Describe details of the photo that may not be obvious to your audience.
Provide the reader with specific information about time, place, or featured individuals.
| Photo | Caption |
| People skiing down a hill | Winter tourists ski down Mount St. Moritz, Switzerland. |
| A girl training her dog | 5-year-old Rachel teaches her lab-mix Rocky to shake hands, April 1987. |
Simplify captions in subsequent photos.
If consecutive photos feature the same person, place, or event, you don’t have to repeat this information for each caption.
| Photo | Caption |
| Series that captures a day in the life of a coal miner | 1. Mine foreman Robert Jenkins eats breakfast with his wife Marie in their West Virginia home. |
| 2. Robert kisses his 10-year-old daughter Stephanie goodbye. | |
| 3. Stephanie and Marie wave as Robert heads off to work. |
Identify the main people within the photo.
Include the names of people if you know them. If you do not know their names, provide a description of who they are or where they are.
| Photo | Caption |
| Theodore Roosevelt as a schoolchild. | Students pose for their annual class picture in 1871. The young Teddy Roosevelt stands in the first row, second from the right. |
| Large group singing Christmas carols. | Carolers sing “Silent Night” outside the Smallville mayor’s front door. |
Include citations at the end of your caption.
Include the photographer’s name, the date the photo was taken, and any other information that says who the photo belongs to. If the photo has been altered in any way, mention this in your caption as well. Present the citation information in a consistent format (in parenthesis, italicized, or smaller than the caption itself).
| Photo type | Citation |
| Historical photo | Steven Smith 1914. New York Historical Society. |
| Unknown photographer | Photographer unknown 2012. |
| Altered photo | Jennifer Lewis 2018. Time-lapse. |
Righter 