Images are one of the most important aspects in advertising, and catalogs are no exception. The man who set the stage for most of our print advertising design standards today, David Ogilvy, found in his research that people look at pictures first before then reading a caption and finally moving to the actual text. Your pictures have the important job of leading the reader to the text, which then make the sale. With this in mind, you should give the photographs in your catalog printing extra consideration.

1. Resolution
Never use a low-resolution photograph for a product. You want your pictures to make your products irresistible, which will not happen with a blurry or pixilated appearance.

2. Single Products
Avoid group photos. Give products their chance to shine in the spotlight alone. Statistics show that single product shots produce more sales.

3. Background
Don't use a background since this can take away from your product and distract the consumer. You will want to use a simple drop shadow, though, as this will make the subject leap off of the page.

4. Captions
Picture first, captions second, as Ogilvy says. Take advantage of this natural eye movement and state the most appealing benefit below the image.

5. Corners
Readers will glance at the corners of a catalog spread before moving to items in the middle of the page, or more importantly, before deciding to move on. Place the most attractive item in the upper right corner, the second runner up in the upper left, the third in the lower left, and the last but not least in the lower right. This movement has been found to be the natural flow when reading a catalog.

Following the tips above will improve the aestheticism of your catalog, which in turn produces results - results such as consumers purchasing your visually appealing products.

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