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Fun With Photos - 14 tips

By Gary Coles (International Referrals)

Real Estate Broker/Owner with Venture Realty International

November 18, 2009 03:05 PM

Do you ever have a photo that isn't quite what you want. Then look here at some of the simple things that you can do to have fun with your photos. Here, I show an original photo and 14 things that you can do with it. All these were done using free software from Google called Picasa 3. And it was all done in a matter of minutes.

Basic Photo

Fun With Photos - Photo by Gary T Coles - Paradise4Gringos.com

Straighten the Photo

Fun With Photos - Photo by Gary T Coles - Paradise4Gringos.com

Crop the Photo

Fun With Photos - Photo by Gary T Coles - Paradise4Gringos.com

or this Crop

Fun With Photos - Photo by Gary T Coles - Paradise4Gringos.com

Create an Old Time Look with Sepia

Fun With Photos - Photo by Gary T Coles - Paradise4Gringos.com

Or Try it in Black & White

Fun With Photos - Photo by Gary T Coles - Paradise4Gringos.com

Maybe You Prefer a Tint - Try Turquoise

Or Pink

Fun With Photos - Photo by Gary T Coles - Paradise4Gringos.com

Or Purple

Fun With Photos - Photo by Gary T Coles - Paradise4Gringos.com

Or Try a Graduated Tint

Fun With Photos - Photo by Gary T Coles - Paradise4Gringos.com

Maybe you want to Experiment with Shadows and Highlights

Or Maybe You Would Like to Use a Soft Focus Effect

And another Changes the Subject Completely

Maybe You Would Like A Saturation Effect

Fun With Photos - Photo by Gary T Coles - Paradise4Gringos.com

And Finally, You Can Use Text to Label It.

Fun With Photos - Photo by Gary T Coles - Paradise4Gringos.com

Which Photo Do You Like Best?

If you are looking to Buy or Sell real estate contact Gary Coles at Venture Realty Group at 800-595-2368 or garytcoles@aol.com

Do you have questions about real estate in Latin America? We are glad to provide assistance if you are considering a real estate purchase in Latin America www.Paradise4Gringos.com.

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Gary Coles (International Referrals)

Venture Realty International - Las Vegas, NV

Latin America Real Estate

Thank you for stopping by and I'm glad that you liked the effects. I am Photoshop some of the time and it is awesome. I use Picasa more if I am hurrying or for a lot of the basic fixes, but learning more about Photoshop is one of my goals.

Nov 19, 2009 01:02 PM

Ginger Foust

Certified Staging Professional - Oakhurst, CA

Home Stager Oakhurst CA, Dream Interior Redesign & Staging

Gary since I do not want to buy and understand Photoshop, I use both Picasa and Picnik for most of my shots. Love what I can accomplish for free! Wish that more realtors in my area would make use of these helpful tools!

Nov 21, 2009 02:04 AM

Gary Coles (International Referrals)

Venture Realty International - Las Vegas, NV

Latin America Real Estate

Ginger, I really agree that REALTORS and would use the tools. It would make MLS photos, flyers and ads look much more professional. Which do you like better between Picasa and Picnik?

Nov 21, 2009 02:46 AM

Ginger Foust

Certified Staging Professional - Oakhurst, CA

Home Stager Oakhurst CA, Dream Interior Redesign & Staging

Gary, honestly I doubt that I have thoroughly investigated all of the features of either. I like the slider scale ccolor/brightness/shadows tuning of Picasa and I like the collage features of Picnik. I think that the collage makes photos more interesting and I can combine many and upload them as just one photo so that I can place more on a limited photo page. (as in Craigslist). (And it's fun).

Nov 21, 2009 07:02 AM

Blatt + Cutino

Coldwell Banker Realty - Monterey, CA

Broker-Associate 831/206-8070*Call today*

Picasa is very convenient especially if you use Google gmail accounts. You can do simple editing like above and email right from your email account...everything is linked up. Sometimes all you need for a photo is a quick fix...thanks for the informative post.

Nov 21, 2009 07:06 AM

Gary Coles (International Referrals)

Venture Realty International - Las Vegas, NV

Latin America Real Estate

Ginger, Thanks for answering my question. I will check out that collage function on Picnik -- i did also just notice a collage feature on Picasa that I haven't used. I don't think any of us check out all the features on most of our software --- there are just so many features on most good software.

Angelica, I've also had good luck using Picasa together with my AOL account. And you're right that often all that is necessary is a quick fix. Thanks for stopping by.

Nov 21, 2009 08:46 AM

DEBORAH STONE

Balboa Real Estate San Diego, CA - San Diego, CA

Gary

I love the Sepia one. I am an old B & W gal. I think Picasa is so easy, none of the difficulties I experienced with other photo shop programs. Picasa literally takes seconds and as you showed, can make for many different moods.

