questions → internet photo captions - why?

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Internet Photo Captions - WHY?

Don't you hate it when you read a news story online and the accompanying photo caption reads something like this; "In this February 1, 2012 file photo provided by...."? Why do they do that? Sometimes hovering the mouse over the caption will show a few more words but still not get to the important info like the name of the person in the photo.

Why couldn't they just begin the caption with; "John Smith, seen here in this February 1 file photo..."?

I'll start with a couple possibilities. One is that news organizations like the AP have always worded photo captions in this style for newspapers and magazines, where the order of the words doesn't matter because the full caption is viewable on the page. The other potential reason is that it forces you to click on the picture if you want more info, leading to another page with additional adverti$ing.

Any other thoughts on this user-unfriendly, sometimes frustrating practice?

by chipgreen
asked 4 months ago

3 Answers answer

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Because if they don't photo credit they can get sued for using copywrited material. I design ads for my client and each photo I use in their pieces I have to credit the photographer so neither my client nor I get sued for the use of the image.

goldiemcg
4 months ago

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@goldiemcg: but can't they put the credit at the end of the caption?

chipgreen
4 months ago

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If only a portion of the caption is going to be visible, it should be the photo credit, not the photo content. The credit is a legal requirement, whereas the content is interest-driven. I've had a few of my photos used on web travelogues, and while I am not very protective of my IP, it gives me a warm fuzzy to go visit a professional travel site and see my name captioned under my vacation photo. Professional photographers need that exposure and I have no doubt insist on it.

moondrake
4 months ago

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