In a visual inspection method and apparatus, a picture processing unit converts an original picture, obtained by taking a photograph of a BGA illuminated by a ring illuminator from above, using a camera, and labels a binary picture obtained by this binary conversion. Then, it forms a rectangle circumscribing an outer circumference of a labeling picture obtained by the labeling, and inverts a labeling picture within the formed circumscribing rectangle, and removes a portion of a region formed by the outer circumference and the circumscribing rectangle in a picture obtained by the inversion, and then generates an inspection picture by adding a picture obtained by the removal to the labeling picture, and accordingly judges a pass or rejection of the inspection target sample based on the generated inspection picture. Thus, the inspection can be carried out at high accuracy irrespectively of a low cost.