I agree with Jake Archibald’s argument in Writing great alt text: Emotion matters that when we write image alt text, we should aim to evoke the same emotions as the image visuals do. Otherwise, screen reader users miss out.
If an image makes you laugh or cry, ideally the alt text will do the same:
The relevant parts of an image aren’t limited to the cold hard facts. Images can make you feel a particular way, and that’s something that should be made available to a screen reader user.
It isn’t just a head-shot of me. I’m doing a thing. I’m peering from behind a plant and pulling a bit of a silly face. There’s humour expressed in the image. I’m not saying that it’s going to win any comedy awards, but the image expresses a particular tone, and that matters. So, it should go in the alt: “Head-shot of me, a pale white guy, wearing glasses, grinning slightly, and partially hiding behind a plant”.
Let the creative writing begin!