Podcast

iGUIDE just launched two new deliverables that let photographers offer a complete property experience, inside and out, from a single capture. Tom Sparks sits down with Natasha, Director of Marketing, and Brad, Director of Customer Experience at iGUIDE, to walk through Site Plans and Branded Property Overviews. Site Plans extend the iGUIDE virtual tour beyond the front door, using on-site panoramic scans and third-party aerial data to create an immersive, schematic view of the full property — lot, grounds, outdoor spaces, and how everything connects to the building. Branded Property Overviews turn existing iGUIDE floor plans into polished, agent-branded one-pager PDFs — ready to email, upload to the MLS, or hand out at open houses — at no additional cost. Brad and Natasha cover the capture workflow (spoiler: if you're already grabbing a few exterior scans, you're almost there), pricing guidance from the field ($100–$300 depending on market, with ~$150 emerging as a starting point), how photographer and agent branding templates work across multiple clients, and where this all goes on the product roadmap. Tom also shares his own hands-on experience capturing both features for Sparks Media Group clients and the agent reactions he's gotten so far. 🔗 LINKS & RESOURCES - Learn more + book a demo: https://www.iguide.to - Site Plans overview: https://www.iguide.to/site-plans - iGUIDE Help Desk (Site Plan capture guide): https://help.iguide.to - Sparks Media Group iGUIDE capture workflow video: https://youtu.be/91sNOKvcUng - More at WGAN: http://wgan.info/iguide 📢 ABOUT WE GET AROUND NETWORK We Get Around Network is the go-to community for 3D/360° imaging professionals — 3D Capture specialists real estate photographers, and property marketing specialists in 150+ countries. New content weekly. 0:00 Introduction 1:36 Meet Natasha and Brad From iGUIDE 2:10 Why iGUIDE Built These Features 3:44 Site Plans Live Demo 7:00 Schematic vs. Survey: Setting Expectations 10:00 Capture Workflow and Time on Site 12:00 Camera Compatibility and Field Best Practices 14:17 Current Scope and Roadmap (Single Family, Multifamily, AEC) 17:20 Using Third-Party Satellite Data 21:38 Branded Property Overviews Demo 24:43 Who Controls the Branding 27:00 How to Price Site Plans 31:11 Upsell Conversation With Agents 35:00 QC Process and Editor Review 36:00 Training Resources and Marketing Materials 38:15 MLS Integration and Where This Is Heading 39:44 What's Next on the iGUIDE Roadmap 40:46 Final Thoughts and Where to Learn More #iGUIDE #SitePlans #BrandedPropertyOverviews #RealEstatePhotography #VirtualTours #RealEstateTech #PropertyMarketing #3DTours #WeGetAroundNetwork #WGAN

Jon Lee has been shooting real estate full-time for a decade — and he doesn't sugarcoat anything. In this WGAN-TV interview, the Giraffe360 brand ambassador and PPA real estate photography educator pulls back the curtain on what actually builds a sustainable real estate media business. Tom Sparks talks with Jon about how he went from Navy veteran and wedding photographer to running a six-figure solo real estate media operation in Jacksonville, Florida — shooting up to 25–30 homes a week at peak. Jon covers his full service mix (photos, aerial, video, virtual tours, and floor plans), how he built a loyal client base that waits for him when he's on vacation, and why he deliberately caps his client roster rather than scaling with staff. On the Giraffe360 side, Jon shares what it was like to get the Pro camera with zero handholding — and why it won him over. He walks through where Giraffe360 fits in his workflow vs. Zillow 3D Home Tours, the ROI case for virtual tours as the highest-margin service in his business, and his honest feature requests (yes, including the hide-pano button). He also breaks down why he recommends Giraffe360 to brand-new photographers just starting out, not just seasoned pros. 0:00 Introduction 0:29 Jon's Background & Getting into Photography 1:39 Going Full-Time in Real Estate Photography 2:47 How PPA and Giraffe360 Connected 4:28 Becoming a Giraffe360 Brand Ambassador 5:24 Tom's Origin Story (Film Camera + Zodiac Killer) 8:37 Running a Solo Operation — No Staff 9:08 Building Loyal Agent Relationships 12:40 Current Shoot Volume & Throttling Back 15:32 Service Mix: Photos, Aerial, Tours, Video 16:08 The Zillow 3D Home Tour Play 18:19 Real Estate Market Conditions in Florida 21:08 Pricing, Niche Positioning, and No-Shows 22:28 Switching to Giraffe360 — First Impressions 23:01 Why Matterport and iGUIDE Didn't Fit 24:04 Where Giraffe360 Fits in the Workflow 27:49 Time on Site and ROI 30:31 Shooting Photos with Giraffe360 vs. Mirrorless 33:57 Teaching New Photographers at Miami Class 35:40 Brand Ambassador Day-to-Day Role 43:18 Feature Requests: Hide Pano, Room Naming 48:05 Jon's Role as PPA Real Estate Educator 52:02 Biggest Mindset Shift for New RE Photographers 53:41 AI, the DJI Ban, and the Future of the Industry 54:49 Ethics in Real Estate Photography 1:01:40 Advice for WGAN Members Considering Giraffe360 1:03:51 Virtual Tours as the Highest-Margin Service 1:04:28 Where to Find Jon Lee 🔗 LINKS & RESOURCES Jon Lee – JWL Media: https://jwleemedia.com/ Giraffe360 – WGAN Exclusive Deal (10% off 12 months + 60-day money-back guarantee): http://wgan.info/giraffe360 We Get Around Network: https://wegetaroundnetwork.com (Offer details can change — always check the page for current terms.) 📢 ABOUT WE GET AROUND NETWORK We Get Around Network is the go-to community for 3D/360° imaging professionals — Matterport service providers, real estate photographers, and property marketing specialists. New content weekly. #Giraffe360 #RealEstatePhotography #VirtualTours #3DTours #RealEstateTech #WeGetAroundNetwork #WGAN #PropertyMarketing #RealEstateMedia #PPA #360Photography #PropTech

