Titles and Other Text
Titles for photos are a funny thing. In some settings, such as camera clubs, they are expected. In other settings, such as publications, they are usually unwelcome. If you use a title, one thing you have to be careful about is how a title affects viewing of the photo. Often, photographers who do titles only think about how cute, clever, interesting their title might be and don’t consider the impact of the title on how someone sees the photo.
Titles, captions and other text can be very important to the understanding of a photo. Think about the photo here. Suppose I titled it, Alaskan Boulder. You might conjure images of snow and cold. By titling this Alabama Hills, California, you have a very different impression (and that is the correct location). The point is not about “truth” here, but about how words and photos interact. Suppose I called this Sensual Rocks or Big Boulders or even Big Sensual Boulders. All are correct to the scene, but I guarantee you will look differently at the photo with each title.
So we have to be careful that we do not add words that lead the viewer away from what we want them to get from the photo. We need to think about how the words might affect the viewer.
We also have to be careful that a title or other text doesn’t cause problems with the viewer. A good example of this is the humorous title. Some people do this really well and the photos and the titles complement each other. But some people aren’t so gifted (I am certainly not) and try too hard — the title and photo don’t naturally complement each other. The photographer thought the title was funny, but the viewer doesn’t get it and then gets his or her head caught up in the validity of the title rather than appreciating the photo.
There are no rules for this other than to think about your viewer and what you want the viewer to get from the photo. Never use a title or other text gratuitously or just to do it. Have a purpose that can help you focus your efforts.
Remember that I will be doing this blog less and less. I will be doing blogs at my new blog site, www.natureandphotography.com. I just posted a blog there called Perfection in Photography and Nature.
July 18th, 2010 at 4:16 am
It is a beautiful and sensual photo like all your photography . Thank you
July 20th, 2010 at 1:31 pm
Thanks for this article, Rob. I’m preparing for my first show, so these are some good things for me to think about.