Anmelden Registrieren
Channel Apps
Kanal Über Fotos Dateien Kalender Artikel Karten Wikis
System Apps
Fehler melden Hilfe QRator Sprache Suche Verzeichnis Zufälliger Kanal
[Markdown] 

How to describe images in the Fediverse: Don't use "image of", "picture of" or "photo of"!

Don't use "image of", "picture of" or "photo of"!

Do not start your alt-text with "image",1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "picture",1 7 8 9 "graphic"8 or "photo"!2 11 4 5 6

Remember that alt-text is primarily for screen readers to read out loud to blind or visually-impaired people what an image looks like. But when a screen reader comes across an image, it automatically announces the image as such. If you start your alt-text with "image of" or "picture of", that's redundant because the screen reader will just have told its user that there's an image, and then your alt-text will tell them immediately again that there's an image.

"Photo of" is unnecessary, too. The digital photograph has become so commonplace that it can be assumed to be the default for online images. More online images are digital photographs than not. Therefore it must not be announced as such.

Also remember that it is important to keep your alt-text as short and concise as possible and deliver as much information as necessary with as few words as possible.

On the other hand, however, it is highly recommended to mention all media that aren't digital photographs, including but not limited to:

  • Illustration1 4 7
  • Map1
  • Cover image1
  • Logo1 7 8
  • Line drawing1
  • Newspaper ad1
  • Newspaper page, cover page1
  • Painting7
  • Cartoon7 10
  • Magazine cover8

  1. Best Practices for Writing Image Descriptions; Accessible Publishing Learning Network ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  2. ‘Alt’ text for Mastodon images; kwbell.eu, April 9th, 2023, edited June 1st, 2023 ↩︎ ↩︎

  3. Alternative Text; Web Accessibility in Mind, Utah State University ↩︎

  4. Alt-texts: The Ultimate Guide; Daniel Göransson, axess lab, October 15th, 2017 ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  5. Alt Text: What to Write; Emma Cionca and Tanner Kohler, NN Group, November 22th, 2024 ↩︎ ↩︎

  6. Alt Text on Images: What It Is and How to Write It?; Continual Engine Team, June 25th, 2025 ↩︎ ↩︎

  7. Write helpful Alt Text to describe images; Harvard University ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  8. What is alt text and why is it important?; UMass Lowell, University of Massachusetts ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  9. The Right Way to Write Alt Text; Natalie Gotko, Clique, July 6th, 2018 ↩︎ ↩︎

  10. Cooper Hewitt Guidelines for Image Description, Cooper Hewitt Accessibility, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum ↩︎ ↩︎

  11. Alt text: What is it and how do I use it?; Social Progress, January 21st, 2022 ↩︎