What is metadata?

Metadata is data about data. It is the descriptive information embedded inside an image or other type of file.

For example, most digital cameras attach some basic information about a file, such as height, width, file format, and the time and date the image was taken. Think of this whole thing as the old library card catalog system. The DAM is the card catalog and the information on the cards is the metadata, pointing you to the book you are looking for.

Why should I care about metadata?

Metadata is important in this age of digital photos where users are looking for a way to store information with their pictures that is portable and stays with the file, both now and into the future. Metadata is essential to using a DAM because it can help streamline your workflow and organize your files.

Where can I find metadata?

I am going to get technical here for a moment… file information is stored using the Extensible Metadata Platform (XMP) standard. XMP is built on XML. In the case of camera raw files that have a proprietary file format, XMP isn’t written into the original files. To avoid corruption, XMP metadata is stored in a separate file called a sidecar file.

Have you seen those xmp files that seem to share the same file name? Don’t put them in the trash! Those xmp files contain the metadata

Once you save those raw files in another format (JPEG, TIFF, PSD, and DNG), the XMP metadata is written into the files in the location specified for that data. You might not even work with RAW files. In that case, the metadata is already embedded in the image file itself.

In Adobe Photoshop you can view this information by looking at the “file info” form located under the file menu. This form enables users to insert and edit IPTC metadata in digital image files.

What information should I add to the metadata?

Metadata already contains information as the file is created in your camera, such as image size and date. I suggest adding more information. I always fill in the Description and the Origin sections of the File Info form. In these sections you can add a description (or caption), photographer’s name, location, keywords, copyright information, etc.

My life is metadata. Five years ago, I hadn’t even heard the term. In fact, when I started taking pictures I used film and developed my own prints. Digital came along and changed everything.

I have never considered myself to be a technical photographer. I always bristled when photographers talked shop, trying to outdo each other with their gear. I love working with great equipment, but always considered my working style to be much more fluid than technical. I chose to be an artist, not an engineer. Today, my shooting style remains fluid, but most of my time is spent at the computer with my new friend, metadata.

Digital photography is more than making great images. It is managing and manipulating metadata, pixels, file formats, color space, gigabytes, megabytes, hard drives, software, hardware, sensors and more.

My current project is also my oldest project. As UC Davis continues to transition into the digital age, I am managing one small aspect of it, the photo collection for University Communications. My workflow is strictly digital. Our office houses an unknown number of images. They are all filed away on cds/dvds in manila envelopes, locked in file cabinets. I have a system, but no one knows seems to have figured it out. I am still trying to figure out my predecessor’s system, and she has been gone for three years!

Recently, I came back from a week long vacation to find piles of these envelopes all over my workspace. I chuckled when a co-worker described her difficulty in finding an image in my absence. My boss jokingly told me that I am forbidden to leave for extended amounts of time. Apparently, our system of file cabinets, cds/dvd and manila envelopes isn’t up to par.

Situations like this have led to a push for a Digital Asset Management System. In University Communications we affectionately call this the DAM. It comes with the promise of making my life and everyone’s job easier.

The DAM allows users to easily store, catalog, search, and retrieve photos (or other assets) easily. Metadata is the building blocks to this system. Simply put, metadata is data about your data. For digital images, this includes information such as date, location, image size, copyright, caption information, keywords, etc. The more information attached to the metadata, the easier it is to find an image.

The DAM takes my system of file cabinets, cds/dvds and manilla envelopes, puts it on a server and makes it accessible to anyone UC Davis grants access.

If you are a photographer today or work with digital images, you NEED to know about metadata. You can’t avoid it. In upcoming posts, I will share my take on it.