Writing Photo Captions

Following photos, captions are one of the first things your readers notice and consume when they look at your publication or webpage. The best captions are meaningful, captivating, and make readers want to know more so they read the entire article.

Example

Biological sciences lecturer Badri Ghimire researches impacts of deer grazing on manzanita plants. (Photo by Jason Halley / University Photographer).

Writing Tips

The Essentials

• Be accurate—check the facts.

• Avoid stating the obvious: “Forward Jessica Jones grimaces as she takes a ball to the face.” Tell us something we don’t know. “Despite a midgame injury, forward Jessica Jones went on to score record points in the championship game.”

• Use complete sentences.

• Avoid terms like “is shown, is pictured, gestures, looks on.”

• A photograph captures a moment in time. Whenever possible, use present tense.

• Always include an abbreviated version of your caption as alt text on your image to ensure web accessibility

Identifying Individuals

• Always identify the main people in a photo.

• Descriptions are helpful. The person “dressed in black,” “holding the microphone,” “wearing the backpack,” or “standing to the left of sofa” are helpful.

• If the group is large, use “From left:” and then introduce the group. Otherwise, set off directions with commas: “Gayle Hutchinson, above,…. ” or “Gayle Hutchinson, upper left,… ” but if a person’s identity is obvious (student versus instructor, etc.) or there is only one person in the photo, directions are probably unnecessary.

• Avoid making judgments: “A happy student sits by Big Chico Creek.” Are you sure she is happy? Maybe she is going through a difficult time. Communicate only facts.

• Similarly, avoid assuming someone's gender identity and pronouns—if you're not sure, ask, and if that's not an option, try to write around it using the person's name or use gender neutral pronouns they/them/theirs.


Considering Context

• No caption is an island. You don’t need to repeat every detail in every caption of a story. In the second caption reference names, the event, etc.

• Give a date for an historic photo.

• Always give credit. Courtesy of [name] or (Photo by Jason Halley / University Photographer).