Transcript Caption Writing

Caption Writing
Tips
Types
Design
Tips
for Caption Writing
Accuracy, Caption-ese,
Style, Identification
Accuracy:
Spell all names correctly
How do you know without asking?
Accuracy:
Check facts

Facts in caption must match facts ran in story


Interview, interview, interview
Check and recheck for accuracy sake
Who: Mary Jones
Who: Mary Jane
Where: In the locker
room
Where: In the boys
locker room
When: Before the first
game of the season
What: Gets fired up
before the game
=
When: Before the first
game of the season
What: Gets fired up
before the game
Accuracy:
Know what you are talking about

With sports, know the difference between the
different types of plays, locations of games,
what position people play, etc.
After stealing the puck, right winger Charlie Zilinski (38)
breaks away for a touch down at the game on Friday
night. The team won by seven points in the third inning.
Uh, do you really think so?
Accuracy:
Know what you are talking about

Do not make judgments about others’ moods based
on photos


Pay attention to the actions around the subject
Confirm the mood by talking to the subject
Sad?
Tired?
Mad?
Embarrassed?
Accuracy:
Avoid libelous information

Keep captions factual in order to avoid hurt
feelings or worse a threat of lawsuits
Stay away from
No mater how innocent they may seem
Accuracy:
Do not editorialize

Avoid





Go Team!
Congratulations (insert group name here)
We love our players
Go out and support the (insert mascot here)
We have the best (insert group or team name
here) ever
Cheer in the stands,
not in your captions
Caption-ese:
Avoid describing the obvious

Avoid phrasing that tells viewers about obvious actions, such
as shakes hands, looks on, gestures, chats, etc.
Band
directors Joe
Black and
John Bob
shake hands.
Principal Jake
Vanderfind looks
on as math
teacher Vince
Smith shows him
something on the
computer.
Get real, the viewer’s eyes are open
Caption-ese:
Clichés and trite wording

Avoid clichés or trite wording that describe
actions with feelings, such as happily
rejoices, jumps with joy, claps with glee,
etc.
Addressing subjects of photos

Avoid addressing or talking to people in the
photo. For example, do not use: Hey Bob,
what are you doing with that car?
Caption-ese:
Drop photog. from caption

Avoid acknowledging that the photographer
interacted with the subject.
How long
do I have to sit here
before the photographer
finishes?
While reading the
morning paper, Gary
Hanks drinks his orange
juice while staff
photographer Jo Tori
takes his photo.
Style:
Verbs and Nouns

Use action verbs instead of
forms of the “be” verb

Use vivid nouns and
descriptions to help
peak readers’ interests
 Jumps
Is
 Plans
Are
 Ford F150
Truck
 Reads
Was
Girl
 Sings
Were
 15-yearold girl
 Old Navy
T-shirt
T-shirt
 Fashion
designer
Designer
 Scares
Be
 Studies
Being
 Prepares
Been
Style:
Tone

Echo tone of photo with tone of caption


Funny photos can have funny captions
Serious photos needs serious captions
Go for the
funny

Avoid the
funny
Style:
Structure


Write with good grammatical structure: subject verb object
Start out with a present tense sentence then move to a past
tense sentence for more information
A reflection of people lining up
on the track
or
A reflection of people that have
lined up, in the past
What do
you see?
You see action as
it is happening, so
use present tense
verb for first
sentence
Style:
Varied starting points

Use various styles, such as starting out with why,
what or how, but don’t always rely on -ing words
What
When
Where
Why/How
Choosing to sing
“I think I love
you” by Jessica
Simpson,
sophomore
Amanda
Demspey
entertains the
crowd during
intermission.
After the first
half of the
annual fashion
show,
sophomore
Amanda
Dempsey sings
a rendition of “I
think I love you.”
On the dimly lit
school
auditorium
stage,
sophomore
Amanda
Dempsey sings
a rendition of “I
think I love you.”
While the
fashion show
models change
into different
outfits
backstage,
sophomore
Amanda
Dempsey
entertains the
crowd with a
rendition of “I
think I love you.”
Identification:
Titles and attribution

Use identifiers with
names
 Style choices include:
 Placing the identifier
before the name
 Placing the age or
grade level in
parenthesis after the
name
 Choose one way to
identify and be
consistent
Examples
Sophomore Rachel
Moore sings the
school song.
Rachel Moore (10)
sings the
school song.
Rachel Moore, a
sophomore at VHS,
sings the school song.


Identification:
Large and small groups


Identify all the people that
can be clearly seen in the
photo
If the photo contains five
or more people and is not
a posed group shot, then
individual identification is
not necessary, unless
one or two people are
obviously the center of
attention of the
photograph
Individual
identification
not needed

Individual
identification
needed
General Tips


Instead of repeating a
story or headline, choose
a different angle
When several photos and
captions are packaged
together, give full
attribution for dominant
image only. Then, Trust
your reader to look at the
dominant image’s caption
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Avoid starting captions
with the word WHO
Avoid using the school’s
name, initials or mascot
Avoid the words THIS
YEAR
Avoid starting with
articles or adjectives
Overall, make sure information is clear