Adding Keywords

[Contemporary Dave]

I'm new to the stock photography world, so forgive me if this has been asked before.

 

I'm lead to understand that if you submit the same photos to multiple stock libraries, you can save a lot of time adding keywords to each site by placing your keywords for that specific photo in the keywords tag box in Lightroom. Apparently, the stock site you are uploading that specific photo to will pick up the keywords and add them automatically, thus saving you a lot of time having to write them out again. I don't have Lightroom, but I have Adobe Bridge. Would the same thing work if you added the keywords in the keywords IPTC core section of Bridge?

[MDM]

Yes is the short answer. Some contributors prefer Bridge as it preserves the keyword order in the metadata whereas Lightroom puts keywords in aphabetical order. However, keyword order has no weight in the Alamy search engine, although keyword proximity might have a minor effect. You might hear otherwise but that is recent and from the horse's mouth, the horse being James Allsworth of Alamy. If you are managing a large image collection, then Lightroom is a lot better than Bridge in terms of metadata management although this is a subject of occasional debate here on the forum.

 

You have some nice pics there by the way. Best of luck.

Edited February 13, 2020 by MDM

[Contemporary Dave]

Most helpful - thank you.

[meanderingemu]

53 minutes ago, Contemporary Dave said:

I'm new to the stock photography world, so forgive me if this has been asked before.

 

I'm lead to understand that if you submit the same photos to multiple stock libraries, you can save a lot of time adding keywords to each site by placing your keywords for that specific photo in the keywords tag box in Lightroom. Apparently, the stock site you are uploading that specific photo to will pick up the keywords and add them automatically, thus saving you a lot of time having to write them out again. I don't have Lightroom, but I have Adobe Bridge. Would the same thing work if you added the keywords in the keywords IPTC core section of Bridge?

 

 

remember that each agency uses KW differently, so the little time you save upfront, may cost you in the end.  

same for descriptions 

[Betty LaRue]

6 hours ago, Contemporary Dave said:

I'm new to the stock photography world, so forgive me if this has been asked before.

 

I'm lead to understand that if you submit the same photos to multiple stock libraries, you can save a lot of time adding keywords to each site by placing your keywords for that specific photo in the keywords tag box in Lightroom. Apparently, the stock site you are uploading that specific photo to will pick up the keywords and add them automatically, thus saving you a lot of time having to write them out again. I don't have Lightroom, but I have Adobe Bridge. Would the same thing work if you added the keywords in the keywords IPTC core section of Bridge?

I use Bridge. Always have. I have templates set up for subjects I may shoot repeatedly, apply them and delete or add relevant Tags to that particular image. I also have a basic template set up that applies the keywords relative to place, like town, state, country, etc. Any image that doesn’t have its own template (like American robin which has a template) I select all images in a folder after developing, and apply the basic template that adds all the things I add to every image. It’s a time saver.

The birds, butterflies, etc that have scientific names, I don’t have to remember those scientific names or spend time looking them up because they are in their own template.

Most here do it in Lightroom, not me. But then, much to MDM’s chagrin, I don’t use Lightroom for cataloguing. He gave me up as a lost cause, but I do recognize he was trying his best to help me. He still does.

I march to my own drumbeat. 😄 I had my own system using ACR, PS and Bridge way before ever using Lightroom, so I am comfortable with it and have enough to do in my life without learning cataloguing. These days, I develop in LR, transfer to PS to do final work, keyword in Bridge. I’m happy with that.

Betty

[MDM]

1 hour ago, Betty LaRue said:

IBut then, much to MDM’s chagrin, I don’t use Lightroom for cataloguing. He gave me up as a lost cause, but I do recognize he was trying his best to help me. He still does.

I march to my own drumbeat. 😄 

Betty

 

I understand Betty. I march to my own beat as well if I am not blasting out some good ole country music when I'm driving. I was only trying to make life easier for you though. It was all well-intentioned.  🤣🤣🤣

Edited February 14, 2020 by MDM

[Betty LaRue]

2 hours ago, MDM said:

 

I understand Betty. I march to my own beat as well if I am not blasting out some good ole country music when I'm driving. I was only trying to make life easier for you though. It was all well-intentioned.  🤣🤣🤣

I know that. You were trying to yank me into technology wisdom.
I can learn some things. After all, I learned PS. But I only took it as far as needs be. The excited interest has to be burning in my gut, then I tackle it. That goes with art, or learning last summer how to make a 6 foot 8x8” piece of raw cedar look like a piece of beat up driftwood to use as my mantle.

  I used a half dozen tools to scar the wood, and 5 coats of various stains and whitewashes to get that silvery gray salt water and sun appearance. I flew by the seat of my pants with no instruction but instinct and was successful because it excited me.

Cataloguing leaves me cold. 🧐

Sorry the mantle doesn’t show up well here, the decor was the subject.

