Captions are the most read copy in the yearbook. Like body copy, they should be well researched, interesting, informative and follow the journalism rules for grammar.

At a minimum, captions should identify the people pictured in the photos. If there are less than five people, identify everyone. Otherwise, identify the main people in the photo.

• Research what is happening in the photo
• Begin with strong, descriptive nouns and verbs (avoid starting captions with people’s names)
• Use full names to identify the people pictured
• Write concisely
• Use active voice
• Don’t make up information or use joke captions

Captions are often comprised of at least two statements, each with its own purpose.

• The first sentence should answer the five Ws and H (who, what, where, when, why and how). Write this part of the caption in the present tense.
• The second statement might include what happened before or after the photo was taken, or some detail the reader wouldn’t know by looking at the photo. This sentence is usually written in the past tense.

Quotes are a good way to bring color and depth to a caption. Look at the two examples below. It is easy to see why a direct quote adds impact to a caption.

1. Tisha is thinking about how she will do on the final exam.
2. “My stomach was doing somersaults before the test. Once I started answering questions, I just got into the zone and did the best I could,” said junior Tisha Hall.

• Place captions directly above, below or beside the photo.
• Captions throughout the book should be the same size and font. The caption font is usually smaller than the body copy. For example, if the body copy is 10 point Times, the caption copy should be 8 point Times.
• Create a caption design for each section.