Description of a Photograph on Instagram: How to Enrich It?

Popular wisdom says that a picture is worth a thousand words. This phrase reflects better than any other philosophy of Instagram this social network of photographs already has more than 700 million active users around the world. The supremacy of the image on Instagram is obvious this does not mean that we should ignore the accompanying text, as it can help us make a difference in our publications.

Information about Picture :

Phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words” is a phrase that highlights the art of photography to perfection. However, the modern world has taught us that sometimes it is very useful to offer descriptions and titles to portraits on Instagram so that they gain much more meaning. In journalistic photography.

Example: A title can enlighten us more about what is happening in the photo, enriching the message it tries to convey through visual signs. And this does not only apply to photojournalism in Instagram: it applies in many other cases, even in purely artistic photography. Today we are going to talk about what does a picture on Instagram describe. How we can enrich the description of a photograph, since defining, describing, portraying or complementing with words tends to be more difficult than it seems. We will also study a bit the art of placing titles on our photos. Accompany me then throughout this article.

To which photographs can I add descriptions or titles? :

As I said in the previous paragraph, most of the photographs can be selected to be enriched. Both the artistic photographs and the photographs of a report can give us much more to know about the context of the image as long as it has a title or a specific description. Depending on how large or dense the situation in which the photographer is, the same foot of the image can cause a different sensation. Even if it is a very good photograph of a daily action, it may be that with the description we can acquire another perspective. Now the recommendations to enrich the description of a photograph are basically what will help us do it right or wrong.

Why is it so important? Because the photographer seeks to publicize a problem or condition, it does not seek to bore the public. The description of an image can be a very complicated issue due to the complexity involved in the summary of an extensive situation. Of course, not all viewers will be bored to see the feet of images, but this is something we should avoid if we want our photography to reach a large proportion of the public.

Title of the Image :

In the case of titles, the subject varies a little more. The title probably will not bore anyone, because I doubt that someone gets tired with reading about ten words, for example. In this case, we can become forceful to generate a much stronger perspective. It should be noted that both in the descriptions and in the titles, many photographers choose to be quite enigmatic. It can be a photograph of a subject going down the stairs, but the description is a word “repetition”. This is very subjective, since there may be people who really want to know more about what is happening but may also end up having no sense or coherence with the image on Instagram.

Next, let’s go with some brief tips to improve the titles of the photographs.

Tips to improve the titles of the photographs on Instagram :

Consider it a vital part of photography. Maybe not everyone will read the title of a publication, especially if our work is displayed in a gallery or something similar. But the fact is that to make a worthwhile title, we must try hard to think about it. And there are many types of titles, so the consideration must be open and wide. The important thing is that you do not underestimate it!

Convert it into a Compliment :

Sometimes we take photographs that portray activities or common or particular landscapes, but in the end, they do not tell us anything of what is happening in the frame and we only limit ourselves to appreciate the composition and the technical parameters of the image. The title, like the description of a photograph on Instagram, must be attractive, strong and extremely short. Just do not make it a slogan! Do not think about what you are selling, just think about description.

Be Direct with Him :

If you have ten or one words, sometimes the best is that the title is direct. The title must be more “to the point” when it comes to a photograph of a shocking event or a report. If we are photographing a demonstration on the street, let’s use of a title that reveals what is happening: “claiming rights”, “dawning”, among other titles (NOTE: they are only examples, they were not taken from any photograph and it is best not to be taken for your next images).

Avoid the Obvious Titles :

Well, there are many examples of famous photographs that could kick this advice: we have all seen photographs with titles such as “trees”, “water”, “can”, the truth is that many photographers have managed to turn these types of titles into memories of popular photographs, but ideally we should be a bit more creative when describing a photo on Instagram.

Use the emotions or thoughts to title the images. The point is that we can adopt whatever emotion we can to make a title and this evokes a lot from the photographer. If we have a photograph of a vast landscape in the desert, with a huge space in negative and a single minimum character in the corner of the photo, we can use a title like “Desolation” or “Loneliness”. Generally, they depend on our mood at the time of placing the name, or at the time of taking the picture.

