Captions [intensive] getting the real story

Captions Student life section: Full Article and Full Captions Athletics, Organizations sections: No Articles, caption will include only full names of everyone in the picture. Full article and captions will be optional this year.

Captions A picture is worth 1000 words, but it still needs a caption. Looking at a picture without a caption is like watching television with the sound turned off. The photograph should attract the attention of the reader and introduce the story, but only a good caption can continue that story and fill in the details which are not apparent in the picture.

DO NOT STATE THE OBVIOUS!! Avoid the known; explain the unknown “Girls dancing in an auditorium.”

Captions The writer should research the photograph...what went on before and after the photograph was taken? Answer these questions: Who is in the picture? (Your readers want to know everyone and will forget the names they do know in a few years). What event or action is going on? When did it happen? Why were these people doing whatever they were doing?

Captions: The four Ws Who: First and last name. SPELL NAMES CORRECTLY !! Appropriate title Name and one or more key facts Awards and achievements

Captions: The four Ws What: Specific action of the photo Result of the action Use specific verbs

Captions: The four Ws When: Time frame of the action Which class period When in the season Use early, late, before, after Avoid “during”

Captions: The four Ws Where: Location On campus, what teachers room? Off campus, if dance the venue, city. ”

All writing in Present tense! Verb tenses give information about when an action took place. Choose the right tense to indicate your meaning in your sentences. We want all writing to be in the present tense. You know how it goes when a friend tells you what happened to them last week? They tell it in the present tense. This is called the narrative present, and that is how I am asking you to write: "And I'm walking down the street, right? And this guy comes up to me, and he says ... and I go, 'No!' It's, like, random. So I take a walk, and it starts snowing, so I head for the forest. And guess what happens next? ..." People talk in the narrative present because it puts the listener right there. It involves them in the event more than a story in the past tense would. It sounds like a conversation, not a story.

PHOTO LOG In order to write a good caption you need the four W’s. Some photographers will often begin writing their captions in spare moments before or during an event. But often the information required for a caption isn’t available before a picture is taken. Gathering caption information during an event is difficult. Photographers do it in a variety of ways. Most photographers carry small notebooks (sometimes hung around their necks) in which to write the required info and names of the people that will be in the pictures. What you will be required to use is a photo log for every possible picture you may use on your spread. During the event you will be filling out the the photo log. On the photo log you will list the names of the people that are in the pictures and list the who, what, when and where.

NO PHOTO LOG, NO CAPTION!! The writer in your group will need the photo log to write the captions. Without a photo log there is no information.

Captions Format Lead-in: I’m soooo bored. Essential info: Between school and a basketball game, senior cheerleaders Janet Bett, Dana Joh, Kristi Duncan and Bekki Bunnison study for a chemistry test in the hallway. Background info: The girls studied before the game because their duties lasted until midnight on game night.  

Lead-in: like a title/heading Essential info: who, what, when, where Background info: why Lead In: Disecting in Mr. Bray’s Essential Info: George Alvarez and Paul Vazquez are inspecting the digestive system of a frog in their 1st period Biology class. Background Info: They were waiting for this moment ever since the first semester.

Lead-in: like a title/heading Essential info: who, what, when, where Background info: why

Lead-in: like a title/heading Essential info: who, what, when, where Background info: why

Lead-in: like a title/heading Essential info: who, what, when, where Background info: why Who: Adam Gray What : Art Critique When:Semester 1 final Where: Ms. Nelson’s Art Class

Lead-in: like a title/heading Essential info: who, what, when, where Background info: why Who: AVID 10th What : AVID summer retreat When: August Where: Catalina Island

Lead-in: like a title/heading Essential info: who, what, when, where Background info: why Who: Majors cheerleaders Mary Garcia, Jessica Maya and mascot Jose Pena What : Halftime Homecoming game When: Sept 6th Homecoming game Where: Hillview High School (opponents school)

Lead-in: like a title/heading Essential info: who, what, when, where Background info: why Who: Five names, make them up.  What : AVID back to school rally. Water Ballon Toss. When: Aug 15th Where: Morgen Park Background info: Make this up for now… Why are they doing this? What does the winner receive? Is this an annual event? Anything new about AVID? (FURTHER INVESTIGATION)

Lead-in: like a title/heading Essential info: who, what, when, where Background info: why Who: Five names, make them up.  What : Semester 1 Group Final Project When: December 15th Where: Make it up. Background info: Make this up for now… Why are they doing this? Why did theu pick this location? What class? What is the project? (FURTHER INVESTIGATION)

Captions Format Lead-in: I’m soooo bored. Essential info: Between school and a basketball game, senior cheerleaders Janet Bett, Dana Joh, Kristi Duncan and Bekki Bunnison study for a chemistry test in the hallway. Background info: The girls studied before the game because their duties lasted until midnight on game night.