How to Connect a Group Photo's Description to Its Person Key
By ImgHeal · Updated
A numbered overlay can help sighted relatives discuss a crowded portrait. Add a structured text companion so the same key also works for someone who cannot inspect the faces or follow the numbers visually.
Explore this topic: Share restored photos
Choose one stable orientation and numbering scheme
Work from the retained full-frame source and record whether left and right refer to the viewer's perspective. Number the people consistently by row or another stated sequence, including unidentified sitters. Keep a source version without the overlay. Do not renumber the entire group each time one identity changes; a stable person number lets a corrected name be discussed without confusing earlier notes. Explain any person partly hidden or visible only at the edge of the photograph.
Write a navigable text key
Provide a brief alternative identifying the group portrait and pointing readers toward the longer key. In the visible companion text, describe the row arrangement and pair each person number with its supported name or unidentified status. Include only visual features needed to locate the sitter, rather than exhaustive judgments about appearance. Use headings or a simple ordered list where the publishing format allows it. Make the uncertainty around a possible identity readable in the text instead of conveying it only through a colored outline.
Check the key against the delivered image
Compare every number with the exact crop and version being shared. A removed edge person or mirrored reproduction can break an otherwise careful key. Review the text in reading order and ask a family reader to find a person using the stated scheme. If you later share an ImgHeal restoration, keep the key connected to the original source identity rather than treating altered facial details as confirmation. Preserve a change note when research updates a name, while keeping the underlying person number stable.
Check before sharing this record
- State orientation and row order.
- Give every number an accessible text entry.
- Check the key against the exact delivered crop.
Sources and further reading
- W3C WAI: Complex imagesCombining a short alternative with a longer explanation when essential visual information needs more space.
- W3C WAI: Groups of imagesText alternatives for related images that convey information together.
Questions about this restoration task
Should unknown people be omitted from the text key?
No. Keeping their stable numbers and marking them unidentified preserves the structure of the group and allows later corrections without shifting everyone else's references.
Continue with a related guide
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