I switched to Textra and I don't have the issue with pictures anymore.
Posted via Android Central App
This! I have tried everything from Handcent, to GoSMS to EvolveSMS, Hello sms, Hangouts, QKSMS and HoverChat. And all of them have quirks - from undelivered/unreceived messages, layout/font issues, MMS issues, issues with pictures (sending and receiving) no notifications, delayed notifications, etc. and so forth... I could go on and on.
In my opinion, Textra continues to shine and it just works. I never have issues with it at all. Group messages, pictures, customizations, pop-up reply windows - it looks great and works great.