how to write good captions in photojournalism

8/12/2019 How to Write Good Captions in Photojournalism

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Pho to journal ismis an exciting take on

journalism- instead of communicating with

words, you use images. You know what the

old saying is: "A picture is worth a thousandwords."But words areinvolved- how can we

use them best in writing captions? These

steps can help you to be a good journalist.


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Photojournalism goes beyond conveying a mood, it

inspires people to act.


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Example:

Javeed Khan, 13, holds his weapon as he poses for a photo at the headquarters of a Lashkar

to fight against Taliban militants in their area, in Sultanwas village, district, Pakistan


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21-year-old Ajmal Kasab, one of

ten terrorists who attacked

Mumbai, India on November

26th, 2008 walks through theChatrapathi Sivaji Terminal

railway station, carrying

weapons and duffel bags ofammunition.

(AP Photo/Mumbai Mirror,

Sebastian D'souza)


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A look at life in the

country . Pakistani

men pray next to abullet-ridden vehicle

parked in the

compound of radical

Lal Masjid or Red

mosque as the chief

cleric Maulana AbdulAziz, not seen, talks to

his supporters during

Friday prayers, in

Islamabad, Pakistan,April 17, 2009.


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Bangladeshi woman wades

through flood waters with some

of her belongings from her

damaged house.


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A displaced Pakistani girl looks

out from her tent in Shah

Mansour refugee camp, in

northwest Pakistan,Tuesday,

June 9, 2009.


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Afghan youth Asad Ullah, 10,

talks with Private First Class

U.S. soldier, Ryan Hayes, from

the 2-1 Infantry, 5th. StrykerBrigades, as he guards a

position in a village in the

outskirts of Spin Boldak, about

100 kilometers (63 miles)

southeast of Kandahar,

Afghanistan, Thursday, Aug. 6,2009.


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a

photojournalist

In photojournalism, photojournalists are given unprecedented power and

indisputable information about the world in which we all live


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Role of a Photojournalist

photojournalists have to risk theirlives to bring news back so thatpeople can be kept informed.

To give information regardingevents that have transpired in theworld.

Offer a glimpse of different people,what they do, places and otherthings through the images.

Makes more aware of the societyand its status.


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Responsibility of a

Photojournalist

Photojournalists have the

responsibility of bringing in

photographs that are objective.

Should not manipulate with the

images and follow the ethics.


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Isnt everything

were looking at

real?


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Isnt everything

were looking at

real? What about the

angle, or things that

were edited out?


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Isnt everythingwere looking atreal?

What about theangle, or things thatwere edited out?

Is this any differentfrom what printjournalists do?


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In 1994, Time

magazine published

this photo on thecover


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In 1994, Time

magazine published

this photo on thecover

Except that it didnt

look like this photo


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code of ethics

It is the individual responsibility of every photojournalist at all times to strive

for pictures that report truthfully, honestly and objectively.

In documentary photojournalism, it is wrong to alter the content of a

photograph in any way (electronically or in the darkroom) that deceives the

public.


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Steps:

Find the photo you are going towrite the caption for. Look at it,

and find the thoughts that you are

trying to communicate via thispicture. How is it relevant to the

article or topic? Write this down (just

quick notes, no need for completesentences). For best results.


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Using the main idea of thepicture, write a simple sentence

that sums up everything that is

happening in it.If one sentence isnot enough, use two. (Three is

pushing it, so stay short.) For

example, if your photograph wereof a baby giraffe, you would write,

"A giraffe calf with its mother."


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Add a little detail. Describe the

main "character(s)" of the picture,

or throw in an interesting fact orstatistic that complements the

topic. To your giraffe sentence, you

would write, "A lanky newborngiraffe calf with its samson mother

at the crowded Zoo."


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What is happening in the picture?

Throw in some action to spice things

up. For example, your sentencewould now be, "A lanky newborn

giraffe calf stumbles around its

enclosure with its mother at thecrowded Zoo."


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You're done! Polish off your

sentence and fix any possible

spelling or grammatical errors, andyou're as good as gold. This is one

prize-worthy sentence!


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SAMPLE ACTIVITY: Write a caption for each picture

below.

how to write good captions in photojournalism

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