Depending on what photo or video you’re looking at the moment has a reflexive impact on how you will feel about a person, an organization or a news story. Since Renee Good got herself killed this past week in that confrontation with ICE officers in Minneapolis, we’ve seen all the photos and video as they’ve emerged.
In the course of this, you may have had different impressions of what kind of person Good was based on the visual depictions you’ve seen – the optics. The news media has known this since newspaper photographers used flash bulbs to shoot gangland mobsters in the 1930s, and even before that.
The most widely used photo of Good is one where she’s in a dark red dress, reddish hair flowing, wearing make-up and a nice smile. Most of the uses of the photo are cropped. In the full version, you can see that she is clearly pregnant at the time, suggesting that this is her from the time when she was married to either her first or second husband.
The photo itself would suggest to the viewer that she was pretty, and she looked happy. If I were her media coach at that time, I would have told her she has a very likable and welcoming look. People will give you the benefit of the doubt based on this. Editors and news producers know this, and that’s clearly why they chose to use this photo once the news broke of the shooting.
A Tragic, Avoidable Loss of Life
Yesterday in Minneapolis, Renee Nicole Good’s life ended in a split-second confrontation with ICE agents.
Who bears responsibility here?
This heartbreaking death didn’t have to happen. Both Renee and the officers faced high-stakes,… pic.twitter.com/3vLeHjVYJG
— Carol M. Swain, PhD (@carolmswain) January 8, 2026
Use of this photo was designed to create sympathy for her, a young mother with so much to live for. All of this is true, but if you follow the news just a little bit, you know that a picture doesn’t tell the full story.
The second photo the media latched onto was one where her long hair is more of a blond color, but she still has that same very likable smile.
One thing we know for certain.
If Renee Nicole Good had been killed by an illegal alien, it would not have even made the news. pic.twitter.com/TzeOBxQrLi
— Carmine Sabia (@CarmineSabia) January 8, 2026
The media’s use of this photo reinforced all of the positive, nonverbal impressions that first photo created. In the process, it served to advance the original media narrative. The image itself suggests that something would have to be way off for a person like this to find herself in confrontation with law enforcement officers, and they would be forced to shoot at her. There is a built-in dichotomy here that the media exploits to cast doubt on the law enforcement officer’s judgement or decisions.
Keep in mind, since all we’re talking about here are the optics of the situation, we’re not going to get into a frame-by-frame analysis of the event itself.
Still, there was a third image/video to come to light that shows a much different-looking Renee Good.
When, in your opinion, did Minneapolis turn into such an anarchist city?
Who the hell taught Renee Good and all these people that it’s OK to attack law-enforcement with your automobile?
White liberals, in particular women are a scourge upon the USA. pic.twitter.com/NPU8CMkBHT
— USMC Lady Vet 🇺🇸 (@Arkypatriot) January 9, 2026
This is what she looked like the moment she put her foot on the accelerator of her Honda SUV and ran it into an armed ICE officer, who at that moment was part of a team trying to arrest her.
The optics have changed. No long-flowing hair, no make-up. She appears to have gained weight and aged, all normal things for anyone. But from an optics standpoint, this photo makes it clear that all prior media imagery of her was out of date. By the time of her tragic death, she had evolved into a different person.
And then this morning, this image of her and her “wife” Rebecca Good emerged.
So let me get this straight. Renee Good lost custody of her two children. Instead of fighting for them, she and her partner were fighting for violent foreign criminals to be allowed to stay in our country. I got it.
This is the left’s new hero. God help us. pic.twitter.com/LJB8FIkwun
— I Meme Therefore I Am 🇺🇸 (@ImMeme0) January 10, 2026
You can see the change, can’t you? I’m not talking about the superficial changes, which are many, but the more meaningful change that a photo can’t hide. The eyes, the slightly more strained facial expression — even though she’s smiling — and the buzz cut.
If you knew nothing about the woman in all of these photos, you could clearly see that something or some things have happened to her over time, something more than just aging.
In the media field, when we talk about optics, we’re talking about the impressions and perceptions that visuals create. More often than not, those impressions and perceptions aren’t reality, and frequently, they aren’t fair. They reflect the impressions that editors and producers want you to have. Or they reflect the kind of involuntary reaction you may have to a visual.
Whether it’s fair or not, had the media used this last photo from the very beginning of this story, public sympathy for Renee Good would have been much less. Questions over her judgement and intent would have been more pronounced. All because of a photo.
When I look at this last photo, it almost reminds me of someone who was radicalized at some point. When we talk about optics, we’re not talking about the truth or reality. All we’re talking about is the perceptions that can be created by visuals, and to that end, the conclusions the media can lead the public to through visuals.
If this latest photo is any indication, along with all of the video and other evidence that will come to light from here on out, the picture of the real Renee Good is likely to be much more complicated and flawed than the one the media has tried to create so far.
There’s a saying in the communications field, “Perception is reality.” I never bought into that. Reality is the only reality, and sooner or later it will come back to bite perception in its behind. That may already be happening with this story.
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