How to Make a Cover Photo for Facebook Timeline

With Facebook converting all pages to Timeline this weekend, I thought it was time that I make a cover photo for my page and take the plunge.  It was so incredibly simple that I figured I'd share it with blogland, just in case anyone was having trouble.

This is my way of doing the timeline, and really is quite simple.  I am not a computer genius or even a techy person, just a blogger who tries to DIY some computer things to save a few bucks.  Please forgive me if I don't use the correct terminology or state the obvious.

On that note, I did figure out how to do a screenshot but still haven't mastered writing on the screenshots to give clearer instructions.  Maybe one day I will learn how to do that and update the photos, but for now, you'll have to read my words and connect it to the photos.  Sorry!

Here we go!

You will need to download Picasa Photo Software.  This is a free program from Google, and it's my favorite photo editing tool.  It's not the most user friendly one I've ever seen, but it's manageable and free.  There was a recent update that now offers a lot more features for editing, but I haven't explored all of those yet.

Once you have the software, select twelve or so of your favorite pictures from your blog.  I chose to use the photos from my most popular posts, in hopes that people will come to my Facebook page and realize, "Oh yeah!  She's the girl that did that cool thing I saw on (insert popular website here)."  You can use any photos you want; this was just my simple marketing strategy.

So, get your twelve pics and put them in a folder.

Open Picasa.  Allow it to search your computer for photos, and when it finishes, find the folder with the twelve pics you selected.

Click "Create" on the top menu bar, and then click "Picture Collage".

On the left menu, select "Picture Pile" and change the settings to No Border (photo on far left) and Solid Color.  It will literally throw all of your selected photos into a big pile.

Then start adjusting the size and angle of your photos with the circle tool.  You will need to click on the photo, then when the circle pops up, zoom in or out to adjust size, and move the hand on the right to adjust the angle.  Click and drag the photo to the right spot.

Once all your photos are aligned the way you choose, click Create Collage.  This takes a few minutes for your computer to do.

When your collage is created, add some text or other effects to it.  Click apply.

Then, crop your photo.  This makes it easier to position when you upload to Facebook.  Click crop, then manual, then highlight the area you wish to crop in your photo.  Click apply.

Click Export (at the bottom) to save your photo to a file on your computer.

Go to your Facebook page and click "select cover photo" or "update cover photo".  Upload your pic and wow all your friends!  While you're at it, be sure to like my page, too!

Please let me know if you have any questions- I do not claim to be an expert in this, but wanted to post this to help any other bloggers out there.  Hope it all makes sense!