When you tune in(we know you will) to the ‘live’ judging of POY Asia, don’t be surprised to hear some of these commonly used phrases.
Previously we have talked about how a good caption can make a huge difference.
But sometimes, ‘the caption hurts’ and we don’t just mean brief two-word labels such as ‘Couple smiling’ or ‘Children running’ masquerading as captions.
Really?
More than once in previous POY Asia competitions, judges who were initially interested in an image lost their interest after hearing the captions.
How so?
Increasingly, we are seeing lengthy text cut and pasted from articles. They give a lot of information and background but some judges have remarked, “OK, the caption is great, but in comparison now, the picture doesn’t do much.” To them, it is almost a letdown.
We have asked a few experts in the industry and they shared the same conclusion — this is a recurring problem when photographers go on assignment for XXXXXX and XXXXX.
We are omitting the names of the publications but yes, they are the big guns in the profession.
Quite naturally, when you work with some of the best writers in the industry, you grow fond of their words.
But remember this – plonking a large paragraph without thinking if it is suitable can really hurt you too.
Don’t believe us? Join us during the ‘live’ judging.
