Complementing a thousand words

Goat butts in: A goat interrupts a meeting between Laventille West MP Ni Leung Hypolite (second from left), chairman of the National Self-Help Commission Limited Krishna Rajkumar (left) and St Barb's resident Monica Roberts, as they stand in front of Roberts' collapsed house in St Barb's, Laventille yesterday.
(2008-05-28) Author: ROGER JACOB


Captions initially appear to be a minor part of a reporter's duties, but writing great captions often presents quite a challenge to even the most seasoned veterans. A well-captioned picture is a story in itself, and allows reporters (and photographers) to write a 1000+ word piece in a few minutes.

Most of you got some valuable practice in caption-writing this evening. Read through these guides for some more tips on perfecting your caption-writing.

Hot tips for writing photo captions at Poynter.

10 tips for better cutlines at No Train No Gain.

Mindy McAdams takes an interesting look at when captions get it wrong.

Finally, Newsday's photo galleries have tons of examples.

You'll be putting these skills to use sooner than you think.