Writing Great

Captions
Objectives:

 How to write quality, informational captions that

identify people and events
 How to write informative captions creatively so
people will want to read them
Taking aim.
 All captions need to explain the who,
what, when, where, why and how to
put the reader in the moment the
photo was taken.
 In this case, think about the
information for a reader who does not
know the game of football.
 A quote about what the player was
thinking would be a nice touch as the
last sentence.
ATTENTION GETTER
An attention getter is like a mini
headline. It’s a direct link from
the caption to the photo it is
describing.
COMPLIMENTARY INFO
A past-tense sentence telling the
reader something he cannot see from
the photo itself, like how much money
was raised in the fundraiser or who
won the game.
BASIC INFO
A present-tense sentence telling who
is in the photo (name up to seven
people) and what he or they are
doing. Basic
DIRECT QUOTE
should be a unique quote from
someone in the photo discussing an
aspect of the
event in the photo. This should not be
a fact. Get quotable quotes. How did
the person FEEL?
DO…
 Be factual
 Be descriptive
 Use first and last names
 Use complete sentences
 Include the five Ws and H
 Use strong, visual specific nouns
 Use a variety of sentence patterns
 Use colorful, lively, visual action
verbs
 Use a variety of adjectives and adverbs
 Lead-in states the obvious in an unobvious
way
 Identify all people in picture (up to 7)
 Consider the action before and during the
photo and reaction to the event
 Write in present tense, active voice (unless
changing tenses to make it logical)
 List three to five words that grab the
reader’s attention and link the photo and
caption together
Avoid these...
 Don’t state the obvious
 Avoid using “to be” verbs
 Don’t use “gag” or joke captions
 Don’t use an excessive amount of – ing verbs
 Avoid “During” to begin your lead as it’s overused
 Don’t use “Pictured/Showed Above,” “Seems/Attempts to”
 Don’t begin leads with names or overuse same lead pattern
 Don’t use label leads (example: basketball girls, swimmers, etc.)
 Don’t comment or question the action in the picture; you are telling the reader
what happened, not conversing with him
SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS
FOR SPORTS
 Tell the result or outcome
 State position of the player(s)
 Consider plays leading up to the
action
 Identify both schools’ players and
opponents by jersey number and
name
FOR GROUP SHOTS
(TEAM PHOTOS OR GROUP PICTURES)
 Begin with name of group
 Identify from left to right, but don’t write
that as part of the caption
 Give clear row designation in a different
font than text
 CHEERLEADING TEAM:
Front: Name Here, Name Here.
Row 2: Name Here, Name Here.
Back: Name Here, Name Here.)
HELPFUL HINTS
 Avoid passive voice
 Give your photo a timeframe
 Identify everyone in the photo
 Check and recheck the spelling of the names and text
 NEVER make up information – it is journalistically wrong!
 Attend the event and know what you are writing about
 Describe what is happening in the exact moment of the photo
 Write the caption as soon as possible after the picture was taken
 Don’t add unnecessary phrases such as “left to right” or “pictured above”
Intriguing
Headlines
Objectives:

 How to write factual headlines that do not

editorialize
 How to write creative headlines that will make
people want to look at the spread and read the story
Guidelines…
OK
 Use visual action verbs
 Be descriptive, but brief
- TEAM SEEKS STATE TITL
 Use strong, visual-specific nouns
 Write in present tense, active voice
 Make sure the headline tells the story
NOT OK
 Be positive; focus on what happened, not
what didn’t (but avoid opinion) - TEAM RUNS
 Try to have a subject, verb and direct object,
but not prepositional phrases, which often
TOWARD
make headlines too long STATE TITLE
Spend time brainstorming,
just like you do for the actual copy:

Is there a clever play on words you can use?

 EYE have amoeba - Story about a student who got amoeba in her eye
from swimming in a lake and had to have it treated
 Alliteration? - Students spent Saturday saving school – Story about club
members who spend a Saturday cleaning up campus after a storm
 Quote? - ‘Pray for rain’ – Story about players who practice in 100-degree
August heat and want afternoon relief from the rain – taken from player quote
TRY TO AVOID
 Articles: a, an, the
 Names unless they’re really well known
 Repetition of words, especially key words
 Omit forms of the verb be – write in active voice
 Beginning with a verb – it usually sounds like a command
 Present tense, since headlines are what the story IS about
 Asking questions – headlines provide information about the story’s content
 And – replace it with a comma (example: Staff, students choose longer school day)
 Periods – they stop a reader. A headline is meant to pull people into the story quickly.
 Label leads (example: Girls soccer earns title – it’s the girls soccer page, obviously you aren’t
writing about the football team on this spread.)
HEADLINE TYPES:
Other types of headline styles include kickers, slammers and hammers.

 KICKER – A kicker headline has a word or phrase that labels the topic and leads into the main
headline. The items leading the reader in are usually smaller in font size and weight.

They’re back in the spotlight JELLY SHOES STEP INTO FASHION

WEEK
 HAMMER – A hammer headline is the opposite of a kicker. It uses a bold phrase or word to
catch the reader’s attention, the adds more information below.

JELLIN’ Twenty years after their debut, plastic shoes are fashionable again
 SLAMMER – A slammer headline uses a boldface word or phrase that leads the reader into a
contrasting main headline. There is usually a colon after the initial words.

JELLY SHOES: STEP INTO FASHION WORLD

Kevin Carter
Robert Capa
 “Napalm Girl” - Phan Thi Kim Phuc

Nick Ut
Annie Leibovitz