Hi everyone. I've received many requests for help getting started with creating your own captions. I want you all to succeed and have audiences... it's fun! Here are my top 3 tips:
1. Reduce text
99% of the caption sites people send me include text so small I can barely read them. Write a draft, then cut the "fat" so that only the story remains. You might have to focus on just one small, detailed aspect of a story... or tease what comes next instead of explicitly writing it. That's okay. Fans of this sort of thing are all about imagination!
2. Use only the best images
I suggest collecting images that catch your eye in a big folder. I like Tumblr and Twitter for sources. Then when you have time to write a caption or two, choose only the best of the best from that folder. Whatever inspires you or turns you on in the moment. I tend to prefer "realistic," candid-looking photos most of the time to suspend disbelief.
3. Focus on character
There are plenty of Great Shift, Swap Class, Exchange Island and FOSE captions out there. What haven't we seen before? What's the most fucked up swap you can think of? Your biggest fantasy? The weirdest sexual tension? That's what makes these things interesting caption after caption after caption.
Some other things:
Software: I use Adobe Photoshop because I'm comfortable with it. But obviously I'm not doing anything technically difficult. You can do the same thing in free software like Gimp. It takes like 3 minutes to learn.
Getting traffic: If you post good stuff consistently and reach out to blogs with an audience, they're likely to add you to their blog list and send you lots of traffic. That's how I got "famous." Keep it up and it may spiral into something special. And feel free to send me your blog!
Wonderful tips! Couldn't agree more with your suggestions!!
ReplyDeleteGreat tips. I used to write a lot of captions on rachelshaven and I always used Microsoft paint.
ReplyDeleteI've been a fan of yours for awhile now and started creating captions myself! You're a huge inspiration for me too! I'll take all of your advise to heart and would love it if you checked out my blog!
ReplyDeleteThe small text with alot of content is the main reason I don't like alot of caps because i have to zoom in to read a huge story in a tiny font
ReplyDeletehttps://www.photopea.com/ is a nice alternative that is useable in a browser.
ReplyDeleteMaybe one other tip:
ReplyDeleteWhen deciding what colors to use for text and background, use a contrast tool like this: https://snook.ca/technical/colour_contrast/colour.html#fg=FFC3C3,bg=333333
Text being foreground color. Don't use anything with a color contrast that is lower than 7.5, brightness difference less than 125, and color difference less than 500.
In other words: brightness difference should be 125 or higher, color difference should be 500 or higher, and color contrast should be 7.5 or higher.
Also, try to keep the saturation/chroma of the background color in the lower half... especially if it is rather long text. tgswappingcaps violet against white is perfectly fine to read, but sometimes I see vibrant yellow text against a vibrant blue background, and it's so clashing that it's difficult to read.