Published on July 25th, 2016 | by Guest

Share an Immersive View of your world with Facebook 360 Photos

June 9, 2016 marked a major milestone for social networking. It happened when Mark Zuckerberg made the big announcement of the launch of 360 photos. The 360 photo feature is designed to improve ordinary photos, which are a main factor driving social media platforms. Most users upload photos as a way of sharing various moments on Facebook. With the introduction of the 360 photos, your friends will have a full-on, immersive view of the memories you share.

Zuckerberg Mark states in his announcement, that it is your responsibility as a Facebook user is to ensure that you capture the right moment and facebook will handle the rest. In order to capture 360 photos, you will need special cameras or the 360 photo app. This will be converted into a 360 photo which can be viewed in virtual reality.

360 Photos Similar to 360 Videos

If you have been a keen follower and Facebook user, you are aware that Facebook 360 video was launched in 2015. The 360 photos is a continuation of this innovation, and you can simply tilt your phone or drag the image and view it from any direction. Just as you would look around if your were actually present. You can view these photos in virtual reality so as to get a full immersive view. The good news is that you can take the photos using any phone that takes panoramic images or one that acquires a 360 photo app. As soon as the photo is uploaded, Facebook will convert the images to 360 photos.

How to Use this Feature

Users can now generate their own engaging content using the 360 photo feature. Facebook 360 pictures are currently growing as the concept of 360 photos expands. This in return is rolling out virtual reality content across Facebook, flooding our newsfeeds with stunning 360 views. This features, along with the 360 video launched earlier this year, is a main factor that sets Facebook apart from other social media platforms.

When new features are introduced on a social media platform, or an upload is suggested to gain a new and modified version of the application being used, this normally comes along with some glitches in the system. Like most things, trial and error is at times the only way.

Facebook 360 photos brought up some difficulties as users attempted to create their virtual realities. This could be seen from the various queries and comments on the post Mark Zucekerberg posted on Facebook. Fortunately, this has presented an opportunity for many tutorials to be uploaded in relation to the new 360 photos feature.

Nonetheless, it is merely a matter of time before Facebook users understand how it works. There are those users who have already grasped the concept and are already uploading virtual tours and great 360 pictures. Still, Facebook has made the feature fairly accessible to all users, and accordingly it shouldn’t be long before the majority, if not all users master Facebook 360 photos.

How Facebook Identifies 360 Photos

Eric Cheng, Head of Immersive Imaging on Facebook says that Facebook will read the metadata for the images uploaded, and will recognize 360 photo content. Such information is embedded in the Exchangeable image file format of the photo, tags and the Extensible Metadata Platform.

Consequently, the moment you upload a photo on Facebook, it would be recognized as 360 content and will therefore automatically tell it apart from an ordinary photo. All you have to do is to upload it, as you would do to a normal photo and Facebook will convert and post it on an interactive viewer. This will allow your network of friends to view your photos in 360 degrees. Take a look at the infographic below provided by eReviews to better understand the Facebook 360 feature.