As I See It - The Use of Captions in Street Photography
Well Intentioned
Captions are one of the great divides between street photographers. It ranges from “no not ever” to “there is no rest for the weary until I come up with a clever caption”. As we say in Alabama, I have no dog in this hunt. I am good with them. I am good without them.
To some extent their use should fit the social media where the image is posted. If I was giving counsel on how to increase your followers in Instagram, I would say, go for the captions or even include a short essay or poem. It is all part of the Instagram package and if you want your posts to get notice it is a mandatory part.
I walked down the Instagram memory lane by going through my old posts to see how I used captions. I remember my daughter, Kate, telling me how much she enjoyed them. That is high praise from a millennial. Here is one that I think is rather clever.
The Critic
It is a different deal on Facebook. My group, Inspired Street Photography (ISP), has had a rule for a long time that captions must be short. It is a site that is intended for traditional street photography. It makes sense that it follows the customary thought that if you have to explain your picture through the use of a caption, it is not a very good picture. For the most part when I post in street photography groups, I do not add a caption.
And yet, sometimes my comment on a post in the ISP group is “Good pairing of the caption and photo.” What is a good caption for me? I enjoy a clever caption that makes me think or laugh or find surprises or understand photographer intent in the image.
Here is one that made me smile. How cute is this?
“Road Rage” Photo by Monica Lord. Used with permission. You can see her photos on her Instagram gallery at @almostgreennyc .
This is an example of a comment that helped me find a surprise.
“Bookends” Photo by Barry Hill. Used with permission. You can see his photos on his Facebook gallery, Barry Hill.
The lady on the left of the picture commanded 100% of my visual attention. It was only because of the comment, Bookends, that I searched further. When I found the fellow on the right, I was so pleased with myself. The photographer got a little extra of my visual time and a happy viewer because of one little word.
This one helped me understand the photographer’s intent.
“Open for Other Religions” Photo by Antje Schirmaier. Used with permission. You can see her photos on her Facebook gallery, Antje Schirmaier.
My comment was, “I like that caption. It helps show me photographer intent. It contributes to how I think about the image. We do not always need to “invent the wheel” of viewer discovery.”
Sometimes, maybe for me the best of times, the caption is in-photo. I follow Lillis Atkins Werder on Facebook. She takes stunning photos and always, and I do mean always, has a wry observation that is the caption. She makes me think and laugh. Here is an image that includes an in-photo caption.
“Bastard” Photo by Lillis Atkins Werder. Used with permission. You can see her photos on her Facebook gallery, Lillis Photography and on her website at Lillis Photography.
What can go wrong with a caption? It becomes a comment. I was looking at a run of the mill kind of post on ISP. The one thing that it had going for it for me was a compositional contrast that I perceived. The image was of a well-dressed man who was working at a table in a chaotic, unattractive construction site. The photographer’s comment explained the situation at length. Any pleasure that I got out of making the observation about the unlikely combination of that man working in that environment went away. What was left was a run of the mill kind of post.
I think there is a time and a place for captions. On Instagram, it is always. On Facebook, clever captions can be used to your advantage. But if you ever believe you have to explain what is going on in your image, don’t. Just trust that your photo will tell the best story that it can.