LeicesterPhoto, one of our most recent PTD members, create “Google Streetview-esque” virtual tours of church buildings around the UK, and recently delivered a major project for Crowland Abbey.
Chris Jones from LeicesterPhoto has been creating virtual tours for churches since 2011. In 2012, he became one of the first accredited and trained photographers to use Google’s “streetview” technology, enabling him to create virtual 360 walkthroughs of any church or building.
Chris’s first project was St Mary de Castro in Leicester. This was the first church in Europe to use this technology, and since then LeicesterPhoto have created virtual tours for churches across the country.
People anywhere in the world can experience a walking tour of the churches, which both inspires the local community and encourages those further afield to take an interest in church heritage. It also helps to create an online presence for the churches.
Chris and LeicesterPhoto realised the impact these 360 tours could have on the sector, and expanded their work to include website design and enhancements to the basic walkthroughs. This allowed them to offer churches a full “one-stop” solution, from photography and web design, to the creation of 360 online tours, complete with info panels and pop ups which give people more information on what they’re looking at, what the church can offer, and plans for the future.
As well as creating bespoke websites, LeicesterPhoto are able to embed these virtual tours into churches' own websites.
Crowland Abbey
LeicesterPhoto recently completed a major project for Crowland Abbey, which included a specially created website, virtual tour and photography.
“Crowland Abbey was a fantastic opportunity to create an interesting website with some interesting features that could then be handed over to the project leaders for them to locally manage. We are always there supporting them and the site has been a great success.” – Chris, LeicesterPhoto
Chris has plans to return to Crowland Abbey to film the church using UAV drones. LeicesterPhoto are fully CAA accredited, trained and insured to fly commercial drones, which will allow them to offer even more impressive visual solutions for churches around the UK.
Aerial photography provides a whole new perspective of buildings and landscapes. Not only can it provide excellent resources for marketing and increasing the profile of churches, but they also facilitate far easier and cheaper roof and spire surveying.
LeicesterPhoto and Chris are members of the National Churches Trust’s Professional Trades Directory, which is a fully searchable Directory of conservators and contractors whose work includes the restoration and maintenance of historic church buildings in the UK. Click here to find out more about LeicesterPhoto.
We are currently welcoming new members to our Professional Trades Directory. If you would like to learn more, or sign up, please visit our Specialist Trades Directory.
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