Photo Resources part 5 - Placement

So far this week we've looked at where to find good photos, how to search for them, selecting images with plenty of white-space, and editing images. Now we need to look at how you can place the images in your presentation.

You should almost always use a full-bleed image versus a framed image. Every time our eyes see a border they stop. The border acts as a barrier for our thoughts and causes us to differentiate. In the image on the left we see the image, then separately we see the words, then we may put them all together. The effect is very much like a high school year book with captions for photos.

In the images on the right we perceive the words connected to the image (and the white-space in the image gives plenty of room for the text). The effect is more professional, rather that looking like a high school kid's extra curricular activity it looks like a professional magazine layout.

When placing your image you want to expand the size so that it completely fills the presentation window. As you edit you may need to crop for white space. Notice that in the image on the left the subjects are centered in the frame of the picture (the picture is centered and the text is centered too). On the right, the subjects are off-center in the image to leave room for the text.

Perfectly balanced things make our eyes nervous for some reason. Photographers use the rule of thirds where major features in the photo fall along the lines one third of the way from the top, bottom, or sides and the subject of the image is placed at the intersection of two of those lines. When you crop and place your image, use the rule of thirds to provide a more professional look.

What tips do you have for placing images in a presentation?