Tagging Images

R8JimBob88

R8JimBob88

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James Stockton
Edit My Images
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Good afternoon!

Well I have thought long and hard and well, I think the time has come to tag all of my images. I have so many pictures that I just cant find without spending ages trolling through old files and images etc.

I just want to know if anyone has a quick(ish) method of getting this done? I have Adobe Bridge that I use at the mo but, as the saying goes, a picture is a thousand words and that would take ages to do :lol: How many words would you tag an image with? :shrug: Obviuosly the more the merrier but you have to stop somewhere! Does anyone use some kind of system for doing this?

Thanking you!
 
i've just started doing this when i import new images to lightroom for processing.

not done owt with tagging my library though - only just finished tagging (and arranging) all my music!
 
I'll have to get cracking on with mine then! When you assign a keyword, does that get added to the metadata?
 
With Lightroom I subdivide my images into folders, such as 2008 then a shoot i.e Cornwall then possibly subdivide by further subject. I don't go any further as I don't want a huge tree. I may then rename the files to further help. I will also add general keywords such as seascape, or landscape, people, wildlife. Sometimes adding the odd additional further descriptor.

OK this may seem a bit long winded, but it isn't as doing this in LR is very easy. Also it does help to find the images if I have a major failure. LR will the search and find the images either by folder , sub folder, file name or by category. It's a bit of a hang up to pre Lightroom times.

It also speeds up searching if i do know where a particular file is, I can go straight to it

Every one has a different method, but you could use the folder and file name method in bridge to help you find the images you want. Saves you the £200 for LR.

Don't forget LR is available as a 30 day trial download so you can see if it's suitable for your needs.
 
Just I will be tagging them with Adobe bridge I think, but also use lightroom aswell and dont want to tag them twice!

EDIT - Thanks for that Chappers :)
 
does bridge make it easier to do batches/whole folders?

i've never used it but i seem to remember seeing that it is good for managing files like this :)
 
I use Bridge to add metadata keywords and copyright info to my photos (RAW files). The infomation gets written as a xmp file that is linked to the RAW file. When importing the RAW file into PS the xmp data is also imported. If you then save as JPEG as long as you don't strip out the metadata (by saving for web?) then all the information will be included in the JPEG.

Bridge is easy to use and allows multiple files but the interface could be better. You create either top level keywords or sub level keywords. If you change your mind at a later date in can be difficult to move them around and only updates the xmp files of the photos shown at the time. It's fine if you work out a good setup to start.
 
I convert them to DNG, then you don't need to worry about XMP files, all your metadata is in with the image data. I do this using Lightroom.
 
You can use Lightroom or Bridge, both will do IPTC complient keywording and comments. What ever you use make sure it is IPTC complient, or the work you are doing is a wast of time.

The industry standard is Photo Machanic, so you may want to give that a try.

As for how many keywords, it really depends on what you use the image for. Yourself - whatever, web display and finding later - maybe 5-10, for stock use 30-50 maybe more.
 
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