Use your Style to the Title :

Many times we fall into the error of not being ourselves in our own art. Perhaps several readers feel identified, so it is important that we get rid of that perspective: good photographers have risked being themselves and many have managed to be successful due to its authenticity. When we refer to style, we are talking about placing metaphors, comparisons or analogies at the time of title of a photo on Instagram. They can be very attractive, as long as they have consistency.

This means that: it would be a bit strange for us to take a picture of some trees in series and put “The blue of the water”. On the other hand, if we put “There is no global warming” to a photograph of dry trees or melted blocks of ice, then this captures significance, using a sarcastic or ironic tone by the photographer.

If you can, invite reflection :

This applies to certain types of images: if your style is to make aesthetically attractive photographs, without any transcendental meaning, then this advice is not very valid for you (and it’s fine). If you have intrest in making images with deeper messages, and the context of the image can invite reflection, then perhaps we can make a title that is much more than a few words at the end of the image on Instagram.

Now that we have learned a little more about how to place the titles to the images, we are going with a bit more arduous work: that of placing descriptions under the photographs.

Tips to improve the description of a photograph

#1۔ Locate the V‎iewer :

Especially when we are facing a sensitive issue, such as the war in Syria, be sure to place the viewer in context. In these cases, it is good that we use a title that serves as a compliment or source of reflection, and that the description of a photograph helps us to put everyone in context.

Remember that there are many problems that are alien to us: take into account the distance between your audience and the situation in which you take the picture to take into account how explicit the description should be.

If it is in social networks, the matter varies a little. Making the description of a photograph always has the same parameters, but in terms of its additions depending on the site where we publish them, the question changes. If we are going to publish our pictures on Instagram, make sure to include the relevant hashtags (#). For example, if we take a photograph in that war landscape in Syria, be sure to include things like “#Syria #war” and so on.

Also, remember that the public of Instagram is changing according to the nature of the same interface. For example, we know that on Facebook we can extend our descriptions much more than we can on Twitter, for example. However, hashtags work much better on the second network and on Instagram, for example. All that type of the variable must be within your own consideration at the time of publishing the photograph.

I know that many readers and photography lovers are a bit renegade about the use of Instagram to make themselves known, but they can be very effective tools for our work and for our messages, and we must learn to use them.

#2. Do not limit yourself to set the date and time:

It is important to remember that one of the best ways to make the description of a photograph is not taking for granted the whole message or all the thought that may be behind the image.

Example: “This picture is taken in Syria during the month of February 2”. On the other hand if you transport yourself (mentally) to the moment in which you took the image, you will be able to find several thoughts or emotions that passed through your head at that precise moment. Use them to describe what you felt or thought at that moment.

#3. Do not exceed the number of words :

Logically, there is no rules and limits to use words that can be used in the description of a photograph on Instagram, since this depends entirely on the photographer or the number of characters that a social network puts at most. However, descriptions that take a page length generally discourage the public and are not well done, unless it is something to be presented.

It is useless for us to take a photograph and explain, step by step, how what we are seeing happen. The idea is to locate ourselves in context, not to bore the viewer on Instagram and show them what you thought or what you felt when you saw what you were seeing. We can, of course, describe the problem, but if we need to say more than one page long, something is failing in our capacity for synthesis or in our composition.

Conclusion :

At the beginning of this article, we said that an image worth a thousand words but now we see that at least five hundred of those thousand sometimes must be complementary to a photo. The description of a photograph on Instagram can be valid if you think it is necessary. As I say: if you do not see the need to add anything other than a title, then there is no need for you to get frustra yourself. Add Description only if required. If you feel that a single capture at that moment was not enough to tell the story or the feeling behind the framing.

The description of a photograph on Instagram can then have several meanings: it can explain the feelings of the photographer, it can call for reflection, it can be narrative, it can be comparative as long as you manage to transmit an important message to yourself and/or to the protagonists. You do not need to expand on unnecessary details or very obvious things.

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