Caption Writing: 5 Ws and H

Overview: An essential skill for photographers is the writing of informative, accurate and attractive captions to enhance the photos they publish. A photo might tell a thousand words, but the exact words needed to explain a specific story might not be easy to tell by simply looking at a photo. Captions provide the necessary background information needed to tell a story.

Directions: Before you begin to write a caption, a photographer must gather some essential facts needed to completely tell the story. Read the steps below to help you gather this information.

Step 1: Go to http://edition.cnn.com/2013/09/01/us/the-flag-iconic-images/index.html?on.cnn=1

Step 2: Create a new blog post titled "Caption Writing: 5 Ws and H."

Step 3: TURN OFF the caption feature on the CNN Website. Select FIVE PHOTOS that you find striking. Answer the following questions for each of the five photos:

• 1. Who (Make up a first and last name) for everyone who is obviously meant as the subject of the photo. If there are more than three people that are subjects, all names are not necessary. Use a group name instead.
• 2. What (Think of a verb that could be used to describe the action that the subjects are doing in the photo. Use PRESENT TENSE action verbs. This means your verbs should usually end in "s" like "runs," "jumps," "prays." That also means to avoid passive verbs like "is" and "gets."
• 2. When (Think of a day of the week or even a time of the day) the photo was taken. If the event happened in the last week use actual days of the week like Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. Don't use non-specific days like today or yesterday. If the event happened more than a week ago use the exact date like Sept. 3).
• 3. Where (Think of an exact place the event happened. This should be very specific. For example, the intersection of First Street and Slaughter Lane or on at Auditorium Shores Park in downtown Austin.
• 4. Why (Think of a reason the action is taking place. Again, be specific. Make up a cause for the action taking place.)
• 5. How (Think of a descriptive term that explains how the action is taking place. This could be an adverb such as "slowly" or "hurriedly." Or it could be the exact height of a jump or the yardage earned in a running back's run down the football field.