How to Write a Photo Caption

Well-written captions enhance the value of a photograph.

A picture is worth a thousand words unless your task is writing a strong photo caption. Whether you edit a newspaper, a book or your high-school yearbook, knowing what to put in the sentence or two that describes a photograph is a vital function that lets readers understand what they are seeing. Generally, good caption writing should be in present tense and feature an active voice, using strong verbs. They also should answer concisely each basic tenant of journalism: who, what, when, where, why and how.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Photos

1. Examine the photo for which you have to write a caption. Obtain any facts that the photographer may have accumulated while taking the picture. Verify each fact, including the spellings of anyone's name, the date and location where the photo was taken.

2. Compose a sentence that names the individual or individuals in the photograph and describes what they were doing, where they were, when they were photographed and why they were there. Break the sentence into two if it exceeds 25 words.

3. Enhance the photo's immediacy by using present tense in the caption. Use commas to help identify the placement of a person if several people are pictured, such as, "John Smith, left,...."

4. Avoid using cliches. Strive to use conversational language that a relative or friend could easily understand.

References

• poynter.org: Hot Tips for Writing Photo Captions
• How-to-write-anything.com: How to Write a Caption for a Photo or Illustration