Edited February 14, 2020 by Betty LaRue

[Harry Harrison]

15 hours ago, Contemporary Dave said:

I don't have Lightroom, but I have Adobe Bridge. Would the same thing work if you added the keywords in the keywords IPTC core section of Bridge?

If you've never used Lightroom then it is probably difficult to understand how useful it can be to add at at least basic keywords to your images whether you are going to upload them to a stock site or not. This can be as just simple as the place you took them and something to cover the subject matter, just anything that will help you find the images later. In addition Lightroom provides powerful search tools automatically for such parameters as the date shot, camera or lens used, aperture, shutter speed, focal length, ISO etc. (obviously we're talking about digital images with EXIF information here). That becomes very useful for filtering out images for special treatment in the 'Develop' module for example - so all your 1600 ISO images on a particular camera might benefit from special noise reduction perhaps, or maybe just checking how good that lens you like actually does perform wide open - etc. etc.  The 'Library' module is for cataloguing and the 'Develop' section is very powerful for processing your images in an entirely non-destructive way, you will hardly ever need to go to Photoshop but in any case the two programs are nicely integrated. There are also 'Print', 'Map', 'Book',''Web' & 'Slideshow' modules, I use 'Print' all the time, it's very powerful.

 

That's the end of the commercial, the downside is that you have to pay for the subscription to Lightroom and Photoshop whereas you already have Bridge. Photo Mechanic by Camerabits is also worth recommending, extremely powerful and quick for adding keywords etc, much loved by Live News photographers in the field (or cafe).

 

Personally once I've selected my images for uploading to Alamy they are catalogued in Lightroom as a batch using the Collection feature, all the batches are put inside a Collection set for Alamy Uploads. Then I try and think of the keywords and captions before I upload them so that if they pass QC they are on sale immediately. I know that some others prefer to do this once they have been uploaded but it suits me to do it this way. However almost certainly you will want to refine and add to your captions and keywords in AIM once they are up on Alamy, and of course you'll also need to attend to the Optional fields, model releases, property releases, and in particular Supertags. There is a third party Lightroom plug-in for integrating Alamy and Lightroom, as well as may others that can be useful, all listed here:

 

https://www.lightroomqueen.com/links/plugins/

Edited February 14, 2020 by Harry Harrison

[MDM]

3 hours ago, Harry Harrison said:

If you've never used Lightroom then it is probably difficult to understand how useful it can be to add at at least basic keywords to your images whether you are going to upload them to a stock site or not. This can be as just simple as the place you took them and something to cover the subject matter, just anything that will help you find the images later. In addition Lightroom provides powerful search tools automatically for such parameters as the date shot, camera or lens used, aperture, shutter speed, focal length, ISO etc. (obviously we're talking about digital images with EXIF information here). That becomes very useful for filtering out images for special treatment in the 'Develop' module for example - so all your 1600 ISO images on a particular camera might benefit from special noise reduction perhaps, or maybe just checking how good that lens you like actually does perform wide open - etc. etc.  The 'Library' module is for cataloguing and the 'Develop' section is very powerful for processing your images in an entirely non-destructive way, you will hardly ever need to go to Photoshop but in any case the two programs are nicely integrated. There are also 'Print', 'Map', 'Book',''Web' & 'Slideshow' modules, I use 'Print' all the time, it's very powerful.

 

That's the end of the commercial, the downside is that you have to pay for the subscription to Lightroom and Photoshop whereas you already have Bridge. Photo Mechanic by Camerabits is also worth recommending, extremely powerful and quick for adding keywords etc, much loved by Live News photographers in the field (or cafe).

 

Personally once I've selected my images for uploading to Alamy they are catalogued in Lightroom as a batch using the Collection feature, all the batches are put inside a Collection set for Alamy Uploads. Then I try and think of the keywords and captions before I upload them so that if they pass QC they are on sale immediately. I know that some others prefer to do this once they have been uploaded but it suits me to do it this way. However almost certainly you will want to refine and add to your captions and keywords in AIM once they are up on Alamy, and of course you'll also need to attend to the Optional fields, model releases, property releases, and in particular Supertags. There is a third party Lightroom plug-in for integrating Alamy and Lightroom, as well as may others that can be useful, all listed here:

 

https://www.lightroomqueen.com/links/plugins/

 

 

Harry - you are wasting your time. Betty is not for changing. She already has the CC subscription and she uses Lightroom to process the raws but refuses to try the cataloguing. Why?????Good luck with that 😀.

[MDM]

7 hours ago, Betty LaRue said:

I know that. You were trying to yank me into technology wisdom.
I can learn some things. After all, I learned PS. But I only took it as far as needs be. The excited interest has to be burning in my gut, then I tackle it. That goes with art, or learning last summer how to make a 6 foot 8x8” piece of raw cedar look like a piece of beat up driftwood to use as my mantle.

  I used a half dozen tools to scar the wood, and 5 coats of various stains and whitewashes to get that silvery gray salt water and sun appearance. I flew by the seat of my pants with no instruction but instinct and was successful because it excited me.

