Photo Credits and Cutlines

• Photo credits

  Photo credits must accompany all photos except headshots, in parentheses. Headshots accompanying a news story do not require a photo credit or a cutline/caption.

  Public Affairs photographer:
  (Photo by Jane Smith/UTHealth Houston)

  Other UTHealth employee photographer, based at school or clinic:
  (Photo by John Williams/McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston) (Photo by Jane Williams/UT Physicians Marketing & Communications)

  Freelance photos assigned and paid for by UTHealth Houston:
  (Photo by Jack Johnson/Brand Name Media)

  Handout, free photos, PR images, museum photos, or anything licensed and not requiring payment:
  (Photo courtesy of Individual or Entity) (Photo courtesy of Getty Images)

  Approved use of an image from an individual or group’s social media feed should only be credited to the individual or group and not include social media platform.
  (Photo courtesy of Mike Matthews)

• Photo cutlines/captions

  Photo cutlines/captions should accompany photos, before the photo credit. They are generally complete sentences, usually in present tense, that describe the content without necessarily stating the obvious (e.g., he sits, she waves, they clap). They should be brief, complementing the story, not summarizing it. Do not repeat information in multiple captions/cutlines in a story.

  Who

  Use parentheses, not commas, to identify who’s who in the photo. Use directionals only if they’re necessary to identify the people.
  Pat Smith (left) and Sam Jones watch the surgeons cut an incision. (Photo by…)

  When

  Use the month and the day.
  Dean Johnson attends the medical conference on Dec. 15. (Photo by…)

  If it took place a year ago or longer, add the year. If the date is in the middle of the sentence, put a comma after the year.
  Sally Martin gave her keynote address on Aug. 12, 2018, at the center’s grand opening. (Photo by…)

  If the specific date is irrelevant, consider dropping it altogether or using a general term like “recently.”

  Where

  Some cities don’t require a state or country after them; please see the datelines entry in the AP Stylebook for more information. For all others, include the state name and/or country name. In cutlines/captions, use state abbreviations as found in the state names entry in the AP Stylebook. These are NOT the same as the two-letter postal codes (Calif., not CA). Eight states are always spelled out: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas, and Utah.
  Pat Smith's hometown of Norman, Okla., held a parade in her honor. (Photo by…)