer a virtual experience, it has to be more than good enough. It requires an expert eye to ensure your campus looks its absolute best.
Training the eye: 18 years of higher education mastery
Nearly two decades ago, as a fresh graduate, Ash (our Senior Photographer) began shooting student accommodation. What started as a freelance gig turned into a career defining the visual standards of the sector. He’s now spent 18 years on university campuses, training his eye to spot the details that others miss. Mastering this niche craft isn’t as simple as clicking a button.
Here’s some examples of Ash in action.
Spotting the perfect shot
When you walk past Ash on a shoot, it looks like he’s texting. In reality, he’s controlling a high-end camera from his phone.
“Sometimes it looks like I’m just messing about on my phone,” Ash jokes. But this remote control is essential. For Classic 360s, which use one-shot technology, Ash has to hide behind pillars or literally run out of the shot to ensure he isn’t the star of your virtual tour.
Today, the tech is lighter, but the stakes are higher. Whether it’s our Premier solution (using an SLR camera) or our Classic one-shot solution, Ash has to keep an eye on variables that most marketing teams haven’t even considered.
An eye for the room: The human element
You might think the most beautiful outdoor spots take the longest to shoot. Actually, it’s the gyms.
“Gyms are particularly difficult because you can’t exactly ask a room full of people to stop exercising,” Ash says. To capture these spaces properly, you need an eye for the room. You have to speak to everyone, manage model release forms, and navigate room bookings to ensure you don’t clash with a scheduled exercise class.
We often get asked: should rooms have people in them?
- Bright rooms: People can move freely; it looks natural and vibrant
- Dark rooms: Stillness is essential to avoid blurry limbs (aka ghosting). Here, we recommend using staged actors or student ambassadors who can hold a pose.
- Labs: These are usually lightly staged to show the equipment in use without looking cluttered
Keeping an eye on the sky
Ash keeps an eye on the sky like a professional meteorologist. If he’s shooting an indoor space and the sun suddenly breaks through a grey cloud, he’ll suggest the shoot pivots to capture some outdoor shots while the lighting is perfect. Why? Simply put, it looks better.
But what if the British weather betrays us? If it rains the whole day, it’s no big deal. Some universities choose to shoot outdoor spaces on another day, usually those who have multiple shoots scheduled or know we’ll be returning next year for a new building. In those cases, we simply shift our focus and capture more indoor spaces to make the most of the time.
Other teams prefer to capture what they can on the day and wait for our next visit to see if they have more luck with the sun. While blue skies are always the goal, outdoor spaces are actually the easiest and quickest shots to get, taking about five minutes each. We’re experts at working with whatever the day throws at us to ensure your campus still shines.
We’ve even been known to add a bit of post-production magic, where we can. Take a look at the example below.
Before
After
From nuclear labs to horse hoists
One of the benefits of having an expert eye on campus is that Ash sees things most people don’t. Over the years, his lens has captured everything from nuclear labs and 80 cadavers in a temperature-controlled medical facility, to a “horse hoist” used to move sedated animals in a vet school.
He’s even seen the preserved hide of Blossom, the famous cow involved in the discovery of the smallpox vaccine. It’s this breadth of experience that allows him to walk into any space and know exactly how to frame it to tell the university’s story.
Want to try it yourself? What to keep an eye on
We’re often asked if universities can shoot their own 360s. The short answer is: yes. But because the 360° lens is so honest, you need to develop a very specific eye for detail.
If you are determined to try it yourself, here are Ash’s non-negotiable tips for things to keep an eye on:
- What’s out of frame: There is no such thing in a 360. “Everything is going to be in the shot,” Ash warns. He once had to edit out a “wall of hotties” (full-frontal nudity on a student’s fridge) by digitally copying the front of an adjacent fridge in post-production.
- The declutter rule: You need to declutter more than you think. What looks lived-in in person looks messy through a 360° lens.
- The human element: Despite what we’ve just said, an empty student bedroom, with a stripped (slightly stained) mattress, is not going to spark any joy! A touch of humanity to your spaces, think about staging seriously
- Reflections and glares: Keep a sharp eye on mirrors and windows. They love catching a tripod or a stray limb in the reflection.
- People are preferred: Not necessarily easier for the photographer, but student feedback has indicated in the past that they prefer to see spaces with actual people in – that empty ghost towns. And we can understand why, but it’s not always possible and you have to measure up on logistics, light-levels and student desire.
- Permissions: if you’re shooting outside of the campus, some cities, particularly London boroughs, require special permissions and there are even fees to be paid. Make sure you’ve done your research. Or ask Ash – he knows everything! Generally though, outside of London, things are simpler, especially for educational purposes.
- Outdated branding: Keep a sharp eye on posters, dates, or old logos. Nothing dates a virtual tour faster than a “Welcome class of 2022” banner in the background.
- Ghosting: 360s are photos, not videos. In darker rooms, people need to stay perfectly still to avoid looking like blurry ghosts
The real takeaway: an expert eye and a soft sell
The power of a 360° view isn’t just about the visuals; it’s about the psychology of control. Unlike traditional video or TV advertising, which can feel like a hard sell, a virtual tour is transparent. Just listen to Jamayla (a 17 year old, prospective student) explain why this made the difference in her hunt for a uni.
“People are fed up with being sold to all the time,” Ash explains. “A 360 allows the student to lead. They decide what they want to see, which gives the control back to them.”
Choosing Vepple isn’t just about buying a platform; it’s about hiring a team that has walked 30,000 steps a day across hundreds of campuses to get the perfect, authentic shot. It’s about the peace of mind that comes with working with a skilled, experienced and specialist team. Knowing that every single detail is being watched over by someone who has spent 18 years perfecting the art.
Is your current imagery doing your campus justice? If you’re considering upping the ante for the 2026 cycle to meet what students are expecting, have a look at our 360° Panoramas page or listen to our customers here:
