Captioning Basics

Contents

The ABC's of Captioning.

To write an effective caption, keep the following tenets in mind: accuracy, brevity and clarity.

  1. Accuracy. Ensure every piece of information within the caption is accurate and complete. This also includes ensuring the captions are grammatically and stylistically accurate, adhering to the guidance contained in this guide. An accurate caption helps ensure an image is newsworthy, is of historical value, and can be more easily retrieved from databases.
  2. Brevity. When writing a caption, be certain every word is necessary to tell the story of the image. Many captions must convey a great deal of information in a few short sentences, so they must be written concisely to maximize their effectiveness. Do not use 15 words where five will do.
  3. Clarity. To be understood by the end user, a caption must be clear in both intent and expression. Select language to make certain the reader will understand what is happening in the image. Remember that the audience for DoD imagery is global. Construct captions that can be understood by a nonmilitary reader.

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The 5 W's.

When gathering information to include in a caption, keep in mind the 5 W's: who, what, when, where and why. All questions must be answered to accurately communicate the story of a still image or video clip.

  1. Who. Who or what is the subject of the image?
    1. If the subject of a sentence is a person or persons, provide the rank, first and last name, title and military unit for each person.

      List units from smallest to largest (e.g., U.S. Marines from Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division).

      When identifying Service members, include the Service to which he or she belongs. This is not necessary when Service members are not individually identified.
      • U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. John Brown inspects an aircraft.
      • U.S. Airmen prepare for an operational readiness inspection.
      People appearing in the background need not be identified unless they are essential to the story of the image.

      Do not include the names of minor dependents of military members.

      Do not include the names of American citizens, to include Service members, receiving medical treatment without the express written consent of the patient.
    2. If the subject of the sentence is an object, provide the equipment name and model, name and ship hull number, or name and model of the aircraft or vehicle. Include both the name of the object (e.g., C-5 Galaxy) as well as what kind of object it is (e.g., aircraft). For example:
      • A C-5 Galaxy aircraft taxis down the runway.
      • The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) gets under way.
        Note: Do not include a hyphen between the letters and numbers in the hull number.
    3. To find the proper way to list a particular vehicle, weapon system or aircraft, refer to fact sheets available on Service-specific Web sites. See list of references in Chapter 6.
  2. What. Describe the action captured by the imagery.
    1. Use active voice when describing the action. When writing in active voice, the subject is doing something, while in passive voice, something is being done to the subject. To change from active to passive voice, make the object of the sentence (person or thing acting on the subject) the subject and vice versa. For example:
      • Active: U.S. Soldiers destroy confiscated ordnance.
      • Passive: Confiscated ordnance is destroyed by U.S. Soldiers.
    2. Do not over-describe the action; let the image speak as well. For example, look at the following sample captions. In the first example, the what is "helps refurbish a wooden cabinet as she removes a screw with a cordless power drill." In the second, it is "refurbishes a cabinet." Looking again at the image, nothing is lost by using the shorter desription of the second caption.
      • U.S. Navy Seabee Sparkole Dyeth assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 3, helps refurbish a wooden cabinet as she removes a screw with a cordless power drill at the Nazareth Boys Orphanage in Victoria, Seychelles, Dec. 26, 2005.
      • U.S. Navy Seabee Sparkole Dyeth, assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 3, refurbishes a cabinet at the Nazareth Boys Orphanage in Victoria, Seychelles, Dec. 26, 2005.
  3. When. Provide the date and, if pertinent, the time of day when the image was captured.
    1. Include the date within the caption. Do not use datelines, which are headers placed before the start of the caption, often containing the date and location of the image.
      1. Do not include "on" before the date.
      2. Day of the week is not required.
    2. Use the following format: Aug. 21, 2007.
    3. Spell out months March through July and abbreviate months August through February.
    4. When writing just a month and year with no day, do not abbreviate the month: Feb. 27, 2007, but February 2007.
  4. Where.
    1. Provide the geographic location as well as the name of the base, facility or organization, if applicable.
      1. If there is no city, give a region or general area (e.g., near the Syrian border or off the coast of Southern California).
      2. If the imagery was captured on a ship, provide the ship name as well as where it is moored or under way.
      3. If it is an undisclosed location, state that within the caption.
    2. Spell out state names when they stand alone within the caption. Use abbreviations when paired with a city or base/installation. See Chapter 6, Table 2 for a list of state abbreviations. Do not use postal codes.
  5. Why. Explain the purpose of the event, exercise or operation depicted in the image. This gives context to the image, answers the question as to why the image matters. This explanation should be brief, in most cases consisting of no more than one sentence. (See caption examples on page 15.)

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Constructing a caption.

