Caption Writing Tips

1. Caption Writing Tips

2. What is the purpose of a caption? • A caption should provide information about a photo. • A caption should entice the viewer to learn more about the subject and read the story. • A caption should NOT leave any questions in the reader’s mind. • A caption is like a mini news story.

3. Importance of captions • According to Ken Kobre, a caption is the most read but least carefully written text in most publications! • Readers often decide if they will read an article based on what they glean from a picture and caption.

4. What information should be in your caption?

5. 5 Ws and H • Who? • What? • When? • Where? • Why? • How (How much/How many?)

6. A one-sentence caption • A caption is generally a single sentence but a second sentence can be added if additional context or explanation is needed. (Reuters handbook) • A second sentence could also include an interesting fact or a quote.

8. AP Caption formula • The first sentence describes who is doing what in the photo and states where and when the photo was made (in that order.) It must always include the day and date the photo was made. • Use present tense.

9. Second sentence • Gives the background of the news event and describes why the photo is significant (news value.)

11. WHO • Who is in the picture? • Name, age, occupation • Organization name and title • Connection with the incident being reported • Identify people from left to right (L to R)

12. CQ • cq is used to indicate to the copy desk that an unusual spelling of a name is correct

13. Examples • Mary Gima, 89, a resident at Nikkei Senior Gardens • San Francisco State University senior Kelly Goff • Artist Monika (cq) Del Bosque • Pierce College speech professor Jennifer Rosenberg • Pre-schooler Kaden Will, age 4,

14. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, right, laughs with Ms. International winner Yaxeni Oriquen, of Brazil, after presenting her with the trophy Friday, Feb. 29, 2008, in Columbus, Ohio. Oriquen won her fourth Ms. International competition. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

15. The second sentence explains why or how this image is an important piece of news. • Oriquen won her fourth Ms. International competition. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

16. The second sentence explains why or how this image is an important piece of news. • Oriquen won her fourth Ms. International competition. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

17. To publish or not to publish? • Many editors will not run a photograph if the caption doesn’t include the full names of the identifiable people in the image.

18. 6 is a Crowd • For close-up shots with 5 people or fewer, you need to get everyone’s name. • For a crowd, it is not necessary -- or even possible -- to identify everyone. • For a crowd, identify the groupings, such as football fans, striking teachers, Occupy protesters, etc.

19. The crew of the U.S. Navy's nuclear-powered submarine USS Georgia bow their heads in prayer aboard the sub during a return to service ceremony, Friday, March 28, 2008 in Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base, Ga. The Georgia is the last of four submarines in the Ohio class to undergo the $1 billion conversion. The others are Florida, Ohio and Michigan. The subs are converted to carry cruise missiles instead of intercontinental ballistic missiles. (AP Photo/Stephen Morton)

20. WHAT • What is happening in the picture? Be specific. Don’t assume the reader can tell. Use an action verb. • Remember to write in present tense to make it more immediate.

21. When • When did this happen? • Use the month, day and year. • Time is only necessary if it is relevant to the story. • Strict AP Style includes the day.

22. David Wentz, 16, holds a fossilized shark tooth, Wednesday, March 26, 2008, inside his home in Port Huron, Mich. Wentz found the tooth while snorkeling with his brother Shaun, 21, off a Marysville (Michigan) beach at the end of summer last year. (AP Photo/Times Herald, Melissa Wawzysko)

23. AP style note for the Date • Abbreviate Jan., Feb. Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec. • Write out March, April, May, June, July

24. Where • Where did it happen? • Include city and state. • If relevant, include a specific location such as a building or classroom on campus.

26. AP Style Note • Use the abbreviations, not the Postal Service designations. For example, California is Calif., NOT CA. • Do not abbreviate Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas and Utah.

27. Why • Explain why something is happening. • The why part of the caption provides a depth of news value to your photograph and puts the image in context. • This is where the real reporting begins. • Look for a news peg.

