In this article, you’ll understand the meaning of Image Metadata, its importance, and the different types of Image Metadata used today.

Do you agree that pictures are worth a thousand words? If so, the image metadata of pictures are worth millions.

The comprehensive metadata attached to digital images provides users with a chance to store, sort, and comprehend the files in the photo library. Therefore, locating and accessing this information is crucial.

If you need to edit the metadata of your digital pictures, you do not have to do it manually. Instead, you can use tools, such as MetaImage. The tool is designed to automate the metadata editing process.

Find out more about the app by clicking https://setapp.com/apps/metaimage. Now, without further ado, here is what you must know about image metadata. 

The Meaning of Image Metadata

Image metadata refers to the specific details and information concerning a particular photo file. The information typically includes author, date created, file name, themes, content, etc.

Image metadata offers users a better solution to sort, organize, and maintain picture files within a system. 

Steps To View And Access Photo Metadata 

Users can easily access image metadata without any special software. However, the pathways to accessing the photo metadata differ on Mac and Windows. 

Mac users:

  • Use Finder to locate and access the intended digital photo file. 
  • Use your keyboard or mouse to highlight the file and press Command. 
  • You will find a new window with the requested details and cycle through the various tabs to find what you need. 

Windows users:

  • Find the digital image file, right-click on the file, and select Properties. 
  • At the top of the popup window, click the Details tab. Scroll through the resulting window to find the metadata section. 

What Is The Importance of Photo Metadata?

Users working with metadata comprehend its importance and feel fortunate that it exists in massive quantities.

When it comes to pictures, it is particularly true. Images are exclusively digital nowadays, and even print photographs tend to be copied into a digital format. 

So, one way that the metadata proves itself valuable is by creating a connection between varied systems exchanging massive quantities of picture files.

For example, suppose you need to transfer thousands of picture files from one computer to another. In the absence of metadata, the only way to understand and organize the new files would be to open these images manually.

Organizing and sorting will become an overwhelming task because there is no metadata. Without a bit of organizational effort, a small number of picture files can also become cluttered.

Metadata provides users with the power to effortlessly organize images using certain data categories like size, topic, author, or date. As a result, the images become more retrievable, and it becomes easier to sort them into specific groups. 

Primary Types of Image Metadata 

IPTC Metadata

IPTC or International Press Telecommunications Council is a media organization advocating digital image metadata standards to enable seamless multimedia exchange between photographers, archivists, news organizations, and developers.

It is embedded into the picture file, and the metadata offers administrative information about the picture.

The IPTC metadata is specific to archivists and content creators.

Examples of IPTC metadata include copyright information, creator’s information, contact details, keywords, descriptive information about the photo, licenses, permissions, etc. 

IPTC data is highly advantageous for photographers sharing their work online as it offers copyright protection. 

Google and other search engines utilize IPTC photo metadata to categorize millions of pictures on the Internet. As search engine algorithms cannot view pictures the way humans do, they heavily rely on the information to comprehend its content.

So, one way to maximize the online exposure of your content is to write intentional metadata and cater to the search engines.

EXIF Metadata 

EXIF or Exchangeable Image File Format refers to metadata inscribed automatically to a picture file by the phone or camera that captured the photo.

For example, photographers would have to document all the location information and camera settings with pen and paper during film photography.

Luckily, today, such information is recorded when you release the shutter. 

EXIF data provides information regarding the make and model of the camera, the date and time of the picture, the camera settings (ISO, aperture, and shutter speed), lens model, location, white balance, etc. 

The EXIF metadata is not readily available to someone viewing your pictures on the Internet. The data is embedded into digital image files, and you need the correct tools to access this information. 

XMP Metadata 

Adobe Systems created XMP or Extensible Metadata Platform, one of the latest metadata formats. It includes information from IPTC, EXIF, and other formats.

It even includes how the RAW files have been edited, so reverting to the original is not an issue. 

The primary benefit of XMP is that the format is not as constrained as the other two on this list. Users can enter multiple values for one property, and the XMP metadata improves workflow automation within the Adobe applications family.