Metadata key to finding, copyrighting photos, audio and video
Some of the metadata a camera saves with each shot
CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE
One of the things I do when I come in from shooting photos, just before backing them up, is append the metadata.
What is metadata? When most folks see a digital image that’s all they see. But invisibly encoded along with the image is a great deal more information about that photos. This info includes the camera that shot the photo, what such settings as the ISO, f-stop, shutter speed, etc., were, along with the focal length of the lens used. If you’ve set the date and time on the camera, that information for each shot will also be included.All of this information helps a photographer understand how to improve their mastery of the camera.
In addition to the information the camera provides, there are user fields provided to embed who the photographer is, who holds the photo copyright, where the shot was taken, the photographer’s email, phone and website info and much more. Most photographers create templates of various sorts to fill in that information.
The photo of Mar de Jade in Chacala, Nayarit, Mexico which the metadata above was attached to.
And then there are fields specific to the photo, such as title, description and the like. This is where one notes a variety of information, from who is in each photo (if known) to circumstances under which it was shot, keywords, etc. These user fields help one locate shots of a specific person, group or event.
Similarly metadata can also be appended to video and audio clips
So while it is time consuming to enter metadata, it is key to locating your images and video clips on the fly.