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

By
Home Stager with Cincinnati Home Stager

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.

Posted by

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 Accredited Staging Professional and recently awarded 2011 Midwest Stager Of The Year.  She is a member of RESA, Real Estate Staging Association, RESA Instructor 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.

     

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.

 

Michelle Pimentel
Empire Home Staging Solutions - Upland, CA
ASP, IAHSP Empire Home Staging

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!

Jan 27, 2009 02:22 AM
Teresa Meyer
Cincinnati Home Stager - Cincinnati, OH
Home Staging Cincinnati-OH.

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.

Jan 27, 2009 02:27 AM
Melissa Marro
Keller Williams First Coast Realty - The Marro Team - Orange Park, FL
Jacksonville Real Estate and Home Staging

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!

Jan 27, 2009 02:39 AM
Teresa Meyer
Cincinnati Home Stager - Cincinnati, OH
Home Staging Cincinnati-OH.

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

Jan 27, 2009 03:24 AM
Maureen Bray Portland OR Home Stager ~ Room Solutions Staging
Room Solutions Staging, Portland OR - Portland, OR
"Staging Consultations that Sell Portland Homes"

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. 

Jan 27, 2009 04:35 AM
Teresa Meyer
Cincinnati Home Stager - Cincinnati, OH
Home Staging Cincinnati-OH.

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

Jan 27, 2009 06:18 AM
Debbie Wheeler
Real Estate Staging/Rooms Rearranged, LLC - Chandler, AZ
Chandler, AZ Rooms Rearranged RESA, IRIS

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.

Jan 27, 2009 01:45 PM
Randy DeLaMare
Realtypath LLC - Salt Lake City, UT
Helping friends Realize their Real Estate Dreams

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.

Jan 27, 2009 05:41 PM
Lisa Roy
SPACELiFT HOME STAGING, Greater Vancouver - Vancouver, BC

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

Jan 28, 2009 02:46 PM
Nancy Robertson
Signature Style Staging - Dallas, TX
RESA

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

Jan 28, 2009 02:54 PM
Teresa Meyer
Cincinnati Home Stager - Cincinnati, OH
Home Staging Cincinnati-OH.

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!

Jan 28, 2009 10:28 PM
Sharon Tara
Sharon Tara Transformations - Portsmouth, NH
Retired New Hampshire Home Stager

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.

Jan 29, 2009 04:34 AM
Patricia Skelton Haddad
East Coast Designs - Cape Elizabeth, ME

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

Jan 29, 2009 06:13 AM
Dan and Amy Schuman
Howard Hanna Real Estate Services - Solon, OH
Luxury Home Specialists

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

Jan 30, 2009 01:22 AM
Kim Dillon
Creative Eye Home Staging - West Chester, PA

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

Jan 30, 2009 04:07 AM
Johnathan Mullaney
Village Land Shoppe - Flagstaff, AZ
Broker, Flagstaff Real Estate

Teresa,

I will check it out. Thank you for sharing.

Johnathan

Feb 01, 2009 04:16 AM
Karen Otto
Home Star Staging - Plano, TX
Plano Home Staging, Dallas Home Staging, www.homes

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. ;-)

Feb 01, 2009 05:15 AM
Michelle Minch
Moving Mountains Design Home Staging, Pasadena, CA - Los Angeles, CA
Home Staging Los Angeles and Orange County, CA

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!

Feb 02, 2009 01:37 AM
Maria Tascon
Keller Williams Realty Spartanburg - Spartanburg, SC
Spartanburg SC Short Sale Specialist

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

Feb 11, 2009 02:03 PM
Teresa Meyer
Cincinnati Home Stager - Cincinnati, OH
Home Staging Cincinnati-OH.

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.

Feb 11, 2009 10:17 PM