Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurating the first Indian Art, Architecture & Design Biennale 2023 at Red Fort in New Delhi on December 8. PIB Photo
A caption describes the action taking place in a photograph. It is built around four Ws, and describes who is doing what and where. It also tells you when the action took place.
The fifth W, which comes from how, does not come into play in all pictures. It is used in only those photographs where the caption writer wants to explain how the event occurred.
A caption, which is known as the cutline in the US, is considered complete and informative only if it provides the following information:
# Who – Identifies the people in the photograph
No caption is complete unless it identifies the individuals who people the photograph. Not only this, the identification must be complete. It is not enough to say that Narendra Modi is meeting Joe Biden. You must identify the personalities by their designation or profession. Thus,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets US President Joe Biden.
Bollywoood actor Shahrukh Khan at the premiere of his new film Jawaan.
# What – Describes the action
The caption must describe what is happening in the photograph. This means you must use appropriate verbs to write the caption.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi sips tea with farmers in Greater Noida.
# Where and When – Anchors the photograph
The caption must describe the place where an event occurred. It should also give the day or date depending upon the policy of a newspaper.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi talks to flood affected people in Barmer district on Monday.
The caption would be incomplete without this description.
# Places the individuals
It is not enough to identify the individual by name and designation but also to let the reader identify them. This is especially important if there are two or more than two people who make a photograph.
You can do this in the following three ways:
By position:
Home Minister Amit Shah (extreme left) visits the victims of a family in Mumbai.
By order:
(From Left to right): Indian cricketers Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Yuvaraj Singh and Mohd Kaif at the award ceremony.
By dress:
Film star Katrina Kaif (with scarf round her neck) surrounded by fans.
# Provides background
Sometimes, a caption requires giving the background. For instance, a photograph of cracked earth would be incomplete if the caption writer does not explain that the photograph shows a field in Andhra Pradesh where there has been no rain for three seasons.
# Credit line
The caption must indicate which agency or photographer took the photograph. The credit line comes at the end of the caption.
The credit line can be the name of the organisation:
AP Photo, PTI photo, Indian Express photo
The credit line can also name the photographer especially when the photograph is exclusive.
Express photo by Praveen Jain
Read: Elements of a newspaper