Pictures: Worth a thousand words ...and worth investing in too! (1)

Good pictures have always been very good for you. But in the internet-driven world, this is amplified.

From Instagram posts to screensavers and profile pictures, you can make a hit with the right images. 

Why? People love to look at good, quality images and the reason for this is simple. Quality imagery is attractive. It draws in the viewer and causes them to linger a moment longer on whatever it is they are focused on. 

So, when it comes to advertising and brand building, this is element should not be overlooked for any reason.

It is key that a business/brand understands the value of good imagery for their brand communication. The size of the business is immaterial, so also is their vision. If they do not put their best foot forward, they risk showcasing a sloppy image of themselves that will impact negatively on them, short and long term. 

To their credit, a lot of big businesses understand this and ensure that their brand is properly represented with images that are visually appealing and representative of their identity. All this is done to create the desired perceptions and channel specific messages at their audiences. In some cases, some amount of photo manipulation is done to make it even more so. The methods do not really matter as much as the end result; ...a look that conveys a message or emotion that is appealing to their target audience.

French photographer Gilles Peress said, "I don't trust words. I trust pictures." This statement when given proper thought, shows the power of visuals. The very idea that even if words are absent, misunderstood or grossly inadequate, sometimes an image is able to accomplish all that is needed or rightly assists the words to achieve their end goal.

Sometimes clients may not see the need for this and think that any kind of image would do. Some would even go the extra mile of bringing in poor ones for use for adverts and campaigns. Or more commonly, they tell you to go and "Google". This will not do. Granted,  there exists a lot of mobile devices today with great cameras, but this should not be taken to mean that just any would do the job. So, while on one hand there are some people and businesses who do not see the need for any effort to obtain good imagery at all for their brand, we have others that see the need but do not understand that the images must be of great quality.

Now in truth, some people are quite good with these mobile device mounted cameras and turn out some pretty great shots, especially the ones with higher resolutions but this is not always the case and so a professional may be needed and in some cases stock images can do the trick. This is where a lot of small businesses panic. The idea of incurring extra costs is something that no one wants to consider but what is the alternative? An online ad or print job that has such poor-quality imagery on its graphics that the client base is turned off?

Whether we like to admit it or not, we all enjoy good, clean imagery that appeals to the eye. Sometimes even with minimal visual effects, the right kind of picture with a line or two of text can do wonders for any business. This is something that designers need to help clients see.