In class assignment - Captions

The photo caption serves to further explain the photo.  A photo that is "stand alone" and needs no explanation is very rare.  Photo captions should be:

• Short.  One or two short sentences will suffice.
• Present tense or Past tense.  Do not mix tenses.
• Attention getting.  The use of action verbs helps with this. 
• Explanatory.  What, Who, When, Where, Why, and maybe How
• What - Explain clearly and grab the reader's attention.
• Who - Every recognizable person in the photo should be listed with his/her full name.  Very important for well-known people.  You may use terms like "from left to right" or "wearing the tie" to distinguish individuals in a photo.
• When/Where - If the time or the place is significant, then lead with that.  If not, it usually goes at the end.  Use "Friday July 5, 2013" instead of "yesterday."
• Why - Explanations are only necessary if the reason is significant, such as "because of the transit strike, the highways were jammed."
• How - Rarely necessary.  Use to explain special photo techniques, such as forced perspective, time lapse, or photo illustrations were used that may mislead the viewer.

Photo captions should avoid:

• Flowery adjectives and adverbs.
• The term "pictured above."
• The obvious, such as "firefighter fighting a blaze."

 AP Photo Caption Guidelines:

• The first sentence of the caption describes what the photo shows, in the present tense, and states where and when the photo was made. 
• The second sentence of the caption gives background on the news event or describes why the photo is significant.

 Whenever possible, try to keep captions to no more than two concise sentences, while including the relevant information. Try to anticipate what information a newspaper editor or reader will need.

Example:

The Mississippi River flows through a hole in the Sandy Island, Ill., levee, flooding farmland and homes 10 miles south of Quincy, Ill., Sunday, July 25, 1993. About 2,000 people were evacuated from the 44,000 acres that flooded. (AP Photo/Bill Waugh)

In Class Assignment. 

Write photo captions for 10 different photos.  You may use any of your own photos, or may use photos found on the internet (making up the facts, but writing the captions correctly).  Place the photos in a collection in your Lightroom catalog marked "Captions."

-All photos submitted from now on will need to be captioned.