Photography Tips Series: Tip #2- Captioning

• Hey everyone!

• Captioning photos can really add emotion to your photo. It can also help control how you want the viewer to be impacted when they look at your picture. Take your time when you are thinking of captions. ask yourself these questions:

This caption is more of a fun one. This photo also
calls for a caption, for standing alone it would
be nothing. I took this picture specifically for
a caption. You can do that too.

• What is the initial feeling I get when I look at my photo?
• How do I want my viewers to feel and react?
• Is anything I'm saying offensive?

These are just a few of the questions you can ask yourself. Here are some of my photos that I have added a frame and a caption to. Captions can take pictures to a whole different level. It can change the idea of a picture entirely or go along with it and enhance it. 

This is a more random photo. The caption
doesn't necessarily have to go hand in hand
with the photo. 

Maybe we should start with the dictionary definition of caption. a title or explanation for a picture or illustration
I really like this definition. It's clear and to the point and is all you need to know! You are helping the viewer understand your photo. However, in magazines when there are pictures, its telling you whats in the picture. When you want a caption like the ones you see below and above, you don't want to tell whats in the picture, you want to portray the emotion that's in the picture. (please read all captions of photos for further tips)

This photo where without the caption, it would just be a pretty picture. The caption
helps you notice, "oh yes, there are fallen leaves on the ground and color is fading.
Summer must be over and winter is coming." 

Which emotion does this trigger? For me, its excitement, like I have
ants in my pants so to speak. However, since these captions are seasonal,
meaning that it would be a little different to read this in the middle of summer,
It requires the right time to be at its peak of interest.

This pictures shows a close-up of warm colored berries.
This just screams at me "summer!" When you are
reading this caption in the bitter cold winter, this just
builds the anticipation for a warm summer!

With this picture to the left, It as well as the first picture, kind of requires a caption in a way. Standing alone, it really has no meaning, and is just a picture of grass. But somehow the caption warms up the picture. It seems like you can feel a warm breeze and you can see the grass moving. It just so fun to play with captions! I hope you enjoy doing!