You want every picture to say all it can. The way to do that is to combine the right words with the photo to complete the story that the photo only begins. Besides completing the story, captions or cutlines can correct camera distortion, camera angles that don’t show the full view of action and the loss of the third dimension when three-dimensional reality is transformed into a two-dimensional representation. In addition, still pictures do not show movement that was there in real life, adding another function to captions.
Not all photos are alike in composition or purpose, so all captions needn’t be alike. Some general principles apply in most cases.
- Get names at the time the picture is taken. Photographers should do this as part of their routine and turn in complete identification and description with the photo. Also interview professors, advisers, coaches and other persons to get enough facts to write intelligent captions. Good captions cannot be written from memory the night before a deadline.
- Captions are needed to give specific facts, such as dates, places, times, action that preceded and followed that in the picture, names, attendance figures, winners and the outcome or result of the pictured action.
- Captions complete the story begun by the picture and should not repeat what already is obvious from the picture.
- Captions should not offer comment or opinion on what is pictured.
- A caption indicates to the reader why the picture was worth publishing.
- Always use first and last names and titles/years and majors in identifications.
- Captions are usually written in the present tense.
- When a picture is accompanied by a caption only (feature photo), the caption must include all pertinent information because it is the story as well as the explanation of the picture.
- When a picture is accompanied by both caption and story, the caption should summarize the most significant information and should be worded differently from the copy or story.
- Captions for academic photos should explain the activity and relate it to the class or curriculum.
Capture the reader with the first word. Use color words, strong impact words