I’ve found the messages app to be more and more useful as each version of Mac OS X has arrived. Between adding text messages and screen sharing back into Messages proper, it has become my go to messaging app. I only wish the iOS version were as useful. I’d love to add messaging protocols like gmail chat to my iOS messaging app and keep all my messaging together like I do on my desktop. This is a great little walkthrough about pulling images from your messages to save and use later. Straightforward but still a great tip.
Save Photos from Messages in Mac OS X – OSXDaily