My 2 eldest children are both excellent readers, well ahead of the 'set standard' for their age.
DS1 learnt to read almost primarily by sight-words. He saw a word, learnt it, then knew it. Never really 'got' phonics - I don't think I ever saw him sound out a word. His spelling is excellent as he has 'learnt' so many words by sight.
Dd taught herself by phonics. Her spelling is less good as she still spells phonetically, unless it is a word she has learnt in a writing context. Now she is Y3 the differences are much less obvious, as her spelling has improved a lot, and obviously can read a lot of irregular words, which helps with the spelling.
Ds2 is in reception, just starting to read, he is enjoying the phonics, but obviously some 'tricky' words just have to be learnt - his tricky words so far are 'to', 'I', 'the' and 'he'.
Re looking at pictures - that is simply using a variety of techniques to get to the right word - we all do this, though in adult books obviously pictorial clues aren't used. Context is though. Certainly the children at the kids' school are encouraged to 'have a go', using any and all the clues on the page, which includes the pictures. For example, ds2's reading book this week includes sentences such as "Is he in the basket?". He knows all the words except for basket, but there is a picture of a basket on the page, and he can see the word begins with 'b', so the context of the sentence, the picture and the starting letter lead him to read the word basket. And he is SO excited by the idea that he is reading - he stops every so often and says "I'm reading - I'm really reading!!!!". Given that he only really learnt to speak 6-9 months ago (speech delay, hearing issues), it's quite incredible!
And for those who think English IS a langauge that is easily learned using phonics, think about George Bernard Shaw's Ghoti....
And also;
I take it you already know
Of tough and bough and cough and dough?
Others may stumble but not you
On hiccough, thorough, slough and through.
Well done! And now you wish perhaps,
To learn of less familiar traps?
Beware of heard, a dreadful word
That looks like beard and sounds like bird.
And dead, it's said like bed, not bead-
for goodness' sake don't call it 'deed'!
Watch out for meat and great and threat
(they rhyme with suite and straight and debt).
A moth is not a moth in mother,
Nor both in bother, broth, or brother,
And here is not a match for there,
Nor dear and fear for bear and pear,
And then there's doze and rose and lose-
Just look them up- and goose and choose,
And cork and work and card and ward
And font and front and word and sword,
And do and go and thwart and cart-
Come, I've hardly made a start!
A dreadful language? Man alive!
I'd learned to speak it when I was five!
And yet to write it, the more I sigh,
I'll not learn how 'til the day I die.