How to Write Captions and Why they are Important

It is important to write captions because they provide context for a picture and give the reader a who, what, when, where, and why. Captions can go even deeper within the picture by saying how what's happening is happening and leaving the reader with a quote.

When writing captions they can either be Basic or Expanded.

     Basic captions tell…

     - Who (Up to five people with their first ad last names)

     - What 

     - Where 

     - When

     Basic Captions have…

     - An Action Lead-In

     - Basic Information

Basic Captions need to be in PRESENT TENSE and ONE sentence long.

Here is an example:

Smiling for the picture is 3-year-old Jasmine Calixte, Kiera Calixte’s dog who is always bringing her joy is sitting patiently while Kiera takes her picture in their backyard to start the year 2022.

Expanded captions dig deeper and expand coverage by writing more.

    Expanded Captions include…

    - Complimentary Information (How)

    - A Quote

Expanded Captions are written in PAST TENSE and you are adding two sentences to a basic caption (a How and a quote)

 Here is an example:

Snapping a picture to capture the moment, Kiera Calixte, Vegas Burnett, and Jordanna Eaves are showing their school spirit at school by participating in nerd day for Plantation High Schools rivalry week for November. They pulled out their suspenders, bow ties, and glasses to pull it all together. “Today was so fun and our outfits looked so good," Jordanna said.