With regard to digital images, metadata is the general term referring to a dataset that is included with a digital image. Extensive information can be associated with every image, from the technical details of the image capture device, description of the image content along with keywords, to the creator’s contact and copyright information. It is the latter subject that will be discussed here.

Embedding the copyright notice

In essence what is required is insure your copyright notice is contained in the image metadata written by the camera at the time of capture. If you have not set your capture device to record your copyright info, you should add it upon ingest to your computer storage device or as soon as possible. There are a variety of software options that will allow you to do this. The more detailed metadata you add regarding contact info along with the content and headline of the image, the easier it will be for you to manage and organize your image library and track the details of each session. Proper metadata practices are particularly essential for the success of stock shooter.

IPTC Photo Metadata Standard

The IPTC Photo Metadata Standard provides you with a set of guidelines for a universally acceptable standard of metadata syntax and categories. You can find the Complete Guide to Photo Metadata on the IPTC website. You are strongly urged to go thru it.

Support of IPTC Metadata by Software

Many software solutions are available to work efficiently with your photo metadata needs.

Further Information

Picture Licensing Universal System (PLUS) – Because metadata can be stripped out by social media entities, PLUS have developed a non-profit registry of rights holders, licenses and images. PLUS can enable anyone who has an image to obtain rights and ownership information for that image, regardless of whether the metadata is stripped out or not.