I wanted to share with you a cool photo editing site called Picnik.  I've been using it on and off for a few years.  I edit alot of my photos in Photoshop but when you just need something fast and fun, this is your place.   I was playing around with their COLLAGE feature and discovered this to be a REALLY cool tool for making quick BEFORE & AFTER's  to use in my portfolio and website/blog.  My home staging friends reading this will hopefully go try it out.  The collages are also fun to do for just about anything else.  And you are not limited to just 4 squares...they have all different designs. But you do have to have the premium account to use all the collage designs and features.

Check out a few I made:

home staging before and after stageastar.com

 

before and after home staging www.stageastar.com

 

 



And if you want to try your hand with a little different look, my professional photographer, Jenny made these cool collages for me with Picasa.   You have to download the software but its another great tool if you are looking for something that also organizes and stores your photos.  I'm still learning my way around it and all the features it offers.

Teresa Meyer is the Owner and Lead Staging Designer at Stage a Star, Cincinnati's Premiere Real Estate Staging company located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Teresa is an ASP, Accredited Staging Professional and CSPE, Certified Staging Professional Elite and Ohio Certified CSPE Trainer to real estate professionals in Cincinnati. She is a member of RESA, Real Estate Staging Association and currently is the State of Ohio RESA President.   Teresa can be reached at 513-379-5488 or by email: teresameyer@fuse.net to answer your questions about the staging process and looks forward to assisting you in preparing and staging your house for the Cincinnati real estate market.

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Stage A Star provides home staging services to Hamilton county Ohio, Butler county Ohio, Warren County, Ohio, Clermont county Ohio, West Chester, OH., Liberty Twp, OH., Mason, OH., Fairfield Twp., OH., Monroe, OH., Hyde Park, OH., Loveland, OH., Maineville, OH., Morrow, OH., Deer Park, OH., Indian Hill, OH., and surrounding Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky areas.

 

 
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26 Comments on A Really Cool Tool To Make Before & After Staging Pictures (or anything else!)

JAN
27
Outside Blog

Great resource and examples Teresa.  Your work looks awesome as usual, but I LOVE the dog photos. :)  Thanks for sharing!

6:52am • #1
178,475 Points 9 Featured Posts Outside Blog

Teresa ~ I like that! I'm going to play with that a little bit, I like the way you can set up before and after shots very neatly, as you showed in your first example.  Thanks for sharing!

7:11am • #2
3 Featured Posts

Michele: LOL! Love my dogs...I really need to take new pictures of them.

Kathy: I liked being able to set up the before and after's side by side evenly and very quickly.  Before I would use html tables which involved code and could be time consuming.

7:24am • #3

Teresa-I was just using Picnik to do my post. It is awesome. I may have to ante up the $24.95 to go premium. I love your collage and I love your puppies. I have a golden and a golden mix at my house and there is never a dull moment!

10:08am • #4
3 Featured Posts

Hey Liz!  I may upgrade to the premium as well.  There really are alot of great features for the price. 

Glad you enjoyed my doggie pics!  We have about 4-6 inches of snow right now and my Rudy (the golden) is in snowy doggie heaven.  He is a hoot to watch as he plays in the snow.  Of course, Riley (our little one) wants a warm lap.  She's such a cat!

10:13am • #5
184,993 Points 4 Featured Posts Outside Blog

I use Picnik as well and love it.  And Liz, I did ante up to the premium package and it was well worth it.

As for Picasa (it's with an "a" and not an "o"), it's now available, in beta, for the MAC.  I had been using it with my PC for years and was absolutely heart broken that it wasn't available for the MAC.  A couple of weeks ago, I learned of the beta and have been a happy camper ever since.

Thanks for sharing these, Teresa.  They are wonderful tools for stagers, agents, etc...

Kathy

10:17am • #6
Outside Blog Hit Router

Teresa,

This is a very nice way to show your before and afters.  Love the transformation in the entry way from wallpapered to neutral, well done!  The pups are just adorable too, thanks for sharing!

