1. Digital Media Mrs. Huddleston
Caption Writing
Digital Media
Mrs. Huddleston

2. Caption Action
A picture is worth a thousand words, then choose a few to bring your stories to life
~ideas shared by John Cutsinger, Tina Klecka, Rick Brooks,
Shannon Williams, Laura Schaub
Jostens Creative Accounts Managers

3. Caption Action Captions are the most widely read copy in yearbooks.

4. Purpose Captions link the photograph to and supplement the story.
Captions tell the reader what happened before and immediately after the captured action of the photograph.
Captions identify all people in the photograph on whom the action is centered.

5. Guidelines ALL pictures get captions, no exceptions.
First sentence is always in present tense.
Later sentences are always in past tense.
Should be between 3-5 sentences. (One sentence summaries technically are not called captions; they are referred to as cut lines.)

6. What goes in a caption? Answer 5Ws and H.
Identify ALL people in photograph. In crowd shots, identify up to 7 prominent people.
Use same naming guidelines as in story writing.
Identify people going to left to right in the photograph, but do not label within the caption “Pictured left to right are . . .”
Include date of photograph if relevant.

7. Avoid:
The obvious. Do not simply restate what is going on in the picture. Give background information that is not evident to the reader.
The irrelevant. Stick to the facts of the story.
Editorializing.
Beginning with names. This is simply very uncreative and is the lazy man’s method of writing captions.

8. Avoid: Repeating information in the story. Clichés.
Overusing gerunds. Gerunds (verbs ending in “ing”) are fine to use on a limited basis, but not for every lead.

9. Avoid:
School name, mascot name or school initials. This should already be obvious since this is the publication for this particular school.
School year or “this year”. All copy should obviously be about this school year.
Making predictions. You are reporting on what has already happened, not what might happen.
Compound and complex sentences. Always use simple sentences.

10. Avoid: “Pictured above,” “Shown here,”
“Seems to,” “Appears to,” “Looks as if,” “Attempts to,” “Tries to,” or other phrases that fail to give an actual result.
To be verbs: is, are, was, were, etc.
“During” as a lead. It is fine when used in moderation in the body of the caption.

11. Definite Do’s: Check your facts.
Use quotes. Quotes should only be used if they add to the content of the story. Be sure to cite the person speaking and their grade level/title.
Use action verbs.
Elicit emotion. Draw the reader into the photograph and into the story. Don’t be afraid to make them laugh or cry.

12. Definite Do’s:
Use headlines. They should be short and clever, but never misleading.
Vary leads.
Use placement directions if captions are not directly tied to a photograph.
Record accurate figures. Never use ambiguous words such as “many,” “numerous,” “some,” “a lot,” etc.

13. Definite Do’s: Use “said.”
Vary font. The font of captions should be different from that of all other copy on the spread. (usually size 8)
Check your grammar.
Spell check. Enuf sed.

14. Sports Captions: Include the result of the action in the photograph.
Let the reader know who won the game; always give a final score.
Identify the game and the players’ positions and jersey numbers for both teams.
Do not use nicknames or mascot titles.

15. Complete & Accurate Reporting
Attend activity or event.
Interview subjects in photo.
Interview subjects involved, but not in photo.
Get photographer’s notes.
Research history of activity, event or subject.
Reporting is the foundation for great captions. It will take about minutes to collect all the information you will need to best write the photo story.

16. The “Formula” Short headline.
First sentence: Answer as many of the 5Ws and H as possible. Present tense.
Second+ sentences: Answer remaining 5Ws and H and give other background information. Past Tense.
Quote from person involved in action or eyewitness of action. Use “said.”
Reporting is the foundation for great captions. It will take about minutes to collect all the information you will need to best write the photo story.

17. In Class Activity
Create a list of questions you want to know about this picture.
Consider the questions that this photo raises. What are they? What do we want/need to know?

18. In Class Activity Who is the skier? Others involved? Name of stunt?
Day trip or vacation?
Which lake?
How long has subject been wakeboarding?
Best memories of trip?
Any low points?
Interesting facts about subject, trip?
Awards? PRs?
Consider the questions that this photo raises. What are they? What do we want/need to know?

19. In Class Activity Write a caption based on the following information.
Junior Dillon Hanson, competitive wakeboarder
Lake Powell, AZ
Summer family vacation, June 2006
Best friend Steve Jones with family
Annual vacation spot – 10th summer
Placed 2nd in 2003 free-style category; 1st in 2004
Practiced all week for July competitions
“It was great to have the chance to practice before my competitions began in July. My family and friends are a huge support for me. Taking first after losing to a big rival last year made all my hard work worth it.”
Consider the questions that this photo raises. What are they? What do we want/need to know?

20. Types of Captions Ident (short for Identify)
Summary (usually 1 sentence)
Expanded (necessary for yearbook)
Quote
Collective
Group
Reporting is the foundation for great captions. It will take about minutes to collect all the information you will need to best write the photo story.

21. Ident Junior Dillon Hanson Junior Dillon Hanson, freestyle competitor
Junior Dillon Hanson, 2004 freestyle champion
Brief, yet insightful.

22. Summary
DETERMINATION. During the annual family vacation at Lake Powell, junior Dillon Hanson practices for the Southern California Wakeboarding Competition in July.
Answer the most important five Ws & H.

23. Expanded
CONCENTRATION. During the annual family vacation at Lake Powell, junior Dillon Hanson practices for the Southern California Wakeboarding Competition in July. Hanson earned a first place medal in 2004 competition. “It was great to have the chance to practice before my competitions began in July. My family and friends are a huge support for me. Taking first after losing to a big rival last year made all my hard work worth it.”
Complete the full story introduced by the photo adding a personal touch with a quote.

24. Quote
“It was great to have the chance to practice before my competitions began in July. My family and friends are a huge support for me. Taking first after losing to a big rival last year made all my hard work worth it. I have already begun preparing for my next event in August.”
Quote says more than is obvious; gives readers insight into the person as well as the activity/event.

25. Collective
CONCENTRATION. During the annual family vacation to Lake Powell, junior Dillon Hanson practices for the Southern California Wakeboarding Competition in July. DETERMINATION. While vacationing in Mexico, sophomore Jeremy Fallon learns to sail his uncle’s boat. RELAXATION. After a busy day of sightseeing in southern Italy with his family, freshman Cody Nelson takes a breather on the beach.
A collection of photos can have a collective caption. Use lead-ins or some other identifying device to code photos to their respective captions.

26. Group Caption
Front Row: John Cutsinger, Shannon Williams, Rick Brooks, David Kleck Row 2: Cody Cleavelin, Mitch Lorenz, Mike Hill, Kurt Idler, Bruce Nyman Row 3: Alex Brunner, Rinn Cleavelin, Herb Stokes, Jimmy Shellhaas Back Row: Mark Herron, Steve Wirrig, Jack Wilson, Mike Pankoff…
Front to Back OR Bottom to Top. Set off the row designations typographically to make rows easy to find.

27. Ident Captions
Danville community HS

28. Summary Captions
Red Mountain HS - AZ

29. Quote Captions
Red Mountain HS - AZ

30. Expanded Captions
Red Mountain HS - AZ

31. Collective Captions
Red Mountain HS - AZ

32. Creative Captions
Red Mountain HS - AZ