The caption of a photo can either enhance or spoil it. Below, we will:
Photo captions are a great way to entice your audience and oftentimes work better than a lengthy description. You want your text to:
(1) Successfully complement the picture;
(2) Reveals its meaning or the action taking place;
(3) Allows the viewer to learn something new;
(4) Lures and evokes the despite to read the whole piece;
(5) Evoke emotions.
Read on to find out what can be added to this list depending on the purpose of the caption.
Now that we have covered the importance of what a good photo caption encompasses, it is noted that captions are used practically everywhere! Captions are used for social media, photojournalism, art exhibits, and many other purposes. For example: a Facebook photo caption might differ from the description of the picture in books for photographers. That said, in both cases, it can be the same image. Thus, the description is more influenced not by the content of the visual but rather by the context.
Among the tips on what to write in a photo description are often facts: names, dates, and places. Suppose you are publishing an image on a digital platform, many of the points stated above can be worded differently to establish a more powerful message. Then many of these points can be stated differently:
It is more complicated with dates because they are put under the post by default. But if you took the photo much earlier, you can mention it in the description – if it makes a difference.
Text is the most powerful tool of engagement. Be sure to write the caption as if you were addressing someone specific. Mention things that interest your audience, make jokes, and ask questions. All of this will lead to comments and feedback.
To put it simply, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a set of strategies that helps people find you online. If you’re coming up with a caption to publish offline, this step is useless for you. But online descriptions need SEO. This is especially true for those with commercial goals, and publishing images is part of content marketing. The most useful platform to implement this strategy is Pinterest. Marketing on Pinterest is extensive, but in this article, we will only touch on recommendations for SEO:
Although quotes are one of the most popular photo description ideas, they work very poorly. First, people choose either famous quotes that don’t let you stand out or unknown lines that no one knows. Second, very rarely does the quote match the image.
On many digital platforms, links can be very lengthy and even cut off. Therefore your audience does not even see the link or the message and becomes more so useless than effective. More importantly, does not resonate with any of the earlier points listed.
Hashtags, as an addition to the photo caption, are a great promotional tool. But visually, they do not look very nice. So it is not recommended to use them as a basis for the entire description. There are even methods for combining hashtags and text. For example, on Instagram, they often
(1) Publish the description first
(2) Put a few jumps on the paragraph
(3) And only then write the hashtags
Therefore hashtags are a great way to increase awareness towards your post, yet should not be the whole photo caption. For instance, you can add hashtags to the comment section of your photo as a promotional tool if you do not want the distraction in the caption itself.
Now that you have made it to the end of the article, you have gained all the tips and tricks to write a compelling caption geared towards your photo depending on what platform it is being displayed on. Overall, you want to ensure that your captions incorporate the points above while being mindful of what not to do, such as displaying solely quotes, links or hashtags.
Written by Nancy Howard