Captions
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Rules for Writing Photo Captions
A caption is the block of text that accompanies a photo in a print or online form.
There are three parts of a caption:
A caption is the block of text that accompanies a photo in a print or online form.
There are three parts of a caption:
- In the first sentence, explain what is happening in the photo in present tense. Answer the 5 Ws.
- The second sentence is often past tense and gives background information about the photo or the situation. The focus should be on giving interesting information to readers and telling a story.
- The third sentence should give a quote from a witness or someone who was involved in the activity.
- DO identify everyone fully by first name, last name, year in school, or some other identifying information (unless the group is very large)
- DO NOT state the obvious
- DO NOT write question captions or use the word “pictured.”
- Some newspapers and yearbooks also headline their photos with a 1-3 word headline prior to the caption.