Photo Editing and Captions
Tara Pixley, Judy Walgren · 2025
In this chapter, we discuss the process of photo editing, which we define as selecting and sequencing your images after completing an assignment or longform project. We provide tips on how to approach this process on your own and when working with a photo editor—someone who assigns, selects, sequences and publishes work for a media platform. Working with a photo editor is a collaboration that every photographer can benefit from. We detail why working collaboratively can ensure that the most effective images, sequences and/or presentations are delivered to audiences. We stress the importance of gathering sufficient and accurate caption information, which includes asking people photographed for their names and other information. The information that a photojournalist decides to include and/or exclude from a caption can render a photograph completely irrelevant or elevate it to one that lives on in the annals of history. We end with a section describing what skills are necessary to build a career as a photo editor.