Creator, Owner, Copyright, etc. metadata

[TomS]

On import of my files I want to apply a metadata template that would contain data sufficient to populate metadata tags that would identify me as the creator, owner, licensor, etc. of the images. I want to make sure that my files are properly protected and that I can be identified as the owner of the images and that the correct copyright information (rights?) is included. There are so many different tags in which this data can be entered and I'm not sure if I should be putting it in every possible tag. Would anyone care to advise me on what tags should be populated in IMatch in order to do that? It seems that I can streamline this process by using some of the composite tags in IMatch. Is that accurate?

If somebody would care to share a metadata template that would be very helpful to me.

[Mario]

Don't fiddle with Composite tags. These are an ExifTool specialty and useful only for very specific purposes. Updating them may have side effects. Stick to XMP metadata for updating, because this also supports the automatic mapping between XMP and legacy IPTC data IMatch providers.

Note: Metadata is not a "safe" way to mark your files as copyrighted. Many web services and web galleries strip metadata during the upload (e.g. Facebook).

The standard tags I include in IMatch and which are presented in the Default Metadata Panel layout are the common tags to use. They are also automatically mapped to legacy IPTC data, if you still use these or you work with agencies or services which require them.

[TomS]

Note: Metadata is not a "safe" way to mark your files as copyrighted. Many web services and web galleries strip metadata during the upload (e.g. Facebook).

So is there any point in bothering to include this data at all? I rarely upload photos to facebook but I have used OneDrive, Google, Smugmug, and Flickr. I am not a professional but it always just seemed to be a prudent thing to do. Am I wasting my time tagging my files with author, creator, and copyright information?

[Mario]

Storing your credentials and similar info in images is q quick process with a Metadata Template. If you don't publish your files, you don't need that of course. Flickr is notorious for 'fuzyy' and changing support for metadata, or even stripping (some?) metadata during import.

Metadata like copyright info is mandatory for most agencies, stock photo web sites and the like. The more professional web galleries support them or even rely on them, especially title, description and keywords (tags). It all depends. You can always add metadata later if you need it. Or use the Batch Processor to export your files, and add metadata on-the-fly as needed.

[TomS]

Out of curiosity, what is your opinion of what data should be entered into the title tag. There seems to be no clear consensus on this issue. The fact that different services treat this tag differently doesn't help. Most people seem to believe that the IPTC standard encourages putting the file name in the Title tag.

[Mario]

Welcome to the Metadata Mess^TM

Have a look at the IPTC standard and here:

http://www.photometadata.org/META-Resources-Field-Guide-to-Metadata

and then decide what works for you.
If you work with agencies or other commercial clients, they usually tell you what to put where.
If you work with museums or libraries, they usually have their own standards or use one of the ISO or other international standards.
If you do all this only for you, you are free to use whatever you like.

Copying file names into metadata is usually not a good a idea, unless you are very strict. Renaming the files later without updating the metadata again will break your schema. File names are file names, and metadata is metadata. Best to not link metadata to anything physical.

[sinus]

Mario is fully right, I think.

Nevertheless I use the fileName for this field Title. But I am very strict, I think.
I have a metadata-templae, what I let run, when I am finnished with a file, and this template fill the tag title with the correct filename (since I have renamed the original filename) and gives me some visual clue, so I am on the safe side to be sure, this file is finnished and ok.