6 Trends In Titling Photographs That Need To Stop

A few years back I wrote about a few methods that photographers can use to title their photographs. Since then tends in titling photographs seems to have run amok. So here I am again calling for an end of these common photograph titling trends.

1) Wedding photographers. Why are you doing this?

I know it is trendy for you wedding photographers to fancy yourselves as soothsayers to the point that you name your businesses things like Danny! The Precog Wedding Tog!. But whether you are a charlatan or not, please stop including how you foresee the marriage to end in the photograph title. It is kind of rude. All you are doing is setting up Bryan to live an insecure life of jealousy as he questions the motives of everyone who makes eye contact with Katie.

2) Moonrise, Hernandez

Yes. Moonrise, Hernandez is well regarded as one of the most famous black & white photographs ever. We get it. But the thing is that Ansel Adams was actually a master at black & white film process. And also, his photo is actually of a moonrise over Hernandez, New Mexico. Just because you've inexperiencedly grayscaled your photograph in Lightroom doesn't mean if you title it Moonrise, Hernandez it is going to magically get awarded the same reverence of Ansel Adam's 1941 photograph. Title it something else!

3) Blood Types?

If you are doing a portrait series for a blood drive, I could see it making sense to include the subject's blood type in the title. But why does it keep appearing in the titles of run-of-the-mill senior portraits? Why are you even collecting that data in your service contract? Why is it only ever in the titles of photos of women?

4) Horse Parts

I'm not really into flower macros, nor do I fancy myself a botanist. But I think I'd like to think that I have enough basic understanding of flowers to understand why everyone seems to be titling their flower macro photos after horse anatomy. But alas, I can't figure it out. It is confusing and needs to end.

5) 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0

Seriously? It has been ten years since the HD-DVD encryption code has been broken, and everyone posted it all over the internet after the AACS demanded it be removed. Why are you still trying to stick it to the man? You aren't helping anymore. Can you please just go back to giving your boring juxtaposed street photography photos a title with some context?

6) Seriously? This is actually a thing?

Again with the precognition! When you are photographing newborns or toddlers, please stop putting the expected life span of the child in the title! It is kind of tacky and I seriously doubt that the parents' like it one bit. How did this even become a thing?

Noticed any other weird trends in photographic titling lately? Leave them in the comments.