10:22am • #7
3 Featured Posts

Kathy: Thanks for the heads up on my spelling error. It has been corrected (hate when I do that)

Funny you mentioned that Picasa is available for Mac. My photographer Jenny and I were just talking about that.  She had just found out and was doing the happy dance!

Michelle: Thanks for stopping in! Yep, that entry was something else. It was actually sponge painted and not wallpapered.

10:27am • #8
214,815 Points 6 Featured Posts Outside Blog

I have been using Picassa, but wasn't aware of the ability to do the collage.  I'll have to go take a look at that now... thanks for posting this!

10:39am • #9
3 Featured Posts

Hey Melissa:  I didn't realize it either until my photographer Jenny made the collages for me. 

11:24am • #10
199,432 Points 13 Featured Posts Outside Blog

Teresa ~ I've been using Picasa now for a few months and find it incredibly easy for those of us who aren't proficient with PhotoShop!  It only takes a few seconds to crop a photo, straighten it, lighten it, or make the images sharper. 

12:35pm • #11
3 Featured Posts

Maureen: I've only hit the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the features of Picasa.  I know its an amazing tool.  

2:18pm • #12

Teresa - Thanks for the tips.  I have used Picasa and will go back and try the other features.  I'm still trying to learn how to get my name on my photos.

9:45pm • #13
JAN
28
Localism Sponsor

I just tried it out, It works very well and is simple to use. Great examples here. Thanks for the information. I have been using Picasa for a while now and love it as well.

1:41am • #14

Wow, your photographer Jenny, really photographed your work beautifully.  The photo's (and the staging :-) looks amazing!

10:46pm • #15

Thanks for the tip, Teresa!  I tried several photo editing websites and Picnik seems to be the most user friendly.

10:54pm • #16
JAN
29
3 Featured Posts

Debbie: It does take time to learn your way around Picasa.  I'm still trying to organize my photos...they are a crazy mess right now.

Randy: Glad that you gave it a try.  I would think the collages would work well as a postcard of your listings.

Lisa: Hey! Thanks so much for your kind words.  I really am blessed to work with Jenny.  She is fabulous and so good to me!

Nancy: You're right, Picnik is pretty easy to use.  Fast and Fun!

6:28am • #17
205,483 Points 5 Featured Posts

I love Picnik and use it for almost every photo.  I have not got premium yet, probably just a matter of time.  I was not aware of the collage tool.  Thanks for sharing.

12:34pm • #18

Very nice photos.  I use Picassa and love it.  I don't have a lot of pictures on there yet, but love the fact that I can change my website photos daily if I wanted to.  Can't wait to check out Picnik.  Cute dogs!   Patti - East Coast Designs

2:13pm • #19
JAN
30
100,360 Points 1 Featured Post Localism Sponsor Outside Blog Hit Router

Great pictures Teresa. I have tried Picnik and found it easy to use but haven't used Picassa yet. Thans for the tips.

9:22am • #20
2 Featured Posts

Thanks for the tips.  The tools I currently use are very time-consuming!

12:07pm • #21
FEB
01
100,116 Points Outside Blog

Teresa,

I will check it out. Thank you for sharing.

Johnathan

12:16pm • #22
159,499 Points 15 Featured Posts Outside Blog

Neat Teresa! You're doggies are too cute.

You're blog always looks and reads great - I'm really impressed with it and of course always by you. ;-)

1:15pm • #23
FEB
02
131,294 Points 12 Featured Posts Outside Blog

Teresa: I often use Picnick. Its a great tool for creating collages or adding depth to your photographs. I love your "ask Teresa" button. What a great idea!

9:37am • #24
FEB
11

Thanks for sharing!  Great job staging those homes.  They look gorgeous!

10:03pm • #25
FEB
12
3 Featured Posts

After doing about 20+ of these before and after collages, I am going to use them in my online portfolio I'm redoing on my website.  It's probably the easiest way to put together so many B&A's.

6:17am • #26

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Teresa Meyer-Home Staging Cincinnati-OH. Stage a Star: Home Stager Cincinnati

Cincinnati, OH

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Address: Home Staging Services: Cincinnati, Ohio, West Chester/Liberty Twp., Cincinnati, OH, 45069

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