Photograph credits and captions

Identify what is known

Record dog, handler, task, venue and date where verified. If identification is uncertain, say so rather than giving a tentative name the appearance of a confirmed record.

Preserve the credit

Store the creator’s preferred credit with the asset. Keep source and rights information alongside the image so cropping or export does not separate them.

Check the intended use

Confirm whether permission covers the website, social channels, paid advertising and print. For library collections, consult the item’s rights information and permission process rather than assuming online access permits republication.

For a correction, keep the original asset identifier and update every published derivative you control. Record who supplied the new identification so an archive does not lose the explanation for the change.

Use approximate dates explicitly when necessary. A caption saying circa or date unknown is more useful to a researcher than a precise year selected without evidence.

Use layered descriptions

A catalogue entry can hold a fuller description than the short caption shown beside an image. Preserve the complete names, source, date certainty and identification notes there, while using a concise public caption suited to the page. This prevents important provenance disappearing when a social platform truncates text. Record whether a year is exact, approximate or inferred. If a contributor identifies a person or dog, save their name and the supporting explanation in the archive, while publishing only the personal information appropriate to the agreed purpose.

Common questions

Sources & further reading

References for this guide. Rules and services can change; check the responsible organisation for current details.

• National Library of Australia: Picture collection rights (opens in a new tab)
• National Library of Australia: Copyright permissions (opens in a new tab)

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