Make captions people can read

Choose the crop first. Leave enough room for the image to make sense after you add the words, then see how your caption looks at phone size.

Crop around the subject

A square has room for content on both sides. A portrait or story crop may cut those sides off. Move the crop horizontally or vertically to bring the subject back into view. Keep important words within the safe area so they have some space from the frame edge.

Give the text a solid background when needed

White with an outline can work over a simple image. Try a solid dark or light strip when textures or highlights make the letters hard to distinguish. A contrast measurement for a solid strip applies to its text and background colors. An outlined caption over a photo can vary across the image.

Write useful alt text

Describe the part of the image that carries the joke, then include the visible caption. Use the platform’s image description field when it offers one.

A marmot rests on a boulder and faces the camera. Top text reads “Me, after opening one more tab.” Bottom text reads “Just a minute.”

Try it in the Memeologist editor →

See the W3C explanation of text contrast.