Handout on Captions and Cutlines

RH104 Summer 2019 Team F 

Prof. Byttebier 

 

Handout on Captions and Cutlines 

 

Did you know?  

Photo captions and cutlines are the most read body type in a publication. Of all the news content, only the titles of stories or headlines have higher readership than captions. It follows that standards of accuracy, clarity, completeness and good writing are as high for captions and cutlines than for other type. As with headlines, captions and cutlines must be crisp. As with stories, they must be readable and informative.  

 

Note: 

Captions and cutlines are terms that are often used interchangeably, particularly at magazines. However, they are technically not the same. Their technical distinction is as follows:  

 

Captions: Captions are the short (usually one-line) “headlines” / titles / explanations for the photo appearing over/above the “cutlines.”   

 

Cutlines: Cutlines (at newspapers and some magazines) are the words (under the caption, if  

  there is one) describing the photograph or illustration.  

 

Example from a straightforward news story covering a concert: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo essay captions: 

Photographs that do not accompany stories, but are the story themselves, often are termed “wild art.”  The cutlines for wild art should provide the same basic information that a story does. Such things as the “five W’s” (who, what, when, where and why) are good to remember when writing such cutlines. Many cutlines for wild art also have a caption line (overline), but this is not a must. You have considerable freedom in deciding how to structure the information you provide and how much information you provide (see below for templates and links to sites with more examples). The trick is not to over-explain, but neither to under-explain. Since you are creating a story, you want the reader to have the necessary information to understand what is shown, but you also don’t want your captions to tell the story independently of your pictures. Your pictures themselves should do the heavy lifting in terms of leading the reader along.  

 

Tips: 

  1. Think of a caption as adding value to your picture in helping a viewer understand the context of a picture. In other words, the caption can help to understand the circumstances under which the photograph has been created, and can describe some of the things not visible in the photograph. Therefore, the caption shouldn’t just repeat what is already shown but give some background. 
  1. The cutline writer should avoid characterizing a picture as beautiful, dramatic, grisly or other such descriptive and evaluative terms that should be evident in the photograph. If it’s not evident in the photograph, your telling the reader won’t make it happen.  
  1. On a similar note: Do not editorialize or make assumptions about what someone in a picture is thinking: “an unhappy voter…” or “A fortunate survivor…” The reader should be given the facts and allowed to decide for herself or himself what the feelings or emotions are. 
  1. Contrary what points a. and b. might make you think, present only relevant information, and leave out extraneous words. Concision is a rule for caption writing as much as regular prose writing. Only include text that enhances your message. If the caption is as deep as the photo, it’s too long. Keep captions to a couple of lines, and avoid using empty phrases, expletives and other convoluted phrases. 
  1. Choose the absolutely right words. Of course, this is always important, but it’s especially important when you don’t want to use a lot of words. Use strong nouns and verbs and go easy on the adjectives and adverbs. 
  1. Avoid trite language. Do not use verbs or verb phrases such as “looks on” or “poses” “or “is pictured above” in writing captions. They are obvious and boring. 

 

Templates: 

*Note: you may use any of these below “formulas.” Consistency is a good rule, but feel free to change to another model in the middle of your essay if the content requires it (e.g. a picture that doesn’t need much in terms of description might use model 4, while another one might rely on model 3, since it’s not self-explanatory).  

 

  1. Location and date. Description/cutline. 
  1. Description/cutline only, with reference to location. 
  1. Caption. Description/cutline with reference to location. Date mentioned after. 
  1. Caption only. Location and date. 
  1. Description/cutline. Date and location after. 

Websites for examples: 

Magnumphotos | Instagram | Website 

Lensculture | Instagram | Website 

NOOR | Instagram | Website 

The World Press Photo Foundation ❘ Website