A shot-by-shot guide for filming vertical (9:16) real estate video with an iPhone, the exact angle, camera setting, and tripod position for each stop on the walk-through, next to a reference shot.
Shoot everything vertically and lock the orientation so a clip can't flip to landscape mid-shot.
Turn on the camera grid (Settings → Camera → Grid) and keep door frames and walls straight in frame.
Tap to focus, then press and hold to lock focus and exposure so it doesn't hunt or flicker while you move.
Use the main 1x lens in most rooms. Only switch to 0.5x in a genuinely tight space, the ultra-wide bends straight lines.
Turn on every lamp and open every blind before you shoot, even in daylight.
Move slowly, or use a small tripod or gimbal. A shaky handheld clip is the fastest way to look amateur.
Wipe the lens before every shoot, a pocket smudge ruins an otherwise perfect frame.
Shot in the order a buyer would actually experience the house.
Stand across the street or at the end of the driveway so the whole facade fits in frame, the roofline and the ground both visible, like a postcard rather than a snapshot from the front step.
Walk up and shoot the door dead-center from about six feet back, low enough to catch the mat and doorbell, this is the "arrival" shot.
Shoot corner-to-corner, stand in one corner of the room and frame diagonally toward the opposite corner. It reads bigger than shooting straight at one wall.
Stand at the entrance and frame the island or main counter run down the center, letting the cabinets lead the eye toward the window.
Frame the bed from the foot, slightly off-center so a nightstand or window is also in shot, dead-center reads like a hotel listing.
These rooms are tight, back into the doorway or a corner and frame the vanity and tub/shower together, not one fixture close up.
Shoot from the edge of the patio looking back toward the house, so the outdoor space and the property read as one continuous scene.
Where to put the tripod and where to put yourself, for the moments you're talking to the lens.
Tripod on the sidewalk or driveway, 8–10 feet back, at shoulder height so the lens sits just below your eyes.
Stand slightly to one side of the door rather than dead center so the house stays visible behind you, and angle your body a quarter-turn toward the camera instead of squaring up.
Tripod across the room near the entrance, low enough that the lens sits at your chin height, angled slightly up.
Stand behind the island facing the camera with the window or a feature wall behind you, leave a hand's width of space above your head in frame.
Tripod about 6 feet from the seating area, lens level with your eyes while seated, never above, or you'll look small.
Sit on the front third of the sofa, leaning slightly forward rather than sinking back, with a lamp or window as soft light just off to one side of the camera.
Tripod on the patio, angled so the pool or yard is visible over your shoulder rather than directly behind your head.
Stand with your weight on one leg, angled a quarter-turn toward the camera, full length in frame. Shoot midday or early evening so light on your face stays even.