Cataloguing leaves me cold. 🧐

Sorry the mantle doesn’t show up well here, the decor was the subject.

 

Fantastic Betty. 

[Harry Harrison]

1 hour ago, MDM said:

Harry - you are wasting your time. Betty is not for changing. She already has the CC subscription and she uses Lightroom to process the raws but refuses to try the cataloguing. Why?????Good luck with that 😀.

Oh no, I would never try and change Betty's mind, though I think I have tried as well, that was for the OP!

[MDM]

19 minutes ago, Harry Harrison said:

Oh no, I would never try and change Betty's mind, though I think I have tried as well, that was for the OP!

 

OOPS. Brain not fully engaged yet today. 😀

[Harry Harrison]

2 minutes ago, MDM said:

Brain not fully engaged yet today.

Mine seems to start off well then tail off through the day!

[Betty LaRue]

2 hours ago, Harry Harrison said:

Mine seems to start off well then tail off through the day!

I have my shields up around my brain.....Everything you you say about LR bounces off.
Beam me up, Scotty.

[Ed Rooney]

Some very nice images, Dave. Good luck. 

[dlmphotog]

On 13/02/2020 at 05:44, Contemporary Dave said:

I'm new to the stock photography world, so forgive me if this has been asked before.

 

I'm lead to understand that if you submit the same photos to multiple stock libraries, you can save a lot of time adding keywords to each site by placing your keywords for that specific photo in the keywords tag box in Lightroom. Apparently, the stock site you are uploading that specific photo to will pick up the keywords and add them automatically, thus saving you a lot of time having to write them out again. I don't have Lightroom, but I have Adobe Bridge. Would the same thing work if you added the keywords in the keywords IPTC core section of Bridge?

 

Metadata is your friend !

 

I recommending adding metadata to your original image file, this is most likely a RAW file or it could be a TIFF, JPEG or however you have your work flow set up. The metadata added includes your copyright notice, contact info, keywords/tag, description and extras like location if you want. This metadata then stays with that original image file as you make JPEG copies or otherwise distribute the images to various locations.

 

I'm a very bad speller so I use a word processor with spell check to enter a descriptive description that strives to included the 5-Ws, Who, What Where, When and Why. I then copy this description and insert commas to chop it up into keywords/tags. Thus the descriptive description becomes the biases of my keywords/tags list. I add plurals, synonyms, slang, alternative spellings...  Making effective keywords/tags is a masterclass topic on it's own...

 

I then copy and paste the description and keywords/tags into the appropriate fields in Bridge. Now when I develop my RAW image into a JPEG the metadata stays with the image.

 

Hope this helps,

 

David L. Moore

 

 

[spacecadet]

25 minutes ago, dlmphotog said:

 

Metadata is your friend !

 

I recommending adding metadata to your original image file, this is most likely a RAW file or it could be a TIFF, JPEG or however you have your work flow set up. The metadata added includes your copyright notice, contact info,

 

 

 

 

Not for uploads to Alamy though- Alamy removes personal metadata and it's actually a breach of contract to include it.

s.4.11

"Any information supplied for display with any Image, including captions, keywords, Pseudonyms, agency names and descriptions only includes information that is pertaining to the specific Image itself, and does not include contact details, web addresses, Uniform Resource Locator's (URL's), copyright and rights management information or, except in cases of journalism or news reporting or where the consent of any person shown in an Image has been obtained or another legitimate reason exists, any personal details from which a living person can be identified.

Edited February 22, 2020 by spacecadet

[dlmphotog]

3 hours ago, spacecadet said:

Not for uploads to Alamy though- Alamy removes personal metadata and it's actually a breach of contract to include it.

s.4.11

"Any information supplied for display with any Image, including captions, keywords, Pseudonyms, agency names and descriptions only includes information that is pertaining to the specific Image itself, and does not include contact details, web addresses, Uniform Resource Locator's (URL's), copyright and rights management information or, except in cases of journalism or news reporting or where the consent of any person shown in an Image has been obtained or another legitimate reason exists, any personal details from which a living person can be identified.

 

I'm aware Alamy removes my personal contact and copyright info/notice as per the contract paragraph you sighted.

 

As far as I'm aware Alamy only uses the Description and Keywords/Tags fields. But regardless my contact and copyright info/notice metadata is always is included on the images I process as I value my work. I also include other metadata such as location as the image metadata is not just for Alamy's use, I use the image metadata in my DAM Digital Asset Management.

 

I try to take the long term view and do a task once. As of now I'm happy to be exclusive with Alamy but that may not always be the case. If I apply comprehensive metadata to my RAW files I only have to do it once.

 

Everyone has to find a workflow that fits their style, I just advocate for photographers to apply comprehensive metadata on their source images be that RAW/TIFF/DNG or JPEG.

 

Hope this helps,

 

David L. Moore