Though many pictures can speak for themselves, captions do a great deal in helping us to understand the importance, or intended meaning of an image. Here, I provide my own experience with this. (While not a photograph, I believe it to be equally effective in getting my point across.)
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| img 1 |
I see a group of people, probably friends, holding hands. They look happy for the most part. Some appear more enthusiastic than others. Each seems to have their own personality. They wear similar clothing, suggesting they are part of a group. I suppose this picture makes me feel somewhat happy. The reactions of the more reserved people to the overly energetic ones is amusing. Overall, it’s a nice drawing.
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| From left to right; Italy, Germany, ( Liechtenstein, Canada, U.S., England |
The added captions changes how I view this picture. Now, the people aren't just people, they’re symbolic of the countries of the world. Hand-holding is generally indicative of friendship. This is no longer just a nice picture of a group of friends, its a statement.
It’s advocating world peace and goodwill between nations.My feelings regarding the picture change from somewhat happy to wistful and almost sad considering the present world is far from this peaceful state.
~ ~ ~Obviously, that isn't a photograph. But the same rules apply to most images. It's what makes looking at this photograph
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| img 2 |
different than looking at this one.
Captions give us context, they give us some direction when looking at images and can completely change the way we react to them.
Img 1 from http://rebloggy.com/post/hetalia-aph-axis-powers-hetalia-hetalia-world-series-all-hetalia-characters/29859257592
Img 2 from http://elitedaily.com/news/world/pictures-child-cancer-survivor-absolutely-flooring/603139/
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