Captioning Display Photos of an Individual or Event

By Jane Abao

 

Placing captions on photos and arranging them well is art as well as science. There are reasons why we do things this way or that. There are principles involved that come mostly from writing and lay-out. Granted that you have quality photos, your next step is to caption them. Mind your sequence well and let the photos tell a story. Here are some rules to consider.

1. If you have several photos about one event, place them in one album and title it appropriately, mentioning the main character or group involved in the event.

2. Find a way to escape from having to repeat the same words again and again in the captions. If you keep repeating the name, your marketing pitch become very obvious, and comes off flat and forced to the readers. Remember that anything you post or write seeks to persuade your readers. In persuading, what you do is considered your character and is called ethos. In local parlance, it is called your "dating" (pronounced datt- ing). It is how you come off to the reader. Hence, you can put off interest in your work by careless repetitions. Audience or reader response to you is called pathos. If you have been sensitive to their needs, then your pathos rating is good.

3. The same rule applies with having the name in the title and in the caption. Do not repeat. In print publications, the title comes ahead and is really part of the caption, so there is no need for repetitions. In fact, there is no need for titles because captions are normally short.

4. If there is an activity that is to be repeated like singing the songs of a composer, provide that early in the first captions to alert the readers what is coming. That will now allow you to escape from having to repeat things.

5. Do not mention anyone who is not concerned in the caption; it is unfair. For example, mentioning Asia’s songbird Regine Velazquez with Shanne Velasco right out. Making them of the same level is one of opinion. (Yours!)  But if you have to mention that Velasco sings like Velasquez, place it at the END part of the caption and say Shanne comes off  to the public with a voice like that of Regine Velasquez, Asia’s Songbird. It should not be your judgment but that of the public that is fair to post.

6. Check that readers know what you are talking about. What film is that? You might have mentioned what film in the earlier captions but it is too far away from the photo you are describing. Do the readers know? It is best to assume readers do not know, so you supply the information.

7. If the succeeding caption explains part of the earlier photo, then place only one caption. That means your two photos can be placed side by side or laid out together. Then you can say, “Above photo.... or “Below....” Or ‘Left: (Caption). Right: (Caption).” 

8. If you are using a template, know that templates are for beginners only. You should advance from leaning on templates after you have been practiced sometime in providing captions. Learn to arrange your photos and captions with a good lay-out. Templates are boring and do not encourage creativity in arranging photos. They provide the tombstone effect. If you have seen cemeteries with tombstones arranged well, that is the exact view of photos on templates.

9. Identify people. Names are very important. It is unfair to be placing photos of people without proper identity. Who is that UNTV’s Jazz Princess? People will think her first name is Jazz and her surname is Princess. Provide identity as people will be short-changed.

Photo on horse: They look disordered, but their arrangement allows the eyes to relax and view them from different distances. The center of focus is the white horse. If it stayed at one corner, there would be no balance.