The power of the image

Look here, see what I have to tell you!
The mere idea of how many different ways pictures appeal to us every day is seductive. They speak of harmony, elegance, humor, desire, but also of loneliness and fears. They tell stories and convey happiness as impressively as fate. Their words are angles, sharpness, contrast and mood. A colorful and incomprehensible world of motifs and actors. Created in one place and in one moment from reality, images tend to be boundless and timeless in the course of their reproduction. The statement as a visual message and its power help art, advertising, journalism and kitsch to achieve success. Images used in visual communication and media should have a targeted effect, move, inspire, inform, stimulate, motivate and, in extreme cases, unconsciously influence the opinion and behavior of the viewer. But what is it that speaks to us and touches us, even if only fleetingly, for a lifetime? It is the character of a picture, which is created by the uniqueness and relevance of the motif and the sophistication of the presentation and fitting. The optimal development of a picture's message is achieved by using it appropriately for the medium, and its effectiveness is in constant tension with its surroundings.

It is the image specialist who sparks the viewer's longing and arouses their emotions by projecting desirable or ideal images. Empathy, imagination, aesthetic flair and craftsmanship are required. With a great deal of sensitivity and experience, the relevant elements of the images are enhanced and distortions are toned down. As a result, the image statements become louder and irritating background noise disappears. Depending on requirements and with the necessary foresight for later use, various editing techniques and methods are used.

First, defects such as image noise and other obvious flaws are eliminated. Then the image is optimized in line with the subject, for example by shaping image depths, enhancing highlights and determining colors. Or refined by setting highlights, smoothing transitions or accentuating details. If required, the specialist can also create compositions from several images by emphasizing elements, masking parts of the image and combining them into a new image. And through the skillful use of various filters and individual adjustments to the lighting, shadows, structure and colour, the composition remains hidden from the viewer. The most sophisticated form is creative retouching, in which the image is enriched by artificial elements created by the retoucher.

If it is also possible to create a repetitive image DNA through certain processing schemes and patterns, visual worlds are created that lead from a fleeting encounter to a relationship with the viewer. The power of recognition depends to a large extent on the style of the image, its continuous fascination and the credibility of its message. Apart from artificial effects, good image manipulation ensures naturalness, distracts from the processed area and prevents the viewer from feeling manipulated. Inconsistencies are noticed immediately, and the biggest challenge is not to change the authenticity of an image through the density of digital interventions. And although digital technology today offers incredibly effective tools, post-processing has by no means become easier. The complexity of the tools requires a routine that can only be developed and maintained through daily use.

What is a good picture and what value does it have?

Mixed feelings prevail in the market. Since digitization, new, unimagined paths have opened up; in the creation of images themselves, in the processing and refinement of images and in the management of images, their use and distribution. However, this creative segment, which is characterized by individuality, is increasingly drifting into pure mass business. This is not a matter of denouncing cheap retouching from all over the world, but of endangering a high-quality and formative image culture. Because the lower the hurdles to creation and quality standards, the less responsibility and professional understanding, the more anonymity and dilettantism, the greater the risk of a loss of visual value. However, similar to the Polaroid movement, image culture has the opportunity and the right to grow together with technological development, despite visual frugality and visual understatement in the online sector. The charm of analog photography, the aspiration and the pursuit of refined perfection of the image should be in no way inferior to the appeal of economy and visual overload. Ready to successfully replace the word in the future. Florian Walz, CEO, Daniel Straumann AG