Technological development has changed many fields including communication. Nowadays, individuals are using visual media including photographs and films increasingly to communicate. The use of these types of media confers numerous advantages; it is, however, not devoid of challenges.

Visual media has greatly enhanced the communication sector. First, visual media get the attention of the participants far more easily than most forms of media. As such, these media are highly effective in passing a message hence their extensive utilization for advertisements in the current world (Ryan, 2012). This feature of visual media gives it an edge over other media like print and audio, which require the attention of the audience for them to be effective. Instead of requiring the attention of the audience as a prerequisite to their effectiveness, visual media catch the attention of a person who was least interested in them, and in turn passes the message to a wide number of individuals effectively and within a short time. Additionally, visual media are easy to follow, comprehend, and remember (Oliffe & Bottorff, 2007). In line with the famous analogy of a picture representing as many as 1000 words, then a film that captures the movement and the exact situation is worth 100000 words. Unlike other media, which require concentration to follow, visual media just require a momentary glance and the message is home. Most importantly, visual media relay the message more vividly, hence, enhancing the memory of the viewer (Ryan, 2012).

Furthermore, it is much easier to relay a message using a visual media than an audio or a written media. Explanation of visual media stimulates audition, sight, and imagination, unlike text media that only stimulate imagination or audio media, which stimulate audition and imagination. Finally, visual media are simple to present. One needs very little space and time to relay a message using a picture or a short film compared to the time they require to read a narrative to a group (Ryan, 2012). As such, visual media are largely applicable in many fields including business, entertainment, health, and education.

Despite the many benefits that the use of visual media promises, it comes with its challenges too. First, it is more expensive to produce visual media than any other forms of communication media. For one to produce a photograph, they need a camera with an adequate storage space and a printer. For them to produce a film, the requirements are even more than those of print media. These resources that one requires to make visual media are expensive. Inasmuch as visual media easily capture a person’s concentration, it is similarly easy for the person to lose concentration hence limiting the utilization of visual media. In addition, the audience for visual media may concentrate more on the graphics rather than the content that of the media. Likewise, this concern limits the effectiveness of such media. In many photographs or films, the viewer might concentrate more on the use of color and space and forget the concepts that these features represent. Finally, by their stronger influence on emotion, visual media have a stronger influence on children’s behavior (Oliffe & Bottorff, 2007). Thus, exposure to some content can influence children negatively. In fact, in the current world, influence on children’s behavior is the most important limitation to widespread use of visual media in many fields, especially in education and marketing.

Extensive use of photographs and visual media in many fields has far-reaching ethical and legal implications: Some curtail the utilization of these media. Breach of the ethical implications of visual media often attracts legal consequences. The most important ethical consideration of real-world photography and film is about the consent of the participants (Kornhaber et al., 2015). Taking a picture may be easy. However, the use of that picture or film is limited since one requires consent from the subject for them to use the media. Some film content is often owned by a filming company and have a copyright seal: One requires consent from the company for them to use the visual content. In fact, in some cases like wartime photography, the pictures or films taken without the subjects’ consent can lead to further victimization of these individuals.

Moreover, there is an ongoing ethical debate of whether capturing devastating emotional or anarchical states is ethical or not. Even though one relays a message perfectly through a picture or a video of fellow human beings suffering, it sounds unethical for a human being to stay at a safe distance and watch other humans undergo extreme suffering while they look for the best position to capture the scene. Further, some writers have argued that some moments of emotional devastation are so private and thus capturing them on a picture or a video is a breach of privacy (Kornhaber et al., 2015). In fact, breach of privacy is an important ethical issue in photography and film making, especially when these are done as part of news reporting and not with commercial intentions.

Further, the use of art for commercial purpose is often questionable and a source of ethical debates and controversy. For instance, there are companies who produce branded films – the advertiser often pays them hefty sums of money. However, some stakeholders view this as unfair to the viewers who only want to see particular content and is thus unethical. There are numerous legal implications and consideration for films and other visual media when it comes to the field of advertisement. Finally, depending on the intended audience, the content presented by visual media can itself be a cause of controversy. Some visual media represent content that is different to the cultural setup of various communities and can thus be a reason for ethical concern. In preservative societies, for instance, largely erotic on nude visual media are seen as unethical and largely controversial.

References
Kornhaber, R., Betihavas, V., & Baber, R. J. (2015). Ethical implications of digital images for teaching and learning purposes: an integrative review. Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare, 8, 299-305. doi:  10.2147/JMDH.S84488
Oliffe, J. L., & Bottorff, J. L. (2007). Further than the eye can see? Photo elicitation and research with men. Qualitative Health Research, 17(6), 850-858. doi:10.1177/1049732306298756.
Ryan, W. (2012). Learning to see: A guide to visual literacy. Bridgepoint Education.