  1. The first sentence contains the 5 W's and is always written in the present tense using active voice. A caption describes the moment the image is captured, not what came before or after, so the first sentence will be written as if from that moment.
  2. The second sentence gives background information on the image. It explains why the image is significant and places it in a larger context.
    1. When providing background information in a caption, include information that explains the significance of the action in the image. Examine the following unedited caption:
      • Iraqi civilian contractors gather around display tables April 22, 2007, during the Ramadi Reconstruction Conference held in Ar Ramadi, Iraq to look at and sign up for the different reconstruction projects that will be going on in and around Ramadi. 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing is deployed with Multi National Forces-West in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in the Al Anbar province of Iraq to develop Iraqi Security Forces, facilitiate the development of official rule of law through democratic reforms, and continue the development of a market based economy centered on Iraqi reconstruction.
    2. In the caption, the background sentence describes the work of the 2d MAW. While this is important information, it does not give background information on the action, which is contractors signing up for projects. A more appropriate background sentence would explain the presence and role of the U.S. military personnel at the event and connect the action to the 2d MAW. Presuming that we know the role, the caption could read: 
      • Iraqi contractors gather around display tables April 22, 2007, during the Ramadi Reconstruction Conference in Ramadi, Iraq, to look at and sign up for the different reconstruction projects that will be going on in and around Ramadi. U.S. Marines from the 2d Marine Aircraft Wing and U.S. Soldiers are present to provide security and information about the projects. The 2d MAW is deployed with Multi-National Forces–West in the Al Anbar province.
  3. Include the photographer's credit and the release status of the image at the end of the caption. Use the following format: (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. James Cooper/Released).
  4. Additional rules of construction.
    1. Define all acronyms upon first use within the caption. Spell out the term, and then place the acronym in parentheses. Use only the acronym upon second use.
    2. Do not use acronyms for terms used only once within the caption.
    3. Do not use apostrophes when using a plural acronym.
        • MREs, not MRE's.
        • F-15s, not F-15's.
    4. Refer to the Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms for official definitions of abbreviations and acronyms (see Chapter 6, Additional Resources). Acronyms need not appear in the DoD dictionary to be used in a caption.
    5. Avoid the use of jargon. Explain terms and practices that are not commonly known outside of military circles. Remember to write for a nonmilitary audience. For example, do not use shorthand references to military units unless they have been previously defined within the caption.
      • Incorrect. 2-8 Infantry Brigade.
      • Correct. 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team.
  5. Do not editorialize. Stick to the facts as presented by the image and gathered at the scene. In the following example, the first caption contains a great deal of editorializing. A second caption follows with the language of conjecture removed.
    • Incorrect: An Iraqi family enjoys a picnic in a park near the Baghdad Zoo in the Karkh district of Baghdad, Iraq, March 30, 2007. Scenes like this one are becoming more prevalent in the city as life slowly returns to normal.
    • Correct: An Iraqi family shares a picnic in a park near the Baghdad Zoo in the Karkh district of Baghdad, Iraq, March 30, 2007.
  6. Identifying people in an image.
    1. When identifying people appearing in an image, use the rule of three; provide the full name and rank and/or title of every person when there are three or fewer people in the image. It is not necessary to individually identify everyone should there be four or more people present, although there may be some cases (such as with high-level officials) where that would be appropriate.
    2. Indicate position in a caption using commas, not parentheses.
      • U.S. Army Staff Sgts. John Brown, left, and Carl Anderson participate in a training exercise.
      • From left, U.S. Army Gen. George Casey, Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad and Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld discuss foreign policy issues.
  7. Do not quote people within the body of a caption. Direct quotations are best used in a press release, cover story or article.

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Sample Captions

  • U.S. Navy Chief Hospital Corpsman Sam Kim examines a patient during a medical civic action program in Goubetto, Djibouti, March 30, 2008. Sailors and Marines assigned to the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit saw more than 500 patients during the Combined Joint Task Force–Horn of Africa humanitarian program. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Jeremy T. Lock/Released)
  • U.S. Soldiers with Charlie Company, 2nd Combined Arms Battalion, 69th Armored Regiment conduct a mission briefing Jan. 10, 2008, on Forward Operating Base Rustamiyah in Iraq. The Soldiers will conduct a humanitarian aid mission in Baghdad. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Nicholas Hernandez/Released)
  • A pair of E-2C Hawkeye aircraft attached to Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 116 flies over the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) March 30, 2008, during an air power demonstration while under way in the Pacific Ocean. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class James R. Evans/Released)
  • U.S. Marines conduct weapons training for Iraqi police officers and neighborhood watch members in Fallujah, Iraq, March 11, 2008. The Marines are from Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Grant T. Walker/Released)
  • U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Sigrid Carrero-Perez, left, and Senior Airman Ian Hunt guide Service members into a C-130 Hercules aircraft on a base in Southwest Asia Feb. 16, 2008. Carrero-Perez and Hunt are loadmasters deployed with the 737th Airlift Squadron. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Patrick Dixon/Released)
  • Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Navy Adm. Mike Mullen answer reporters' questions during a press conference at the Pentagon Oct. 18, 2007. (DoD photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley/Released)

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