Providing alternative text ('alt tags') to images is one of the core requirements for accessibility. And so when I was uploading my photos, I knew I'd have to provide alt tags for each of them. And to be honest, this was a task I was not looking forward to...

I enjoy building websites, and I enjoy taking and editing photographs. I also enjoy clear writing. But adding text to my photos felt like a chore and not part of the fun.

So with a sigh I started writing the first few alt tags... and quickly I started to enjoy the process!

Describing my photos to someone who cannot view them made me look at my photos in a new way. It helped me to analyze my photos, to explicitly name what my idea behind the photo was. What struck me to take this photo? What kind of image did I try to create? What effect did I try to evoke with the viewer?

Making information accessible already should be a good motivator on its own. However, as often is the case with making information accessible, there are additional benefits that go wider than just accessibility. In this specific case, it was a personal benefit that made me value my photos and accessibility even more.