Don’t begin your caption with “a,” “an,” or “the.

No: An unknown man watches from across the street as flames consume his house.
Yes: Unknown man watches from across the street as flames consume his house.

No: The red-tailed hawk flies over Lake Michigan.

Yes: Red-tailed hawk flies over Lake Michigan.

Don’t begin your caption with a person’s name.

No: Rodney Stuart, town councilman, speaks to reporters outside courthouse.

Yes: Town councilman Rodney Stuart speaks to reporters outside courthouse.

No: Bella Shu dances for a full house at the Grand Moscow Theater.
Yes: Ballerina Bella Shu dances for a full house at the Grand Moscow Theater.

Avoid judgemental statements or assumptions.

No: Furious woman screams obscenities at departing team members.

Yes: Woman screams at departing team members.

No: First-graders wait impatiently to enter their classroom.

Yes: First-graders wait in line in order to enter their classroom.

Never use the past tense in your captions.

No: The Wright Brothers unveiled their first glider prototype in 1896.
Yes: The Wright Brothers present their first glider prototype to the public (1896).

No: During the Great Depression, men and women stood all day in soup kitchen lines.
Yes: Men and women waiting to enter a soup kitchen during the Great Depression.