Here’s a video I made that shows how I’m using ExifTool and the ExifToolGUI to annotate my photos. This video is best viewed on the YouTube site using the 720p HD setting.
Ready to try this? Here are links to the software products that I used:
Background:
As the unofficial family historian, I either own or have access to hundreds of family photos. I have put off scanning most of them because scanning photos is … well, it’s not fun for one thing. And since it’s not fun, I only want to do it ONCE. So that means I have to do it right the first time. That means annotating each photo properly. Who is in the photo? When and where was it taken? Is there something significant about the photo that should be noted?
I know a lot of that information for many photos, but I’ve been unclear about how to attach that information to the scanned version of the photo. I’ve seen several workarounds through the years. One solution is to create a photo database where each photo in your collection has a corresponding database record. The problem with that solution is that the photo and its metadata do not travel together, they are stored separately. Another solution is to use photo editing software to imbed text on top of the image. Of course you still want to have the original version too, so now you have two versions of the photo that you have to tie together. What a hassle!
In the old days, you used to write all that information on the back of the photo. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was an electronic version of that? Well, there is actually.
When you use your camera or scanner to capture an image, your device writes a lot of information “on the back of the photo”, including such things as the image size, the make and model of the device, the resolution, and much more. This is true of many file types, including .jpg, .tif, .png, .pdf and many others.
The above video describes how to access the “back of the photo” in such a way that you can record all of your important information AND make it available across all software platforms. In other words, when you scan the photo and take the time to caption and annotate it, that information will appear AUTOMATICALLY whether you view the photo in Google+, Photoshop Elements, even Windows Explorer.
Updates
- Note that you will need to install TWO pieces of software: ExifTool and ExifToolGUI. See links right below the video, or purchase the PDF for complete instructions.
- Yes, you can do batch editing with this software. Both the IPTC tags and the geotags can be edited in batch.
- Here is the contents of my workspace.ini file:
[WorkspaceTags]
Photo Info=-GUI-SEP
Filename=-filename
Make=-exif:Make
Model=-exif:Model
Creator Tool=-XMP-xmp:CreatorTool^No Hint defined
DateTimeOriginal=-exif:DateTimeOriginal^[2012:01:14 20:00:00]
CreateDate=-exif:CreateDate^[2012:01:14 20:00:00]
Software=-exif:Software
GPS Info=-GUI-SEP
Geotagged?=-Gps:GPSLatitude
Latitude Reference=-GPS:GPSLatitudeRef^No Hint defined
Latitude=-GPS:GPSLatitude^No Hint defined
Longitude Reference=-GPS:GPSLongitudeRef^No Hint defined
Longitude=-GPS:GPSLongitude^No Hint defined
Edit these fields:=-GUI-SEP
Description/Caption=-xmp-dc:Description^details about this photo
Keywords±=-xmp-dc:Subject^[Full Name 1], [Full Name 2], etc.
Location=-xmp:LocationShownSublocation^[Specific location name]
City=-IPTC:City^No Hint defined
State=-IPTC:Province-State^No Hint defined
Country*=-IPTC:Country-PrimaryLocationName^USA
Event=-xmp-iptcExt:Event^[Wedding] or {Graduation], etc.
Description Writer*=-xmp:CaptionWriter^Your Name Here