28. 14-02-2005  Beirut, Lebanon    A man shouts for help at the scene of the truck-bomb explosion that killed former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri. Twenty other people were killed in the blast, which appeared aimed at the politician's motorcade. Hariri had resigned as premier to join the opposition four months earlier, and was aiming at making a comeback in May elections. Opposition leaders blamed the Lebanese and Syrian governments for the killing, calling for the government's resignation and the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon.  (Photo: Mohamad Azakir /Reuters )

29. How • This could be how much (damages, cost, profits, etc.) • How many (in attendance, injuries, etc.) • How something came about (the cause of the accident, the reason for the arrest)

30. Stand alone • When you have a stand alone photo (sometimes called wild art when it is a feature photo), the longer the caption and the more information, the better. It is like a mini news story.

32. The fingers of malnourished Alassa Galisou (1) are pressed against the lips of his mother Fatou Ousseini at an emergency feeding center. One of the worst droughts in recent times, together with a particularly heavy plague of locusts that had destroyed the previous year's harvest, left millions of people severely short of food. Heavy rains promised well for the 2005 crops, but hindered aid workers bringing supplies. Relief had been slow to come. Accusations were leveled variously blaming the United Nations, Western governments, the international aid community and officials in Niger itself for failing to respond early enough to an imminent crisis.  (Photo: Finbarr O’Reilly)

33. Be Concise, be precise • Accuracy is important. • Ask people how to spell their names. • Don’t get information secondhand. • Stick to what the photos show and what you know. • Explain only what you have witnessed. • All other info must be sourced.

34. Don’t editorialize • Stick to the facts. • Don’t assume what people are thinking or feeling. • Refrain from using descriptive terms.

35. Some other info to include • A caption can point out a small detail in a photo that a reader may overlook. • A caption should clearly explain if any unusual photo techniques were used to make the image.

36. Photo credit • Photographers should include their photo credit in the caption. Style varies by publication. • Jill Connelly for the New York Times • Jill Connelly/AP • AP Photo/Jill Connelly

37. Los Angeles Clippers' Corey Maggette makes a pass around Philadelphia 76ers' Samuel Dalembert of Haiti during the first quarter Friday, Dec. 26, 2003, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jill Connelly)

39. Spot News • Get the name, phone number, department affiliation and station of police officers on the scene. • The fire station and engine numbers of fire equipment. • Victims, if safe and possible. • Get location of where victims are transported.

40. Other Types of photos • •A handout photo is provided by someone else to the publication, not taken by the newspaper’s staff or • freelance photographers. The source should be credited. • Photo courtesy of the Smith family • • A photo illustration can be set up or made in Photoshop; it should be clearly labeled. • Photo Illustration by Jill Connelly • • A file photo is not current, it is taken from the archives and should be labeled as such. • File Photo

41. Firefighters Jeffrey Bredstrand, left, of the Seattle Fire Dept., Cody Ramstad, of Eastside Fire & Rescue of Issaquah, Wash., and Kelly McNab, of New Zealand Fire, rest after racing up 1,311 stairs in competition Sunday, March 2, 2008, in the Columbia Center tower in Seattle. More than 1,000 firefighters from throughout the U.S., as well as Canada and New Zealand, raced 788 vertical feet up 69 floors in the 17th annual stair climb at the tower, in a benefit for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

42. Additional info for sports captions • A sports photo often sums up the game in a single image. • Sports captions should include the 5Ws and H. • Include the final score as the second sentence of the caption. • Explain the significance of a play.

43. Spain's Rafael Nadal returns the ball to Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber during the second day of the Emirates Dubai Tennis Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Tuesday, March. 4, 2008.(AP Photo/Nousha Salimi)

44. Tips for getting good sports captions • Get a roster for both teams. • Confirm the info on the roster, including spelling of players’ names. • Keep shooting after the peak action so you get a clear shot of the numbers to identify the players for captions. • Take notes during the game.

45. Sports captions • Photograph the scoreboard to help you keep track of when plays occur.

46. the copy desk • Published captions will often be different than the caption you submit with your photo. • The caption you attach to the photo is important for archival purposes as a historical record even if it doesn’t end up in the published caption.

47. A copy editor • Reads the caption. • Reads the story. • The copy editor then edits the caption into a synopsis that explains the photo and its relationship to the story. • A caption might also be edited for reasons of space and design.

49. Caption or cutline? • Some use the terms interchangeably. • Others say one is a newspaper term, the other a magazine.