Caption Writing - bhs.cc

Accuracy:Know what you are talking about• Do not make judgments about others’ moods basedon photos• Pay attention to the actions around the subject• Confirm the mood by talking to the subjectSad? Tired? Mad? Embarrassed?

Caption-ese:Avoid describing the obvious• Avoid phrasing that tells viewers about obvious actions, suchas shakes hands, looks on, gestures, chats, etc.Banddirectors JoeBlack andJohn Bobshake hands.Principal JakeVanderfind lookson as mathteacher VinceSmith shows himsomething on thecomputer.Get real, the viewer’s eyes are open

Caption-ese:Clichés and trite wording• Avoid clichés or trite wording that describeactions with feelings, such as happilyrejoices, jumps with joy, claps with glee,etc.Addressing subjects of photos• Avoid addressing or talking to people in thephoto. For example, do not use: Hey Bob,what are you doing with that car?

Style:Verbs and Nouns• Use action verbs instead offorms of the “be” verbJumpsIs• Use vivid nouns anddescriptions to helppeak readers’ interestsPlansAreFord F150TruckReadsSingsScaresStudiesPreparesWasWereBeBeingBeen15-yearoldgirlOld NavyT-shirtFashiondesignerGirlT-shirtDesigner

Style:Tone• Echo tone of photo with tone of caption• Funny photos can have funny captions• Serious photos needs serious captionsGo for thefunnyAvoid thefunny

Style:Varied starting points• Use various styles, such as starting out with why,what or how, but don’t always rely on -ing wordsWhat When Where Why/HowChoosing to sing“I think I loveyou” by JessicaSimpson,sophomoreAmandaDemspeyentertains thecrowd duringintermission.After the firsthalf of theannual fashionshow,sophomoreAmandaDempsey singsa rendition of “Ithink I love you.”On the dimly litschoolauditoriumstage,sophomoreAmandaDempsey singsa rendition of “Ithink I love you.”While thefashion showmodels changeinto differentoutfitsbackstage,sophomoreAmandaDempseyentertains thecrowd with arendition of “Ithink I love you.”

Identification:Large and small groups• Identify all the people thatcan be clearly seen in thephoto• If the photo contains fiveor more people and is nota posed group shot, thenindividual identification isnot necessary, unlessone or two people areobviously the center ofattention of thephotographIndividualidentificationnot neededIndividualidentificationneeded

Types of CaptionsNameline, Brief,Quote, Sentence,Extended, Sports,Group, Special Situations

Nameline Caption• Used for thumbnailor mug photographs(used in people section ofyearbook)• Includes nameof person• May include identification ofperson pictured• Only caption style to notend with a periodJustin Black,photographer

Sentence CaptionPrincipal Lauren Thomascelebrates with coach JakeSmith and players after theteam wins the school’s firstdistrict championship.• Full caption covering who,what, where, when, whyand how• People in the photo arenamed and identified withtheir appropriate titles• Avoid stating the obvious• Great sentence captionsuse complete, presenttense sentences andfeature vivid nouns andaction verbs

Extended Caption• Gives readers lots ofimportant information,without them having tonecessarily turn to a story• This type of caption is theone that people thatcritique and judgepublications love to read• Multi-part captionincluding:• Lead-in• Sentence caption inpresent tense• Secondary statementin past tense• Quote or even moreextra information

Sports Caption• Choose the type of caption youwant to use, such as sentenceor extended• Also include:• The play’s outcome• The names of all players fromall teams in the photo• Uniform or jersey numbers inparentheses for all players• In secondary informationinclude:• Statistics about the team, theplayer, the season andprevious games played againstthe opponent, etc.Before completing his third goal, seniorGorden Parker (4) scoops the ball whilePeller’s junior Ty Jackson (13) tries tostop halt the action. The team lost 10-4during the district title game.