Image processing metadata

[gverhoev]

Dear all,

Does anybody know of a metadata standard (or XMP namespace) that enables to store image processing parameters? I do not mean how a RAW image was "developed" into a JPG/TIFF, but what happens with the JPEG/TIFF. For instance,  Photoshop does not store in the XMP tags the operations executed on any JPEG/TIFF image. Being an academic, I think this is absolutely essential. In my research project, we do quite come colourimetric and geometric processing of the images, and I would like to store the algorithms (and their parameters) in the XMP metadata of the final processed image.

To my knowledge, there is no standard way/tag set to describe and store these image "post-processing" steps in metadata.  So before I would go on a path of developing a bespoke XMP tag set to store our image processing routines, does anybody know if something like this exists already?

Cheers, Geert

[Mario]

Custom XMP namespaces.

Lightroom uses the custom XML::crs namespace (Camera Raw Settings) to store literally tons (even individual brush strokes, depending on your settings!) in XMP.
Which is why IMatch deliberately ignores most of the XMP::crs namespace via the Tag Manager.

Other applications use their own custom namespaces in XMP or store the settings applied in proprietary configuration files of sorts.

There is no standard and never will be.
The settings stored depend on the application used, and are basically instructions for the proprietary render engines. Often versioned too, to deal with different versions of the render engine.

If you want to store your proprietary data as part of the XMP record, create your own namespace and document it and ask ExifTool to support it (ExifTool must know about your namespace in order to support it, which is required for IMatch to support it). If the data you create is not of interest for other applications, create your own config file of sorts. Much easier.

[jmsantos]

Geert,

Photoshop can keep a history registry of operations performed on any JPEG/TIFF image. It can be activated in Preferences, and you can save the information in xmp metadata, text file or both. I have not used it, but it is possible that it can help for what you need.