How to Make a Caption for a Personal Photo/Video
What to Include:
- Who took the photo
- A description of the photo
- The date it was taken
- Where you got it from (Facebook, your personal collection, etc)
Description Tips:
- Include relevant information like where it was taken, the event taking place, and who is in the photo.
- Use present tense.
- Be specific: if identifying a person or thing in a group photo, indicate where in the frame it is; in a video, indicate the timestamp.
- Don't get too fancy! The caption is to help the reader better understand the context and origin of the photo/video.
Always make sure you get the permission of the people in the photo if their face is showing, or their guardians if they are minors!
Examples
Two example photo captions.
Fig. 1. Chris Garofalo, Photo of staff at Oxford College Library in front of library entrance including Dean Kitty McNeill (center), in spring 2019. Oxford College Library Instagram.
Fig. 2. Paige Crowl, Photo of a piece of spinach that appears to be smiling, in a spinach salad purchased from Highland Bakery at Emory University in Atlanta, 2017. Personal collection.