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Jackson West

Photo Editing For Home Stagers and Agents - a live webinar with Jackson West

03-06-10
Jackson West



Jackson West Photography

Simply put, home staging is a visual industry. Savvy stagers realize that appealing portfolio photos are fundamental in generating and increasing business. Potential clients want to see exactly what lifestyle image a home stager is capable of creating for their property.

As more people enter the field of home staging and the expectations of home sellers increase it is crucial that your portfolio photos are professional in appearance and stand out from the competition.

Learn how to improve the quality and presentation of portfolio photos, website images and print material with simple and effective photo editing techniques. There is no need to spend the time or money on costly image editing software. Attend an online photo editing webinar created and hosted by Jackson West specifically for home stagers and Real Estate agents.

Photo Editing Webinar for Home Staging


During this live and interactive webinar you will learn ...



Home Staging Photo Webinar
- Tips for taking better interior photos.

- Why you should avoid using a flash indoors.

- Cropping and resizing photos.

- How to straighten and sharpen images.

- Photo temperature and exposure.

- Watermarking and framing your photos.

- How to create vignette shots and collages.




Stagers and Agents that have taken part in this webinar have said ...



" I enjoyed the photo class very much. Jackson is a great instructor. I look forward to the next webinar he puts on." - Candace C.

" It was FANTASTIC. I learned a lot. I am just finishing my first vacant that I am filling with rental furniture so I am anxious to have some fabulous after pictures." - Karen B.

" Great webinar! I know you'd touched on some of this is our August CSP class, but I didn't grasp all of it, so this was very helpful." - Sally W.

" I thoroughly enjoyed the session and learned invaluable information. Thank you Jackson for an excellent presentation. I hope there are more such webinars in the future." - Sandra R.

" Thank you very much for teaching these useful techniques. You did great! " - Valerie W.

" I attended your webinar this evening and want to thank you for the excellent content of your seminar. Your demonstrations and tips were very, very helpful " - Nancy M.

" Excellent webinar, I will be reworking my portfolio. Thanks for the tips and tricks, talk to you soon! " - Yvonne L.

" Hi Jackson...that was fabulous. That was the first time I did a webinar and I enjoyed it. Can't wait to start editing my pics! " - Linda S.


Upcoming Photo Editing Webinars:

May 10, 2010 @ 6:00 pm EST
May 26, 2010 @ 4:00 pm EST
June 6, 2010 @ 2:00 pm EST



The investment for this webinar is only $30.00 CDN.

To reserve your space in one of the sessions please visit www.HomeStagingWebinars.com


Jackson West is the owner of Reveal Estate Home Staging and is an instructor for Certified Staging Professionals He is also featured on a television series for the W Network. His interior redesign work can be seen in the book "Home Staging For Dummies as well as multiple editions of the "Staging Standard" magazine.






Home Stagers In Training Help A Seller Move Forward While Learning On The Job

11-11-09
Jackson West


Vancouver Staging Training Class ProjectI am so proud of the students from my recent home staging training class held in Vancouver. By putting into practice the skills and techniques learned during the 2  full days of previous classroom instruction they completely reconfigured and refreshed a property to better prepare it for sale.

Incredibly the talented group transformed the listing in a matter of hours but perhaps what is even more remarkable is that they used only what was already available in the home.
 

After languishing on the market, the home received an offer the day after it was staged, in fact it received multiple offers! The result was a sale above the asking price within a week.

I received the following email from the listing agent.

" ... I just wanted to let you know that we have officially sold the listing. It went into multiples last week and sold for over asking for $650,000. Once again, I want to thank you all so much for doing such a great job with the home staging. It was very well done, really opened and brightened up the home, and definitely helped with generating so much interest."


Here are a few of photos of the transformation....

Home Staging Certification Class

Staging Training Home Project

Staging Workshop Home Work

Home Staging Class Training Project



Please allow me to introduce these new Certified Staging Professionals. They are  Lorri Baranyai of Port Coquitlam, BC, Liisa Wagner of West Vancouver BC, Jaqcuie Fitzpatrick of Pemberton, BC, Carole Kinnear of Campbell River, BC, and Sherry Cunningham of Abbottsford, BC.

Certified Staging Professionals

Jackson West is the owner of Reveal Estate Home Staging and is an instructor for Certified Staging Professionals


Jackson West      
 He is also featured on a television series for the W Network. His interior redesign work can be seen in the book "Home Staging For Dummies" as well as multiple editions of the "Staging Standard" magazine.


Follow Jackson on Twitter

To request your free information package about staging training please click here.

Home Staging Training - Online Courses are no "Field Day"

09-30-09
Jackson West

Field Day - Home Staging Training      
With the influx of correspondence and online staging training programs available today, would-be home stagers are being mislead into believing that breaking into the industry is as simple as reading a book or studying a course manual. Several of these programs are offered by people who are not active in the industry or have not built a successful staging company from the ground up.

The reality is that while some people may have a "flair for decorating" they don't succeed as home stagers because they are not provided with the tools, support and perhaps most importantly, the hands on learning or "field work" needed to jump start their venture.  

Unfortunately home staging training it seems, is becoming a gimmick for an easy buck. Too often I see people believe the promise of guaranteed employmentOver the years I have received countless inquiries from people wondering which staging training program is the best. Many of them complaining that the training they took did not prepare them to run a successful business. To be honest (even though I am a staging instructor) I cannot definitively answer the question regarding the best training since people learn in different ways and unlike myself, some don't actually need to generate an income from staging homes.

