Are you intrigued by the tabloids at the local check out stands? News about Katie
Holmes and Tom Cruise holds grocery shoppers spellbound. So what is People®
magazine’s appeal? Is it the candid photos and short “sound byte” captions that capture
your imaginations and your dollars? You bet it is! How can you make your yearbook as
captivating as the grocery store grabbers? Do the caption shuffle.
Like People magazine, the captions in your yearbook should be small “bytes” that
attract attention. Intriguing facts that answer the 5W’s, combined with exceptional
photos, will move your reader into devouring the entire yearbook spread. Good captions
start with great writing habits: in depth interviewing, selecting informative facts and
rewriting the facts so that they link with the entire spread’s content.
Caption Every picture must have a caption.
Answer Captions should always answer the 5W’s. Who? What? Where? When? Why?
Posed The only posed photos in your yearbooks should be group photos.
Two or three sentences 1st Sentence: The first line should answer all of the 5W’s. 2nd
Sentence: This can be a fun fact, quote or background information that provides insight
about the event, the photo or the subject that would not be obvious.
Interivew To obtain real facts, interview the people in your photos.
Obvious Don’t state the obvious. Tell the reader more than what he can see in the
picture.
Never Never write joke captions. They are usually not funny, can be distasteful and may
cause hurt feelings as well as lawsuits.
Shuffle: Begin some captions with who, others with when and others with -ing verbs.
Question each candid photo
Who is in this photo? Find the first name, last name,
position, title or grade.
What is going on? Look for action words: disguising,
observing, extending, etc. Select colorful verbs and show
how they must be rewritten in the present tense. Coach
students on how to change “disguising” to disguise,
“observing” to observe, etc.
Where was this photo taken? Describe the exact
location.
When did this event occur? Note the day, month, time,
holiday or event.
Why was this photo taken? Did this photo have an
outcome: a win, a loss or an award?
Gather the Facts
Example from a Tom Cruise photo
Who: Tom Cruise, star of the new film, “War of the Worlds,” and Katie Homes, fiancée
What: Wave to the crowds
Where: Los Angeles, Kodak Theater
When: Monday, June 27, 2005
Why: Arrived for screening of new movie
Merge Facts into One Sentence by Using Transition Words
Practice merging the facts at left into one complete sentence. Explain that transition
words (in, at, during, after, while, because, after, eventually) must be used in front of
each fact.
Tom Cruise, star of the new film, “War of the Worlds,” and fiancée Katie Holmes wave
to 200 fans at the Los Angeles Kodak Theater June 27, before attending the first
screening of his newest movie.
Practice the Caption Shuffle
Most captions start with the Who fact. Re-shuffling the facts can create more captivating
captions. Practice moving the When card above the Who card and the Where card
above the Who, etc.
starting with When
Monday, June 27, Tom Cruise, star of the new film, “War of the Worlds,” and fiancée
Katie Holmes wave to 200 fans at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles before attending
the first screening of his newest movie.
starting with Where
At the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles June 27, Tom Cruise, star of the new film, “War of
the Worlds,” and fiancée Katie Holmes wave to 200 fans before the screening of his
newest movie.
starting with What
This caption often starts with a gerund (-ing verb) and then has present tense verb after
the subject.
Waving to over 200 fans, Tom Cruise, star of the new film, “War of the Worlds,” and
fiancée Katie Holmes react to the crowds at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles June 27,
before the first screening of his newest movie.
starting with Why
Before the screening of his newest movie, Tom Cruise, star of the new film, “War of the
Worlds,” and fiancée Katie Holmes wave to over 200 fans at the Kodak Theater in Los
Angeles June 27.
CAPTION STARTERS: Ways to Begin Captions
Trying to collect
To achieve this
Abandoned by
In honor of
Sweeping her off her feet
After finishing
With dinner time approaching
As the crowd
Caught in the spirit of
Taking time out
Carefully considering
As senior
While waiting for his
Trying to hide his
Upon learning to
Unable to
Behind the scenes
After the ceremony
To add a little fun
In anticipation
Wishing that
Looking for
While taking a breather
On her way home
During the parade
In the hope
Working on the
While enjoying the
To create the look
Accompanied by
Completing the
Before going out
Right in step with
In her spare time
With any effort
Searching for
While a junior
Amused with
Searching for
Tired of
After a long night
Discussing the
On her way to
After scoring the point
Acting as
Stopping to
In a desperate attempt
Total silence made
Heading back to
Trying to stay
Twisting into a
In order to win
Not pleased with
Instead of working
Toasting his class
Engulfed in her work
Rarely seen without a
Surrounded by
With crown in hand
Discussing the
Just before the
Frustrated after the
Reaching for
To secure her
To answer the question
Taking advantage of the
Before speaking
Despite his efforts
While throwing the
Caught chatting
Paying special attention to
To clarify the problem
To understand the situation
By working with
By watching the
Getting ready for the
Moving away from the
Seeing his best friend
Seeing the team win
While looking at the
With an effort to
Completing the task
Completing the pass
In an intense game
In an intense discussion
With victory so close
While scoring the final
Scooping it up
As the bus arrives
With the aid of
Stressed out over