What if you could scan a property in 5 minutes with your iPhone and have a professional floor plan delivered within 24 hours, starting at $11? That's exactly what Roomio does. Tom Sparks sits down with Steven, co-founder of Phoria, the team behind Captur3d. For the first look at Roomio, their new smartphone floor plan tool built for real estate photographers, agents, and anyone who needs a professional floor plan fast. Steven walks through everything: how the LiDAR-based capture works, the step-by-step scanning process, accuracy benchmarks, pricing, delivery pipeline, ANSI compliance progress, and what's coming next including non-LiDAR and Android support. Tom puts it through its paces with real questions from a working photographer's perspective, branded templates, multi-user accounts, scan pausing, SVG delivery, commercial property support, and a feature request for a fake camera rig to fool skeptical agents. Steven also reveals that WGAN members get two free floor plans to test drive the platform via wgan.info/Roomio. For real estate photographers looking to add floor plans as a high-margin add-on service without expensive hardware, this conversation covers everything you need to know. 🔗 LINKS & RESOURCES Try Roomio — 2 free floor plans for WGAN members: https://wgan.info/Roomio We Get Around Network: https://www.wegetaround.com Chapters 0:00 Introduction & Roomio Elevator Pitch 1:00 LiDAR vs. Non-LiDAR Capture 1:48 The Aha Moment — How Roomio Was Built 3:13 Floor Plans, Site Plans & 3D Floor Plans 3:55 Scanning Outside for Site Plans 4:17 Tom's First-Hand Experience With Roomio 4:58 Floor Plan Amendment Tool — Coming Soon 5:48 SVG Delivery & Format Options 5:54 Step-by-Step Scanning a 3-Bedroom Home 8:02 Scanning Speed & Technique 9:36 Camera Angle & the Painting Method 10:40 The Property Report Feature 10:56 Pricing: 24-Hour vs. 10-Hour Turnaround 11:18 AI + Human Delivery Pipeline 12:27 Future Turnaround Time Goals 13:59 ANSI Z765 Compliance 15:36 Accuracy Benchmarks 17:18 Delivery Formats 17:43 Branded Templates & Logo Upload 19:04 Platform Demo — Templates & Delivery 20:27 Multi-User Account Management 21:03 Property Report Deep Dive 22:06 Roomio vs. Hardware Platforms 23:25 Pricing Breakdown & Market Rates 26:15 Pay-Per-Use Model & Volume Pricing 31:28 Commercial Property & Size Limits 33:53 Pausing & Resuming Scans 35:27 Privacy & What Gets Captured 36:46 Integrations & API Roadmap 37:16 Floor Plan Template Gallery Walkthrough 39:51 2 Free Floor Plans for WGAN Members 40:21 What's Coming Next for Roomio 41:12 Wrap-Up #Roomio #FloorPlan #RealEstateTech #RealEstatePhotography #WGAN #WeGetAroundNetwork #iPhoneFloorPlan #PropTech #PropertyMarketing #Phoria #Captur3d #VirtualTours #MSP #3DFloorPlan #SitePlan

