[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-174779-105":3,"doc-detail-174779-en":81,"detail-sidebar-cat-1-en-105":97},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","rules-for-writing-photo-captions","Rules for Writing Photo Captions","","Guidelines for crafting effective photo captions for print and online contexts, including how captions are structured in three sentences and how tense and story detail should be handled. The handout distinguishes multiple caption types such as identification, summary, expanded, and quote captions, with specific do’s and don’ts. It also covers yearbook variations, optional short headlines, and prompts to evaluate sample captions before writing. Practice sections provide templates using Who/What/Where/Why/When and examples for expanded and newspaper captions.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/","Template",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/forms/","Forms",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/rules-for-writing-photo-captions/174779/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/rules-for-writing-photo-captions/174779.png","ImageObject",442,249,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Jacob","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document","2026-10-23","2026-09-02",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",13,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What are the three parts of a photo caption and how should each part be written?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"The first sentence describes what is happening in present tense and answers the 5 Ws. The second sentence often uses past tense to add background and story detail. The third sentence includes a quote from a witness or someone involved.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"How do expanded and quote captions differ from summary captions?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"Summary captions generally follow guidelines labeled “A,” while expanded captions follow “A” and “B.” Quote captions follow “A,” “B,” and an additional quote-focused guideline “C,” adding direct speech from someone involved.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"What should you avoid when writing captions for newspapers or yearbooks?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"Avoid stating the obvious, writing question captions, or using the word “pictured.” Also ensure identification is complete when possible and use first name, last name, and relevant school-year details unless the group is very large.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},174779,1790960279,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",{"doc_id":79,"user_id":84,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":85,"doc_module":22,"category_id":86,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":87,"file_id":88,"file_url":89,"file_type":90,"file_size":91,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":30,"language":92,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":93,"faqs":94,"seo_title":95,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":96,"read_time":22},962084931830,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_a8503ba1806abce46bf441b54a3ca4cd",17,"Rules for Writing Photo Captions\nA caption is the block of text that accompanies a photo in a print or online form.\nThere are three parts of a caption:\nIn the first sentence, explain what is happening in the photo in present tense. Answer the 5 Ws.\nThe second sentence is often past tense and gives background information about the photo or the situation. The focus should be on giving interesting information to readers and telling a story.\nThe third sentence should give a quote from a witness or someone who was involved in the activity.\nMost newspapers follow guidelines “a” and “b”\nOnline captions will sometimes mimic newspapers but often be shorter (“a” only)\nWhen it comes to yearbook, many different types of captions exist.\nIdentification captions only list the names of the individuals in the photo\nSummary captions generally follow guideline “A”\nExpanded captions follow guidelines “A” and “B”\nQuote captions follow guidelines “A,” “B” and “C”\nOther tips:\nDO identify everyone fully by first name, last name, year in school, or some other identifying information (unless the group is very large)\nDO NOT state the obvious\nDO NOT write question captions or use the word “pictured.”\nSome newspapers and yearbooks also headline their photos with a 1-3 word headline prior to the caption.\nEvaluate these sample captions.  What do you like?  What can be improved?  Is there a venue (newspaper, yearbook, etc?) in which the captions work well?\nUse the information below to write a traditional three-sentence yearbook caption.\nNote: The sample information is not necessarily “correct” in this case, but it is generally the photographer’s job to collect information to facilitate writing captions.\nWho: Hayes High School’s winter guard\nWhat: practice\nWhere: auxiliary gymnasium at Hayes\nWhy: to prepare for upcoming competition\u000bWhen: Tuesday, November 19\nWrite an expanded yearbook caption with quote:\nWho: voters in Ventura County\nWhat: watch the television monitor\nWhere: Ventura County Government Center\nWhy: to see results as they get tabulated\u000bWhen: November 6 (election night)\nWrite a newspaper caption:\n(Photos by: Bushra Ghafoor - R.B. Hayes High School; Aysen Tan - Foothill Dragon Press)","cbCaihT9oqoUi6re","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaihT9oqoUi6re","docx",1463793,"English","# Rules for Writing Photo Captions\n## Caption structure and tense\n## Caption types and guidelines\n## Yearbook caption examples","[{\"question\":\"What are the three parts of a photo caption and how should each part be written?\",\"answer\":\"The first sentence describes what is happening in present tense and answers the 5 Ws. The second sentence often uses past tense to add background and story detail. The third sentence includes a quote from a witness or someone involved.\"},{\"question\":\"How do expanded and quote captions differ from summary captions?\",\"answer\":\"Summary captions generally follow guidelines labeled “A,” while expanded captions follow “A” and “B.” Quote captions follow “A,” “B,” and an additional quote-focused guideline “C,” adding direct speech from someone involved.\"},{\"question\":\"What should you avoid when writing captions for newspapers or yearbooks?\",\"answer\":\"Avoid stating the obvious, writing question captions, or using the word “pictured.” Also ensure identification is complete when possible and use first name, last name, and relevant school-year details unless the group is very large.\"}]","Rules for Writing Photo Captions | DOCX",1788316462,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":98},[99,104,109,114,119,124,127,132,137],{"id":100,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":101,"show_sort_weight":102,"slug":103},11,"Presentations",90,"presentations",{"id":105,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":106,"show_sort_weight":107,"slug":108},12,"Resumes",80,"resumes",{"id":110,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":111,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},14,"Invoices",70,"invoices",{"id":115,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},15,"Posters",60,"posters",{"id":120,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":121,"show_sort_weight":122,"slug":123},16,"Social Media",50,"social-media",{"id":86,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":125,"slug":126},40,"forms",{"id":128,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":129,"show_sort_weight":130,"slug":131},18,"Letters",30,"letters",{"id":133,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":134,"show_sort_weight":135,"slug":136},21,"Paper Templates",5,"papers-templates",{"id":138,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":139,"show_sort_weight":4,"slug":140},158,"General","general-158"]