I see an image and want to describe it: a step by step guide
I've seen a lot of guides explaining why image descriptions are important, or vague things like "describe the text!!", or extremely detailed guides that might be confusing for someone just starting out. I wanted to make a specific, step by step guide that I feel comfortable sending to someone regardless of their experience.
Note: This post might seem long. That's because I explain some Tumblr features for people who might not know them. If you don't need me to explain how notes and reblogging work, you can skip steps 1 and 2.
The format I describe in steps 4 and 5 is the simplest version of how I normally write IDs. I'm calling it Aure's 2-sentence IDs.
This guide is written with the assumption that the reader already knows what image descriptions are and why they're important - if you don't, here's an explanation. I wrote instructions specific for Tumblr, but the format works for other sites as well.
Everything from this point on is written in first person. So "I" refers to anyone doing an ID, and "Aure" is me, the writer of this post.
TL;DR: When I see an image, I
1. Check the reblogs to see if someone else has IDed it
2. If someone hasn't, I hit reblog and start typing
3. I start with "[Image description:"
4. Then a sentence that's "(Image type) of (subject)."
5. A sentence with one verb or adjective about the image (info about when it needs to be longer than 2 sentences under the read more)
6. I end with "End ID]"
So
[Image description: (image type) of (subject). (Subject) is (adjective and/or verb). End ID]
The detailed guide:
