Creating clear, concise captions with style

An anti-government protestor, showers under water splashed from a broken water pipe, near the parliament building where he and others are camping, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Monday, Sept. 22, 2014. Anti-government demonstrators led by opposition politicians Khan and Muslim cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri converged on the capital in mid-August, demanding Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's ouster over alleged fraud in last year's election. Sharif told the parliament that protestors have damaged the image of Pakistan in the world and also caused huge economic losses in the country.   (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)

   

    The power of photography works hand in hand with print media, not only as a lure of prospective readers, but by allowing strong emotional connections to be formed between reader and content. The photo alone is almost never enough for this to happen, the context of the picture must be explained. 
    Sure, the article itself can contain enough contextual information to explain the image, but I doubt many news photos are interesting enough to warrant that level of involvement from the average reader. So by placing a caption under the photo we empower the photo to speak to the reader. 

   I love scanning through photographs in magazines like National Geographic and online news sites like Reddit, but after finding an interesting photo the first thing I do is read what's under it. 
    It's clear that the caption has always played an important role in the media industry, so it's not surprising there is a standard guide to styling the language of them. 

   The style used by most news organizations and journalist is published and updated by the Associated Press. The AP Stylebook is the go-to guide for any punctuation, grammar or spelling issues that might come up while writing captions.

   I found that most captions follow a three sentence template:

• The first sentence is in the present tense and covers information such as who, what, where, and when.
• The second sentence is in the past tense and covers any additional info.
• The third sentence, if used, adds more additional information, usually in the form of a quote from somebody in or relevant to the photo.

Photojournalism class talks law and ethics with guest speaker

 Mandi Wright discusses law and ethics. (photo by Sean Ferry)

   Detroit Free Press photojournalist Mandi Wright was at the scene of a crime, training a reporter to use video capture on an iPhone, when she was approached by a plain-clothes officer and detained. Her ordeal provided her with special insight into photojournalists' First Amendment rights and how easily they can be squandered.

   The First Amendment covers five basic rights: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.  
    As Americans these rights define the most basic principles our nation was founded upon. Even so, it is unfortunately common for these freedoms to slip from our minds. 
   The constitution and legal precedents guarantee the press the freedoms necessary to gather, investigate and report the news, so how do ethics play into this equation? 
   Photojournalists who follow ethical standards maintain the integrity of the news and give it authority in the public's eye. Standards include things like: asking permission to record a public interview, not posing or altering news photographs and covering all sides of a story regardless of personal bias. These count for just a few of the many important ethical standards that every honorable photojournalist keeps and respects. 

   Coming from a background of commercial photography where everything is posed, controlled and altered, I found this discussion both enlightening and surprising. I have developed a new respect for the First Amendment and what reporters and photojournalists face in the field.

My new blog as a student of photojournalism

   

    Welcome to my photo blog! 
   Although this blog has been started as a class project I hope it evolves into a forum for discussion, learning and inspiration for all things photography. 

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  I grew up in and around Toledo, Ohio and have been documenting my life since I got my first Polaroid I-zone camera. 

   Since I finished high school, I changed my college major five or six times, and never stopped loving photography.

   I confess I am a total geek when it comes to new photo tech and I'm biased towards Nikon gear. 
   I will graduate in the Spring 2015 and am looking for a job as a photographer in a commercial studio. I have truly enjoyed my time in the photo department at Owens and look forward to developing my documentary skills this semester in the photojournalism class, and as photo editor for the Owens Outlook. 

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