The ruins of the Library of Celsus in Ephesus, Turkey, dates from 117 A.D.
Find Your Writing Niche: Captions, The Lifeblood of Pictures
A picture is worth a 1,000 words, but the purpose of the caption is to clarify the scene. I try to make the caption as short as possible, which can be a challenge.
Things to remember when writing captions:
1) Include names of people in the picture and spell them correctly. Mary Ann, Mary Anne, Merrianne,
Mariann. Smith, Smithe, Smyth, Smythe. You get the idea.
2) Don’t write the obvious. If someone is accepting a plaque, it’s not necessary to say “Sally Smith is
accepting a plaque.” Options are to state instead a unique phrase or comment Sally made when she
accepted “the award for most volunteer hours” or where Sally will display the plaque.
3) Include pertinent information: title of the people in the picture, purpose of the picture.
4) Give the date the picture was taken if it’s a flashback to a previous time, e.g., a picture from a
war, a couple’s anniversary.
5) An upcoming event should include time, date, contact information.
Write the caption so people are curious and want to learn more.
