A picture speaks a thousand words!

I wasn't even aware that "a picture speaks a thousand words" was classified under that ever elusive, fancy quotes by famous people, category. A quick search on Google cleared that up for me in an instant - well thank goodness for that expensive 3G connection from Vodacom, otherwise it may have taken a little while longer... but back to that famous quote - yes, apparently an early Emperor of the Xia Dynasty in China uttered those true words about 4000 years ago.

So does it mean that on a really bad hair day, when your trigger happy friend is snapping happily away at all and everything around, that it speaks in clicks and terrible slang when someone comes across that happy picture of you, with you not looking so lekker? Or is it not quite as applicable in todays digital age? With the invention of Photoshop at least, we all can look like super-models, even when we're pushing the scale at 20kg beyond what our mind is telling us? When the brows is a little bushy and the legs hasn't seen or heard of a razor for quite some time?

In my opinion, yes, those words still ring true every day. So how do you work around this fact? How do you spruce up something that isn't quite all THAT? Well short of posting pics on-line of someone you don't know, but in your mind somehow resembles what you believe you should look like? Someone with a figure that, yes, does look like yours, just 30kg lighter!

Nothing prepares you for this as coming face to face with the ugly reality, normally made so much worse when using bad equipment. With a shift in perception and a different angle, some proper lighting and good equipment (that normally equates to 'expensive' equipment) you can give justice, character and respect to almost any subject.

When it comes to photography and trying to spice things up, yes a picture does speak a thousand words, but did that emperor have a good painter, with expensive brushes and good quality paper at court?. There is beauty in all things, anything is presentable - sometimes a little more window dressing is needed, but anything can be spiced up.

All this being said, after years behind a camera lens, having photographed almost any and everything possible, I bring that 'eye' to my work - at Fancy Frog Graphic & Web Design we don't only offer professional photographs to compliment projects, we also offer years of expertise in balance, complimenting colour and experience in business. When designing I bring those qualities to my work and will never put Fancy Frog's stamp of approval on anything if it doesn't say whom I am, if it doesn't compliment my portfolio or do me proud.

Yes, indeed, a picture does speak a thousand words, as true today as it was 4000 years ago in China!