How to Write Good Captions in Photojournalism

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Photojournalism is an exciting take on journalism- instead of communicating with words, you use images. You know what the old saying is: "A picture is worth a thousand words." But words are involved- how can we use them best in writing captions? These steps can help you to be a good journalist.

Steps

1. Find the photo you are going to write the caption for. Look at it, and find the thoughts that you are trying to communicate via this picture. How is it relevant to the article or topic? Write this down (just quick notes, no need for complete sentences). For best results.
2. Using the main idea of the picture, write a simple sentence that sums up everything that is happening in it. If one sentence is not enough, use two. (Three is pushing it, so stay short.) For example, if your photograph were of a baby giraffe, you would write, "A giraffe calf with its mother."
3. Add to the sentence(s) where this is taking place. You can keep it short or be descriptive. To add to your giraffe sentence, you would write, "A giraffe calf with its mother at the crowded Zoo."
4. Add a little detail. Describe the main "character(s)" of the picture, or throw in an interesting fact or statistic that complements the topic. To your giraffe sentence, you would write, "A lanky newborn giraffe calf with its samson mother at the crowded Zoo."
5. What is happening in the picture? Throw in some action to spice things up. For example, your sentence would now be, "A lanky newborn giraffe calf stumbles around its enclosure with its mother at the crowded Zoo."
6. You're done! Polish off your sentence and fix any possible spelling or grammatical errors, and you're as good as gold. This is one prize-worthy sentence! 

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