24 THE POWER OF VISUAL STORYTELLING Images That’s the thing about pictures: With the ability to captivate, inspire, motivate, delight, or they seduce you. humor, there are numerous reasons why more than 500 1 „DAVID BYRNE, musician million photos are uploaded and shared every day on aver- age—a number that is projected to double in the next year.2 The prevalence of smartphones, coupled with the ease of sharing via social media, has resulted in a culture in which photos are cel- ebrated and in some cases, required. In pop culture, pictures have become so important to consumers that the Urban Dictionary now contains the saying “Pics or it didn’t happen,” meaning that if something really cool or crazy happens to you and it wasn’t captured in a photo, your friends may not believe it’s true.3 In line with consumer photography trends, savvy companies understand that there’s more than one way to add a storytelling element on their social media channels through imagery. From traditional images to user-gener- ated content, collages, images with text overlays, memes, and more, there’s a lot of creative potential for companies to tap in to. In this section, we’ll share image types, photography tips, and examples to help you create well-com- posed photos that bring different stories and vignettes to life. Types of Images Used for Visual Storytelling • Photography • Graphs and drawings • User-generated images • Collages • Images with text overlays: captions, quotes, and stats • Word photos • Memes • Postcards and e-cards PHOTOGRAPHY In many ways, photography is like a blank canvas. Any moment can turn into a photo opportunity, with the beauty in the eye of the photographer.