Using Images Effectively in Media
The most wasted opportunity in Powerpoint, Prezi and other presentation applications, or
additionally in many digital storytelling projects, occurs when images are plopped in as fillers or
placeholders without taking time to choose and consider how and why an image might enhance
or deepen the audiences experience with your presentation content. Images are visual
communication and existed long before formal spoken and written language.
Rock_art_bull.jpg, public domain image, licensed through Wikimedia Commons
When presenting to an audience it is important to consider two recognized communication paths:
verbal & visual.
The visual is the one that the audience reacts to first or more immediately and will likewise
retain. Psychologist Albert Mehrabian demonstrated that 93% of communication is nonverbal.
Research at 3M Corporation concluded that we process visuals 60,000 times faster than text.
Further studies find that the human brain deciphers image elements simultaneously, while
language is decoded in a linear, sequential manner taking more time to process.!
Visuals as part of a presentation can do one of three things:
1. Emphasize the point that the rest of our effort is making.
2. Contradict it in some way.
3. Trigger or re-enforce retention of information.
And they do so in two specific manners:
• Cognitively: Graphics expedite and increase our level of communication. They increase
comprehension, recollection, and retention. Visual clues help us decode text and attract
attention to information or direct attention increasing the likelihood that the audience will
remember.
• Emotionally: Pictures enhance or affect emotions and attitudes. They engage our
imagination and heighten our creative thinking by stimulating other areas of our brain,
which leads to a more profound and accurate comprehension. Emotions influence
decision-making.
Dr. Lynell Burmark, Ph.D. Associate at the Thornburg Center for Professional Development and
writer of several books and papers on visual literacy, said, "...unless our words, concepts, ideas
are hooked onto an image, they will go in one ear, sail through the brain, and go out the other
ear. Words are processed by our short-term memory where we can only retain about 7 bits of
information (plus or minus 2). This is why, by the way, that we have 7-digit phone numbers.
Images, on the other hand, go directly into long-term memory where they are indelibly etched."
Choosing the right image(s)
Start by exploring your own mind. What do you “see” when you are writing or reflecting on your
presentation or script? If you want the audience to have the same visual then use it!
Considerations to keep in mind:
• An image is only effective if it is relevant to the content of your presentation. Images are
visual communication – you can convey any idea more effectively through a relevant
picture than by just using text or voice alone.
• A picture is worth a thousand words! Pictures make content more interesting and often
more understandable. Although, think about how many pictures you should (or shouldn’t)
use. If one picture is worth 1,000 words, do you really need 5,000 words on the same
point?
• Seeing is believing! Images can “prove your point” and convince the audience better.
• Select hi-res, clean and clear images. (see Image Resolution section below). If your
image looks washed or pixilated on your screen, it will look much worse when projected.
• Avoid images with small details. Even though the projector may have made the image
eight feet tall, you need to remember that your viewers are usually sitting anywhere from
10 to 100 feet away from the screen. Images with small, unclear text or details won’t be
seen.
• Don’t be afraid to include text with images. This is especially true of captions that may be
necessary for some pictures. Or even for credits and copyright notices, if you sourced the
picture from a source that needs to be credited.
• Don’t use images that are not copyright free. There’s no excuse in ignoring copyright
these days, especially with the amount of free visual content that is available.
• Do keep track of where you find and save images from in order to properly credit them.
Image Resolution Is the Key
Most projectors installed in college classrooms as well as the smaller portable ones used in
conference rooms project their images at a resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels. Because the machine
is transmitting at that resolution, an image of that resolution can be shown across the full screen
without much loss of quality. If you aren’t sure of the resolution of your image, right click on the
file and view its properties. If you are planning on zooming in on a portion of an image always get
a higher resolution (overall size) image so that you can zoom in on the pixels and not lose quality
in the display of the image itself. When in doubt, go larger rather than smaller.
Most web search engines for images will give you a resolution preview when you mouse over the
image.
Images with smaller resolutions should not be scaled up in size within the presentation software.
They will distort and blur. Also, the effect of this distortion is more pronounced in the projected
image than in the one you see on the screen of your computer. If it looks bad on your screen,
discard and find a better one!
Where to Source Pictures?
Creative Commons: Creative Commons is essentially a license that allows distribution of many
media types including pictures. Photographers can provide (license) their work for free under
easy terms which benefit both the photographer and the user. For the end user, Creative
Commons attributions make it clear if the pictures can be used in commercial applications, if
changes can be made, and if any content can only be used for personal use. In all cases, an
attribution as specified by the creator must be included when the picture is used. The details of
this attribution are usually displayed along with the image on the source web site often in a series
of icons or a link to a license page. Its easy to find Creative Commons images:
a. Creative Commons – Offers convenient access to search services provided by other
independent organizations.
http://search.creativecommons.org/
b. Google Images – You need to access the Advanced Image Search option, and then select for
the Usage Rights dropdown. Choose the Free to use, share or modify, even commercially option
in the dropdown list.
https://www.google.com/advanced_image_search
c. Wikimedia Commons – You can find more than 10 million categorized, photos, illustrations,
footage, sound clips, etc. here.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/
d. Flickr – There are more than a hundred million Creative Commons licensed images on Flickr,
and 15 million of these have the most flexible "Attribution only" license.
http://www.flickr.com/creativecommons/
Pictures from Digital Cameras, Scanners, and Camera Phones
Can’t find it? If it is easy and convenient enough to capture/scan/shoot it yourself, then do so.
This is usually the most efficient path for very specific things, like an object laid out next to a ruler
to show scale, or a specific building/location that is readily near to you. Try to keep in mind some
basic photography rules concerning composition (the rule of thirds) and lighting.
