There are a number of ways of looking at the relationship between images and captions. One way of thinking about this relationship is through the following three categories:
- Directional
- Orientation
- Complementary
Directional Titles
Directional picture titles explain the image to the viewer. They are often obvious descriptions and can seem more useful for archiving purposes than in helping to think about what the images themselves might want to say. They often dominate and provide a destination for the meaning and close down alternative attempts at creating meaning, leaving the viewer feeling ‘informed’
Orientation titles
Orientation titles locate the image in a particular genre, location or other general piece of information. Their intent is to give a non-interfering reference to the image but not to pin it down.
Complementary titles
This style of captioning creates a space between the image and the text where meaning is created. We’ll talk about this in Project 2 but, to summarise, this approach doesn’t give precedence to one over the other; both elements bring new aspects of understanding to the work as a whole.
Below is a selection of images from bbc news website, demonstrating how their images are captioned. Interestingly all of images are bought from photographic agencies, so the bbc will have added the captions to fit their news items. that majority of these captions would be classed as directional, as they describe what is in the photo.
Week in pictures: 3 – 9 April 2021
A selection of powerful news photographs taken around the world this week.
In a statement shortly after midday on Friday, Buckingham Palace announced the death of Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth II’s husband. The electronic billboard at London’s Piccadilly Circus displayed a tribute to the longest-serving royal consort in British history.
A sign announcing the death of the Duke of Edinburgh was placed on the gates of Buckingham Palace.
Chung Hoon arranges books in the London Library, in St James’s Square, ahead of its planned reopening to members on 12 April, when some coronavirus restrictions in the UK are being lifted.
The gates of one of Belfast’s so-called peace walls were prised open before being set alight during rioting in the city on a scale which police say has not been seen for years.
The remains of 18 kings and four queens were taken to a new museum in Egypt. The mummies were transported from the Egyptian Museum on Cairo’s Tahrir Square to their new home at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in what is called The Pharaohs’ Golden Parade.
image caption A protester lies in front of a police line during a Kill the Bill demonstration in Bristol, England. The demonstrators are angry about a new government bill which they believe would restrict the right to protest.
image caption Health workers from the Portuguese charity hospital in Belem, Para State, Brazil, sing and pray for Covid-19 patients inside the hospital wards and ICU areas as part of events to mark Easter.