Nov 21, 2009 09:23 AM

Silvia Dukes PA, Broker Associate, CRS, CIPS, SRES

Tropic Shores Realty - Ich spreche Deutsch! - Spring Hill, FL

Florida Waterfront and Country Club Living

Gary, for a minute I thought you were going psychedelic with all those colors! Strangely, I just discovered yesterday using Windows Live Photo Gallery how to "straighten" a photo and today I find out from you how to do it with Picasa. Thanks for sharing!

Nov 21, 2009 11:18 AM

Tamara Perlman

Referral Network Inc. - Truckee, CA

Hi Gary--I've used Picassa some, mostly for organizing images, creating videos from photos and posting images online for prospective clients that want to see a property, but can't make it up right after it's listed. I've found it can be a little quirky=time consuming, but the results are usually worth it!

Nov 21, 2009 02:37 PM

Gary Coles (International Referrals)

Venture Realty International - Las Vegas, NV

Latin America Real Estate

Deborah, I agree with the sepia one. I, too, used to do a lot of B & W when I was in college and for a few years after, but then kind of neglected photography. Now I am really having fun with it and enjoy posting some of my photos on ActiveRain. I find that Picasa is the quickest and easiest for me. In fact, I am going to post an old one today of my travels in Europe (in sepia).

Silvia, Psychedelic is a great word for it. I think everyone at least should learn the straighten technique and it really wasn't that long ago that I learned it.

Tamara, I need to use my Picasa more for organizing. I'm getting so many photos on there and I need to use tags and the people manager (facial recognition) to make it easier to find and use the ones that I want.

Nov 22, 2009 03:28 AM

Marcia Hawken

WILLIAM RAVEIS - Naples, FL

Naples Luxury Specialist

Gary, I will have to check out Picasa. I use Elements a lot but know I am just scratching the surface on this program. When you tackle Photoshop, it will be a full time job. They have great seminars all over the country, many of the attendees are professional photographers. My first course in photography was mainly in the darkroom. Who uses the darkroom now?

Nov 22, 2009 08:15 PM

Gary Coles (International Referrals)

Venture Realty International - Las Vegas, NV

Latin America Real Estate

Marcia, I think you will enjoy Picasa. I also believe that I am just scratching the surface of Elements. And I don't know if I will ever want to take the time and effort to advance to regular Photoshop. There are times that I think of all the hours in the darkroom - what a change. I'm glad you stopped by.

Nov 23, 2009 01:07 AM

Jim Cheney

Saint Francis Property Santa Rosa, CA - Santa Rosa, CA

Rincon Valley Realtor 707.494.1055

I like the blurred cross with the in focus flowers. Kinda spooky.

Nov 28, 2009 03:22 PM

Gary Coles (International Referrals)

Venture Realty International - Las Vegas, NV

Latin America Real Estate

Jim, Thanks. I hadn't thought of it as spooky, but now that you mention it, I've looked again and it is kind of eerie.

Nov 28, 2009 04:05 PM

Diane Daley

Caron's Gateway Real Estate - Northumberland, NH

Photot number 10 and 11, graduated and saturated... Really neat effects, I will have to try a few out...

Nov 30, 2009 11:46 PM

Gary Coles (International Referrals)

Venture Realty International - Las Vegas, NV

Latin America Real Estate

Diane, I am glad you like those effects. It really is fun to try them out and play around with them.

Dec 01, 2009 06:42 AM

Teral McDowell

Referral Patners LLC - Murphy, TX

Hi Gary, great visuals and best way I know how to learn something new. I too am a picasa 3 user. I have used picnik but only a little experience with photoshop. Thanks for the tips.

Dec 05, 2009 06:05 PM

Gary Coles (International Referrals)

Venture Realty International - Las Vegas, NV

Latin America Real Estate

Teral, Thank you. I think using visuals is a great way to demonstrate things. And I'm glad that you like the tips.

Dec 06, 2009 02:31 AM

Troy Erickson AZ Realtor (602) 295-6807

HomeSmart - Chandler, AZ

Your Chandler, Ahwatukee, and East Valley Realtor

Gary - You have shown me the value of Picasa. I have heard of this program, but have not ever experimented with it. I guess I will have to now.

Dec 21, 2009 03:42 PM

Gary Coles (International Referrals)

Venture Realty International - Las Vegas, NV

Latin America Real Estate

Troy, I think that you will like it. And, no matter what, you will like the price, since it is free. I know that I have enjoyed using it. Hope you have a Merry Christmas and a wonderful holiday season.

Dec 24, 2009 04:43 AM