hey! I want to start doing image descriptions but don't know what I should include. since you use them, I thought maybe you'd be a good person to ask. what do you consider important to include?
sorry if this gets long or rambly. its really important to ID by context—theres a different level of formality to posting artwork than there is showing an image to a friend, for example. my general guidelines are… try to figure out what matters for that photo, then mention that. a lot of people will say to keep IDs impersonal but imo, this gets lost in translation when it comes to things like art (especially art that you made!). my quick rundown here is basically
dont overdescribe—if youre describing a model in a crowd, you dont need to describe each individual member of the crowd. you just need to mention there is one.
dont interject your own commentary if the photo isnt yours.
be clear and concise, but dont feel the need to necessarily use “sterile” or boring language, if that makes sense.
try to keep IDs shorter, if possible. but i understand longer photosets and comics might require longer IDs!
if youre describing fanart and characters we already know, you might not need to specify what they look like unless it diverges from canon. describing captain america you could say, “steve rogers in the 1940s captain america suit” and wed get it. i think this is very ymmv and it is another context thing. if youre not sure, describe.
you should mention if something is a photo, or art, or a screenshot, and lead in with that.
so to get into specific, things end up looking a little something like…
a screenshot from social media: “a screen shot from [website] by [user]. the text reads: [text].” its not important for you to mention the notes unless the amount of notes is relevant—like if this was a tweet, the user tweeting about how annoying it is to be famous or something when they clearly have 0 likes/retweets. or if youre trying to highlight the importance of the amount of notes.
see, its all context! but jokes tend to require less description than non-jokes, so. heres another example of context at work.
screenshot from a show where joke is the text: “a screenshot of [character] from [show]. she says: [subtitle].”
vs screenshots from a show where the focus is serious and whats happening between the characters. you can choose to describe the images individually, or as part of a continuity. im going to use an entirely made-up daredevil scene as an easy example of both.
as a “continuity”: two screenshots from netflix’s daredevil of matt and foggy in matt’s apartment. they stand in opposite corners of the room from one another, holding their distance. foggy looks worn down, weary. matt has a black eye and is wearing the daredevil suit, only with the mask removed. foggy asks, “what the fuck?”
individually: two screenshots from netflixs daredevil of matt and foggy in matts apartment. in the first photo foggys back is in the foreground and we instead focus on matt, beat-up and wearing the daredevil suit without the mask. in the second we focus on foggy, confused and angry. he asks, “what the fuck?”
then theres like… “original” art vs fanart. in original art of a woman, chances are that we dont KNOW the woman being depicted in the photo. it makes sense to describe her at length, especially if she is the focus of the photo.
but with fanart, like i said earlier, we already know who captain america is. it basically only becomes necessary to describe him if he looks any different than he does in canon. we also already know about the captain america suit, but its fine to specify which one or describe your redesign.
so, something like: “a sketchy drawing of steve rogers against a white background, done in monochrome colour. he wears civilian clothes, a leather jacket and white t-shirt, and looks pensively to the side. his dog tags hang over his shirt and gleam in the light.”
but describing a character that has been reimagined or a character that doesnt have a standard canon “look” can be: “a drawing of captain america, depicted as a young black woman with a short curly undercut. she wears civilian clothes…” and then continue on with the previous description.
and moving away from fandom, youre at full liberty to choose what to say when describing images of yourself. you can choose to describe what you specifically look like, or just what youre wearing and doing. i tend to just mention my outfit, if i find it notable, and what im up to.
describing photos of pretty locations, of animals, you can really say anything from just “a german shepherd” to “an older german shepherd with greying fur on his snout”. its easier to say the first if youre in a quick group chat, and would make more sense to say the second to someone who knows nothing about your dog. your friends probably already know your german shepherd is old!
basically as long as you capture whats happening in the image, youre at liberty to decide what you find important about it.
this is… definitely very rambly, but i hope this coherently helps explain a little?
