In my newspaper days, incorrect or poorly written captions caused more problems, and required more corrections, than any other part of the newspaper.
If you can learn how to write great captions for photos you submit to the media, you will increase the chances of an accurate caption that doesn’t require a correction the following day.
A few quick pointers on captions:
—Write in the present tense. Example: “Second-grader Timmy Smith swings at the T-ball while his classmate, Brady Turner, waits his turn.”
—Identify people in the photo from left to right.
—Make sure all names are spelled correctly.
—Don’t use “looks on” or “smiles” or other phony verbs that say the person is doing one thing when all they’re really doing is posing.
—Don’t use the verb “poses” or “is posing.”
Follow the guidelines and see several examples in The Associated Press Stylebook which has an entire section on how to write photo captions.
