The number of iterations becomes more important as you zoom in to
various areas of the fractal. Increasing the number of iterations
can reveal extremely complex structures and show just how
intricate the boundaries of the Mandelbrot set are. It of course
increases the time it takes to render the mandelbrot.
Using different gradients can affect how details come out.
Colors to the right side of the gradient represent more iterations
spent calculating the value of that point in the Mandelbrot set.