Apartment tour video: how to film one on an iPhone

Who this guide is for

This is for landlords, property managers, leasing agents and renters filming an apartment, a single room in a shared place, or a sublet, either for a rental listing or for Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. An iPhone and ten minutes are enough.

If you're filming a whole house on any phone, our house tour guide covers routes for houses, sound and sending a tour to a remote renter. Agents who want gimbals and MLS branding rules should read the real estate walkthrough video guide. For the still photos that go with the video, see rental listing photos on an iPhone.

What renters look for in a tour

A renter watching a tour is checking two things: that the place is what the listing says, and that it has the things they can't live without. Show those clearly and the tour does its job.

• Laundry and parking. An analysis of nearly 5.6 million Zillow rental listings, reported by Multifamily Executive in September 2024, found that listings mentioning off-street parking got 85% more saves and 103% more shares per day, and listings mentioning in-unit laundry got 78% more saves and 92% more shares. If you have them, film them: the washer and dryer with the door open, the parking spot or garage.
• Layout. How the rooms connect, where the bed fits, whether the kitchen is open to the living room. A single continuous walk shows this better than separate clips.
• Storage. Open the main closet and one kitchen cabinet.
• Light and view. Pause at the main window for a few seconds.
• Condition. Floors, the bathroom, the kitchen counters. Film them honestly; renters will see them on move-in day.
• Shared spaces. For a room in a shared apartment, show the kitchen, the bathroom you'd share and the living room, not just the bedroom.

Before you film: tidy and protect privacy

A video shows everything the lens passes. Walk the route once first and clear what you see.

• Personal items: family photos, kids' names and artwork, calendars, whiteboards, medication, anything on the fridge.
• Mail and paperwork: bills, packages, anything with a name, address or account number.
• House and unit numbers: if the video will be public, start inside the unit door, not at the street or the building entrance, and keep the unit number and car license plates out of frame. Send the address only to people who reply.
• Security: keys, the alarm panel, door codes, and anything that shows when the place is empty.
• Other people: film when roommates are out, and get their OK before their rooms appear in a public video.
• Clutter: dishes, laundry, cables, bins, toiletries. Make the bed and close the toilet lid. Our prep checklist goes room by room, and the privacy guide covers what else to hide.

iPhone settings for an apartment tour

Set these before you start. The format and frame rate are in Settings > Camera > Record Video, or you can tap the resolution and frame rate shown at the top of the screen in Video mode. Apple says the formats on offer (HD and 4K, at 24, 25, 30, 60 or 120 fps) depend on the model, and that higher resolutions and faster frame rates make larger files.

For still photos and the camera settings that matter for them, see our iPhone camera settings guide.

Lens choice: 1× most of the time

Apple's guide says you can tap .5x, 1x, 2x and so on while recording, depending on your model. Choose the lens before each room, not while you walk: a zoom mid-step looks jumpy.

• 1× (main camera) for living rooms, kitchens and bedrooms. It shows the room at a natural size and keeps walls straighter than 0.5×.
• 0.5× (ultra wide) only for rooms too small for 1×, such as a bathroom or a narrow galley kitchen. It shows more, but bends lines near the edges and makes rooms look bigger than they are, which renters notice when they arrive.
• Never 2× or more for a walking tour. It magnifies every shake.

How to move and how to light it

• Two hands, chest height, screen level. Tilting the phone up or down makes the walls lean.
• Turn your body, not your wrist, and walk heel to toe, slower than feels natural.
• Pause two or three seconds in each doorway so the viewer sees the whole room before you step in.
• Film in daytime, open every blind and switch on every light, including in rooms with windows. Apple says Action mode works best in bright light.
• If a window goes white, tap on a wall instead of the window so the phone exposes for the room.
• Plan for sound off. Fridge hum and footsteps add nothing. Mute the clip, or add a short voice-over with the rent, what's included and the move-in date.

Shot order

Film the unit in the order a visitor walks it, and don't go back over the same stretch. The viewer builds a floor plan in their head from the order of the rooms.

How long, and in which shape, for each platform

Decide where the video will go before you film, because that decides horizontal or vertical. If you film only once, film horizontally: it works for listings and links, and you can crop a vertical clip afterwards.

For social, a room tour usually works best as one continuous walk with captions: the room size, the rent and what's included, so the clip makes sense with the sound off.

When October fits, and when it doesn't

October's walkthrough isn't filmed footage. The October app guides you through each room on an iPhone 12 or newer and takes the photos; an image model then makes finished photos from your capture, and a video model makes the walkthrough as smooth camera moves between those photos. They usually come back within a few hours. Photos cost $49 a place and photos with a walkthrough $99 (up to 6 rooms), and the first place is free. See pricing and how it's made.

Because the photos are made from your capture and lightly styled, check each one before you publish and label them where your listing site requires. For a move-in record, a move-out check or a live tour for one renter, film the apartment yourself as this guide explains.

Step by step

1. Tidy and hide personal details

   Clear clutter, make the bed, and remove mail, photos, keys and anything with a name or address. Keep the unit and house number out of frame.

2. Set up the iPhone

   Record in 4K at 30 fps (or 1080p to save space), turn on Lock Camera, and use Action mode only if your walk looks shaky. Switch on every light.

3. Choose the lens per room

   Use 1× in most rooms and 0.5× only in a bathroom or kitchen too small for 1×. Don't zoom while walking.

4. Walk the shot order

   Front door, living area, kitchen, bedrooms, bathroom, laundry and parking, then end on the best view. Pause two or three seconds at each doorway.

5. Trim and post

   Cut to about a minute for a room or studio and two to three for a larger unit, mute or add a voice-over, and crop a vertical version for Reels, TikTok or Shorts.

Questions