From one man with a camera to one of Calgary’s busiest media companies
In just seven years, Calgary Real Estate Photos has grown from Ryan Hagel shooting four or five homes a day on his own to a team of ten serving thousands of properties every year.
The turning point came when Ryan left the brokerage he was working at as in-house photographer in 2018. “I ended up deciding to go out on my own and 130 realtors followed me,” he recalls. “I was doing solo shoots, didn’t have a life. Then I made my first hire, and from there it scaled pretty rapidly.”
Ryan’s roots make his growth even more striking. “At the very beginning I was hand measuring spaces. Once we found iGUIDE, I quickly switched over, and I’ve never looked back.”
And he was ahead of the curve: “We were one of the very, very, very early adopters with iGUIDE and I’ve kind of just grown with iGUIDE to be honest.”
Today the company has one employee, nine contractors, and a fleet of iGUIDE cameras. Together they’ve delivered more than 10 million sq ft of measured, documented, and trusted real estate.
Defensible data that wins realtor trust
In Alberta, realtors must follow Residential Measurement Standard (RMS) rules, which dictate exactly how square footage is calculated and reported. In the U.S., similar ANSI standards are being adopted.
The stakes are high: if measurements are off, realtors are liable — and disputes can derail deals. That’s why Ryan uses iGUIDE on every single project.
We do iGUIDE on every single one of our properties because of the Alberta RMS rules here. Everyone relies on iGUIDE. It’s been great for my business.
Ryan Hagel, Owner,
Calgary Real Estate Photos
But for Ryan, the main benefit isn’t efficiency. It’s trust.
“I have realtors calling me every second day saying your numbers are smaller than what it was previously measured at. What’s going on? Your measurements are wrong,” he says. “I’ve had those conversations easily 200–300 times and every single time iGUIDE has come out on top. Not once has it been wrong.”
That accuracy lets Ryan focus on clients. “Because you guys take on all the measurements and floor plans, it’s technically part of my business, but I’m pretty hands off. Our admin checks everything in the morning, and I just attach it to the listing and fire it away. I don’t even need to think about it.”
Why RMS and ANSI matter
RMS (Residential Measurement Standard): Alberta’s strict rules for calculating and reporting square footage
ANSI (American National Standards Institute): U.S. standards now being adopted for residential measurement
Why it matters: Incorrect numbers can create liability for realtors, impact price per sq ft, and lead to disputes. Defensible data builds trust — and protects deals.
All-in-one system that simplifies the business model
Every iGUIDE package includes visuals and floor plans — a setup Ryan says strengthens his bottom line.
“People sometimes say, oh, I just want measurements or oh, I just want floor plans. Well, that’s great, but I can take the onus off myself and say it’s an all-in-one system that does it all at the same time. There’s no way to do one without the other.”
By standardizing every project around iGUIDE, Calgary Real Estate Photos avoids piecemeal service requests and ensures realtors get a complete deliverable every time.
Training made simple, scaling made possible
Ryan’s contractor model relies on tools that anyone can pick up quickly. iGUIDE makes that easy.
“It’s so easy. I always joke with my team now that a monkey can operate it,” he says. “We don’t spend a ton of time in training because it’s so intuitive.”
Pricing that supports a high-volume business
For a company completing 2000–2500 projects per year, predictable margins matter. Ryan says iGUIDE’s per-project pricing model is a major advantage.
Beyond residential: new markets ahead
While residential real estate remains its core, Calgary Real Estate Photos is expanding into commercial and hospitality.
Recent projects include a national campaign for Mr. Lube and an upcoming assignment to scan 25 hotels in Banff. “We’re trying to diversify a little bit more and not get so in the weeds of just doing real estate stuff day in, day out,” Ryan explains.
Looking forward
Now one of the highest-volume media companies in Alberta, Calgary Real Estate Photos runs on a model of contractors, simple systems, and reliable tools. As Ryan puts it: “Real estate is all about trust. With iGUIDE, we know every measurement is defensible. That trust is the foundation we’ll keep building on.”
Ready to scale smarter? Book a demo to see how iGUIDE helps media companies deliver fast, accurate results.
Author:
Natasha is the Sr. Marketing Manager at Planitar, makers of of iGUIDE, where she helps bring customer stories to life and makes technical topics more accessible across industries like real estate, construction and insurance.
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