There are so many terms we are not familiar with as photographers and many of them are usually what we need to protect our intellectual properties or as a copyright owner. In this article, I will share with you what you need to know about photo metadata and IPTC and also why it is important.
Metadata describes how the image files were created; where and when. It also gives a description of the photo, and the photographer and shows you the medium with which the image was edited in the post-processing. There are various types of Photo Metadata but I will only talk about the most common one which is: IPTC.
IPTC is a type of photo metadata which acronym is gotten from “International Press Telecommunication Council” It’s a format that is established for media press use. IPTC data includes image details like the title, description, and location. It also includes information about the photographer and copyright.
WHY IS METADATA IMPORTANT?
Metadata helps track post-processing changes made in programs like Lightroom. You can see this information for your own photos, but also other photographers’ images. Photo metadata is also a gold mine for learning photography and post-processing. If something does not work in the photo, you can check to see if a setting needs adjusting.