I do know that the hands on training offered by Certified Staging Professionals was instrumental in launching and growing my staging company in 2006. I was serious about breaking into the industry and I had a limited time frame before I needed to make a profit. I knew that just reading about how to stage a property and looking at photos would not be an effective way to learn for me. The unopened manuals for my cellphone, camera and laptop are testament to that.  

I clearly remember the first home I staged. It was under the direct guidance of staging guru Christine Rae. I was overwhelmed with information from the previous 2 days of learning but it all started to make sense to me once I rolled up my sleeves and actually staged a listing. The photos provided to me from that day were the start of my staging portfolio and helped me get my first client within days of taking the program. 

Fast forward a few years and now I am the one taking new stagers to actual Real Estate listings to transform the entire property.
I see first hand that students learn better and retain more by participating on the jobThe on site training is a day full of "ah ha" moments, bolsters the confidence of the students and provides them with a necessary and well deserved sense of accomplishment. 

I invite you to have a look at a few photos of recent class projects I have facilitated. Not only did the students learn the principles of home staging and how to run a business, they were given a jump start on their portfolio and did indeed have a field day!

Toronto

Toronto Class Before    Toronto Staging Class After


Winnipeg 

Winnipeg Class Before   Winnipeg Staging Workshop


Vancouver 

   Vancouver Class Before   Vancouver Home Staging Course  
    


Edmonton


   Edmonton Class Before   Edmonton Staging Certification


 

Jackson West is the owner of Reveal Estate Home Staging and is an instructor for Certified Staging Professionals.


Jackson West      
 He is also featured on a television series for the W Network. His interior redesign work can be seen in the book "Home Staging For Dummies" as well as multiple editions of the "Staging Standard" magazine. 




                       Follow Jackson on Twitter


It don't mean a thing if it aint got that bling!

07-24-09
Jackson West
Many people think it is simple to stage a vacant property. We've all seen the television shows and all stagers do is bring in furniture to show the size and function of a room right? Perhaps after reading this you may re-evaluate what qualified home stagers do, for there is a definite "method to our madness".

Some time ago I viewed a small, vacant 1 bedroom condo and after submitting a proposal to merchandise the property for sale, the homeowners decided they could save money by doing it themselves. They were very nice people and when they called to let me know their plan I sincerely wished them a speedy, profitable sale. They purchased some furniture, set it in place, had it photographed and waited for the offers to start rolling in. It didn't take them long (only a couple of additional mortgage payments) to realize that their listing wasn't capturing the attention of potential buyers. Have a look... can you see why?

Staged by Owner

You will notice it is a small, fairly narrow living room (not uncommon for a 1 bedroom, downtown condo these days). To the right of the sofa is a door leading out to a patio.

From this home stager's point of view, what they did isn't all bad. They used an area rug to anchor the seating and they chose light, somewhat "airy" furniture. What they didn't realize is....
  • Heavily patterned rugs make small spaces seem even smaller and pull potential buyer's eyes down.
  • Positioning furniture right up against the walls does not make rooms feel more spacious.
Perhaps they also didn't know that...
  • Flow is as important as function.
  • Color is crucial for setting a mood and creating interest.
  • Greenery provides an element of "life".
  • Angled flooring and furniture can visually widen a room.
  • Artwork keeps buyers eyes up and moving throughout a room.
  • Accessories enhance and help soften furniture.
  • Good photos are crucial for generating buyer traffic.
Something tells me that they now have a better understanding of the points I mentioned above. As of today this is what the room looks like and they have renewed hope that a sale is indeed forthcoming!

Staged by Jackson West


Jackson West is the founder of Reveal Estate Home Staging and a Certified Staging Professional Instructor. His interior redesign work can be seen in the book "Home Staging For Dummies" as well as magazines including multiple editions of the "Staging Standard". He is also featured on a television series for the W Network. While his niche has long been downtown properties in a higher price range, the principles of design, functionality and flow he implements are equally effective in every home.

Jackson West on Twitter

Another City, a Home Stager and a Camera...

04-01-09
Jackson West
I never knew how enjoyable photography could be until I started my home staging company. Admittedly I am not the best photographer but I do have an eye for detail, and "shooting" interiors for the last 3 years has helped me learn some camera skills.

During a recent business trip to Toronto I became enamored with the abundance of historical buildings juxtaposed against the soaring, modern skyline. Talk about curb appeal! I didn't have much time away from work however I did manage to take more than 300 architectural photos (mostly drive by).

These are some of my favorites. I hope you enjoy them. My apologies if they require an extra minute to load but I think it will be worth the wait!

Photography by Jackson West
Photography by Jackson West
Photography by Jackson West
Photography by Jackson West
Photography by Jackson West
Photography by Jackson West
Photography by Jackson West
Photography by Jackson West
Photography by Jackson West
Photography by Jackson West
Photography by Jackson West
Photography by Jackson West
Photography by Jackson West
Photography by Jackson West


Reveal Estate Website

Jackson West is the lead designer for Reveal Estate Home Staging in Vancouver, BC. When he is not busy staging properties, teaching or filming he can be found out and about with his trusty Kodak in hand.

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