Meaningful Captions

Answer 5Ws & H Complete & accurate reporting Attend activity or event Interview subjects in photo Interview subjects involved not in photo Get photographer’s notes Research history of photo story Instructor: Consider telling the students the following: Is it unrealistic to have a staff member attend every activity or game? Not really. If staff members know which spreads they will be working on, they will become the experts on those particular subjects! They have a vested interest in finding everything there is to know about the subject. A really well-written caption takes time to research and write.

Ask the Questions Quality questions get quality answers Who What When Where Why How Tell readers about the event Describe the best memories of the event Tell us something we can’t see from photo Instructor: Consider telling the students the following: Did they miss anything? Compare lists of questions.

All the Write Words Lead-in Primary sentence Secondary sentence(s) Attention-getting word or phrase relating to the action/reaction of the photo Primary sentence Reports the most important 5Ws & H, showcases the most important aspect in first 5-7 words & is in present tense Secondary sentence(s) Provides details not obvious in the photo (when/why/how) & written in past tense Instructor: Consider telling the students the following: Start by writing a first draft with the basic information, especially the who, what, where and when. Then find some information to add to the second sentence that would not be readily apparent to the reader. Often this information falls into the WHY and HOW categories. It’s a bonus, like finding a prize in a cereal box or receiving an unexpected gift. Why not call the secondary sentence a prize or a gift? When a student writes something lame or obvious, talk about a particularly heinous gift that you received from an elderly uncle. They will get it. Finally, work on the lead-in. Brainstorm a list of words that come to mind when looking at a picture. These words can be expanded into phrases that provide connections between the picture and the caption.

Class competition winners TUMBLE TIME Seniors Brittany Fenn and Cammy Kennedy TUMBLE TIME Seniors Brittany Fenn and Cammy Kennedy Class competition winners Ident // Brief identification & description

TUMBLE TIME To win the class spirit competitions, senior Brittany Fenn stuffs Cammy Kennedy into a barrel and rolls her 300 feet from one end of the gym to the other just ahead of the juniors followed by the freshmen and sophomores. Summary // Answer to the most important 5Ws & H

TUMBLE TIME To win the class spirit competitions, senior Brittany Fenn stuffs Cammy Kennedy into a barrel and rolls her 300 feet from one end of the gym to the other just ahead of the juniors followed by the freshmen and sophomores. “I was so dizzy that I couldn’t walk for over 15 minutes and all my friends thought it was funny and found reasons to make me try to walk,” Cammy said. Expanded // Summary caption + additional information, insight

Editing Guidelines Refine captions for strong appeal Keep captions factual; no editorializing Include honest facts, figures & feelings Go beyond the obvious; capture outcome or consequences of the action Write first sentence in present tense; subsequent sentences in past tense Use visual nouns & action verbs Avoid repetition of words Avoid beginning with names Avoid school name, initials, mascot Maintain style consistency Vary caption starting words on a spread

Practice makes Perfect Write one each of the following: Ident Summary Expanded

Practice makes Perfect Rewrite this caption: Senior Johnny Williams runs the ball in hopes of making a touchdown.