Developing an effective presentation is not a complicated affair. Planning and organizing your material will help you meet your goals for the presentation. The advantages of using photographs or other visual aids in presentations outweigh the disadvantages. But visual materials can make your presentation less effective if you don't use them correctly.
Retention
One advantage of using photographs in a presentation is that your audience will better retain what you present. According to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, three days after an event, people retain 10 percent of what they heard from an oral presentation, 35 percent from a visual presentation and 65 percent from a presentation with both visual and oral elements.
Involvement
Using photographs during a presentation will involve the audience. If you have to dim the lights to present the photograph, though, you lose eye contact with the audience. Audience members might even be tempted to sleep when the lights are dimmed.
Detail
Images can provide more detail than words. You can tell a story with a series of photographs and reach a conclusion the audience understands. It's better not to have words running across the bottom of the photograph. These can distract the audience from your spoken words.
Technical
Technical issues can arise when you're using photographs in a presentation. A PowerPoint projector or overhead projector can fail during the presentation. Technical failures will distract the audience and blunt the impact of your presentation.