Someone asked me the other day about how to credit photographs in publications. How do the professionals do it? And is there a standard?
- Directly attached to the photo on the page – for example, in a small point-size font running up one side of the photo. It’s direct, up-front, and works well if the credit is short.
- Attached to the caption – this suits longer credit information and unmistakeably attaches the credit to the picture.
- In a separate page, typically as part of the back matter, with references identifying each photo through the book and crediting it. This is done often for page-design purposes in picture books – avoiding clutter – but also because it accommodates the very longest forms of credit.
These days, given the way things have swung to electronic formats, there’s also a fourth option: