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Captions 101
As you may know, you can add captions to your images in the photo capsule. We HIGHLY recommend using captions, even if you don't think anyone would notice or read them. However, trust us, we notice!
We're here to give you some tips and tricks if you've never used captions for your photos. First off, your captions should be descriptive, specific, and engaging.
Most importantly, captions should help readers understand the image! Additionally, Google also uses captions to explain images when readers are unable to see them (e.g., those who are visually impaired).
Five Things that Make a Good Caption
- Make it a short and sweet summary: One or even two sentences is a great length for a caption. Anything else defeats the purpose.
- Identify the main people in the photo: If the image is of a famous or important person, mention their name. If the image has historical significance, make sure you identify it.
- Don't overcomplicate it: Avoid using complex statements or wordy sentences. Leave those drawn-out explanations for your article!
- Make connections: Make sure your readers know why this image pertains to your article. Don't add images just for the sake of adding images.
- Describe something that isn't obvious: Include descriptive details of the photo that are not obvious, like the location, the time of day or year, or a specific event that is taking place.
Punctuation in Captions
- Our editors prefer our authors to use sentence-style capitalization in their captions. APA title case can look a bit shouty, particularly for longer captions.
- The caption should have the correct punctuation if it is a complete sentence.
- You don't need to use punctuation if the caption is a sentence fragment.
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