Have you ever seen a magazine advertisement that was made up entirely of words? That’s because the appeal of an image is undeniable. One expertly staged and properly chosen photograph can be worth a thousand words – and even more in dollars.
But when it comes to photographing people, how many is too many? The more people I see in a photo, the less appealing I find it. Group shots are OK for families at holidays and reunions, even class photos of the kids. But in marketing, a ho-hum message is as bad as no message at all.
I think one person in a photo is great. They become a focal point for the words and the message. Two is good and three can work, but start adding heads and you can easily wind up with the quality and impact of a point and click shot by your eight-year-old.
In order to captivate the viewer, all the elements in a photo – and the reasoning behind them – must be picture perfect.
