Objective:

Students will be able to:

 Identify the primary parts of a photo caption by completing an attached worksheet

 Compare captions that a photojournalist would use in a project to captions that an individual
might use on social media
 Identify how photo captions can assist viewers in understanding a photojournalism project and
increase accessibility

Warm-up:

Captions convey important information about a photograph, but often we may quickly scroll past a
caption and miss important information that a photographer wants the viewer to know.

1. Follow the "see, think, wonder" pattern to evaluate the photograph below without reading its
caption:

What do you see in this photo?

Where could this photo have been taken?

Why do you think the journalist chose to capture this scene or moment?

A young protester wears a sign that reads 'Venezuelan Student' in the center of San Cristóbal, the city on
the border of Colombia where massive protests first began in 2014. The 'student' label is a response to
allegations by Nicolás Maduro's government that protesters are not students at all but paid imperialist
infiltrators being used to destabilize the country. Image by Natalie Keyssar. Venezuela, 2016.

First, analyze this photo without its caption.

2. Check your predictions:

Caption: A young protester wears a sign that reads 'Venezuelan Student' in the center of San Cristóbal,
the city on the border of Colombia where massive protests first began in 2014. The 'student' label is a
response to allegations by Nicolás Maduro's government that protesters are not students at all but paid
imperialist infiltrators being used to destabilize the country. Image by Natalie Keyssar. Venezuela, 2016.

3. Now, discuss the following:

Were any of your predictions correct?

What information did you gain by reading the caption?

What false assumptions might you make without reading the caption?

Introducing the Activity:

Photographers and publishers generally include several important pieces of information in a photo
caption, such as:

A description of the physical objects or people in the photograph

Information that gives context to the moment captured in the photograph

The name of the photographer

The country or location in which the photo was taken

The year that the photo was taken

In the following activity, students will match captions to photos from Pulitzer Center photography
projects. Students should identify the parts of a caption (listed above) in each example on the
worksheet.

Downloadable worksheet:

PDF icon Dynamic Captions Worksheet

Instructions: Match the captions to the corresponding photographs.

Discussion Questions:

Why is it important to describe what is physically in a photograph when writing a caption? How might
your caption help people with different physical or mental abilities engage with a photograph?

Why is it helpful to include context in a caption used in a newspaper, magazine, or online news source?
Why might excluding context be dangerous?

How do captions for photojournalism projects or news publications differ from captions on personal
social media accounts? What do you normally include in your personal photo captions?

Extension Activities:

Option 1. Follow the @pulitzercenter Instagram, where journalists frequently post photographs from
their reporting projects. Choose three photographs. Without reading the captions, write a caption for
each photo that you would share on your personal instagram. Afterwards, compare your caption to the
one the journalist wrote.
Option 2. Complete a photojournalism project at home or school by taking three photos of events that
many people would not notice on an average day. Write two captions for each photo: one caption that
you would use on your personal instagram that you would share with your friends and one that you
would use as a photojournalist sharing this moment with strangers.

Educator Notes:

Worksheet:

PDF icon Dynamic Captions Worksheet

Worksheet Key: 1. A 2. E 3. C 4. F 5. D 6. B 7. H 8. G 9. I