► https://www.Urbanimmersive.com ► https://www.urbanimmersive.com/contact  --- How a major Canadian police service uses forensic-grade 3D digital twins to document crime scenes In this episode of WGAN-TV Live at 5 (aired on Wednesday, 7 January 2026), we take a deep dive into how Urbanimmersive partnered with the Sûreté du Québec Police Service, Canada’s largest provincial police force, to modernize crime scene documentation using forensic-grade 3D digital twin technology. Joining the conversation is François-Hugues Liberge (Executive Vice President, Urbanimmersive), along with WGAN-TV Podcast Co-Host Tom Sparks. Together, we explore how a platform best known to real estate photographers was adapted to meet the strict technical, security, privacy, and courtroom-defensibility requirements of law enforcement. The discussion begins with context. The Sûreté du Québec covers more than 1,000 municipalities, employs over 8,600 people, and investigates everything from local incidents to major provincial crimes. Their legacy crime scene documentation system was expensive, difficult to operate, slow to deploy, and limited to only a few regions of the province. Investigators were still relying heavily on static photography and manual sketches, often discovering years later in court that crucial context had been missed. That challenge triggered a detailed public Request for Proposal (RFP). Among the non-negotiable requirements were offline processing, local data control, rapid capture, HDR imaging, accurate measurements, and a solution that could be deployed broadly without extensive technical training. Urbanimmersive ultimately became the only company to respond to the RFP, largely because it was able to deliver something unique in the market: a fully immersive 3D walkthrough experience that can be captured, processed, hosted, and viewed entirely offline. During the episode, François explains how Urbanimmersive’s platform—originally designed for real estate—was already capable of offline workflows due to earlier work in sensitive environments such as nuclear plants, tunnels, and other critical infrastructure. That legacy allowed Urbanimmersive to meet police requirements without fundamentally changing the platform itself. We walk through a live demo showing how investigators can: ✓ Capture an entire crime scene using inexpensive, off-the-shelf 360 cameras ✓ Navigate the space virtually using immersive walkthroughs, dollhouse views, and floor plans ✓ Annotate evidence directly inside the 3D environment ✓ Take measurements after the fact ✓ Embed photos, videos, and other forensic assets ✓ Maintain a complete audit trail showing when and how any modification is made Equally important, the episode details what does not happen. Crime scene data never touches the cloud. Processing occurs on police-controlled hardware. Files remain local. Nothing is publicly hosted. Nothing is accessible to Urbanimmersive after delivery. For law enforcement, that distinction is critical. From an operational standpoint, the solution dramatically reduces friction. Capture times drop to seconds per scan. Equipment costs fall under $1,000 per camera. Training time is measured in hours or days rather than weeks. As a result, the Sûreté du Québec can deploy multiple capture kits across the province instead of concentrating expensive equipment in only major cities. Beyond policing, the conversation broadens to other high-security and institutional use cases where traditional cloud-hosted digital twins are not viable. These include fire departments, transportation accidents, power utilities, water treatment plants, hospitals, government facilities, manufacturing sites, and any environment where privacy, security, or long-term hosting costs are a concern. For real estate photographers and media professionals, this episode highlights a powerful takeaway: There is a growing market for offline and ultra-secure 3D digital twin services that many providers cannot currently serve. Urbanimmersive’s approach opens doors to new verticals, new clients, and new revenue streams—especially in commercial, industrial, and government sectors. The episode also touches on partnership opportunities, lead sharing, and how service providers can position themselves not just as photographers, but as visual documentation experts capable of handling sensitive environments. If you work with: ✓ Commercial or industrial clients ✓ Government or municipal organizations ✓ Secure facilities ✓ Asset management, training, or compliance use cases ► https://www.Urbanimmersive.com

► We Get Around Network Forum (https://www.WGANForum.com) --- We Get Around Network Acquired by Tom Sparks from Founder Dan Smigrod  After more than a decade as founder, managing editor, and publisher of the We Get Around Network, Dan Smigrod announces the next chapter in WGAN’s history. Effective January 1, 2026, ownership of We Get Around Network has transitioned to long-time WGAN member and contributor Tom Sparks, Principal of Sparks Media Group, through WGAN Holdings Inc. Tom is now the owner, managing editor, and publisher of We Get Around Network—and the new host of the WGAN-TV Podcast. This is a change in leadership, not a change in DNA. Everything the community relies on remains in place: ► The WGAN Forum and its 100,000+ posts ► WGAN-TV Podcast and WGAN-TV Training U ► WGAN MarketPlace and Marketing Partner programs ► Find a Service Provider Map ► Existing memberships, subscriptions, logins, and content WGAN continues to be the trusted, cross-platform knowledge base for digital twins, 3D/360 cameras, real estate media, and the tools and services professionals use every day. Why Tom Sparks Tom is a working real estate photographer and media business owner who actively uses Matterport, iGUIDE, Giraffe360, InnoDraw, SIMLAB, InsideMaps, and related platforms in the field. He brings hands-on experience, editorial credibility, and operational leadership—combined with a clear vision to expand education, deepen technical coverage, and grow vendor partnerships. What’s Next Under Tom’s leadership, WGAN will: ► Expand practical, field-tested content ► Strengthen marketing partner programs ► Go deeper into digital twins and AI-driven workflows ► Continue delivering trusted insights that help members succeed faster Dan Smigrod’s Next Chapter Dan transitions into an advisor role to support a smooth handoff and knowledge transfer. While stepping back from daily publishing, he will continue to appear for select projects, special episodes, and deep dives—while finally reclaiming time for travel, creativity, and exploration in AI and robotics. Join the Conversation Please welcome Tom Sparks as the new publisher of We Get Around Network. Introduce yourself in the WGAN Forum. Share what topics, tools, and technologies you want covered next. The mission remains the same: Give help. Get help. Build the future of digital twins and real estate media—together. Happy New Year,   Dan Smigrod Founder and Advisor We Get Around Network Atlanta