I'm a copywriting buyer/copywriting psych master. The first picture is more genuine and that's why it does better. It's also a pattern interrupt. The second one looks stock and stock images suck balls when you use them in your copy.
hey thanks!
You mean the new ads? because it's black and then red?
or in the old ads that sell the most? because it's a city and then all of a sudden a phone case?
hmm I will try to make the second one look unstockier.
may I ask why they don't work so well?
Maybe this is the same reason (opposite) why the first images I made are still the most effective even though they look very clumsy.