Author Topic: How do you organize your keywords? (Read 5072 times)

aivzdog · « **on:** April 21, 2017, 08:11 »

Since I am part of a few different stock photo sites, I was wondering if I should keep a spreadsheet/word doc of keywords for each photo to each separate site so I don't have to continue writing them out. So, instead, I can just copy and paste?

How do keep keywords for the same photo that you will be uploading to different stock sites?

Just trying to manage my time better.

Anna

Lana · « **Reply #1 on:** April 21, 2017, 08:37 »

I organise by countries (I shoot travel) having one word document with all keywords for each country - title for each photo in bold and keywords underneath, I'm trying to also keep them in chronological order. So when I need to keyword a new photo I look for a similar one that is already keyworded and copy, paste and edit my tags

Frankly, I feel that what I do is very time consuming and there is a lot to optimize. I remember someone mentioning in here they keep everything in one excel spreadsheet, even tracking submissions to agencies, I'm wondering if it is really easier than in word.

odesigns · « **Reply #2 on:** April 21, 2017, 08:50 »

I store mine in a pipe-delimited online database that I can access or modify from anywhere. I can also use the raw file to generate a CSV for bulk submissions to those agencies that take CSV batches.

Here's a demo of some of my keywords and how I organize them. (Non-administrator read-only view, so all the adding/deleting/modifying functionality is omitted.)

http://orlowskistock.com/sample/index.cgi

dirkr · « **Reply #3 on:** April 21, 2017, 09:21 »

I think the OP's question is a bit more basic: how to avoid having to repeat typing the same information multiple times for the same image on different agency websites.

If that's the question, the answer is to store the metadata within the image file. The IPTC standard let's you do that, and there are many applicstions that allow you to do that, including Photoshop, Lightroom or also free applications like Irfanview.

Jo Ann Snover · « **Reply #4 on:** April 21, 2017, 09:29 »

I think it's important to keep the metadata for each image in the image itself. There may be copy/paste from a similar image in a series as you're finishing the editing to prepare for upload, but when uploading to multiple sites, now or in the future, you just upload the JPEG and no copy/paste required.

It is never quite as simple as that in practice - you learn something about good keywording as you progress, so sometimes you want to fix up old keywords as you upload to a new site; some sites don't handle both title and description or have odd rules that require a bit of finessing - but that's the general idea.

I don't have a list of "Jo Ann approved terminology" outside of my head, but if I were a larger producer, I'd do that. You want to be consistent in the ways you describe similar things. So I typically include sea, ocean, water when describing beach or waterfront scenes. I include city and state/country and sometimes region for all outside scenes. Use both house and home for pictures of a residence, and so on. Try to avoid tailoring things to one site's customs - I was an iStock exclusive for 3 years and one of the daftest things I did for part of that time was to start keywording in Getty's-controlled-vocabulary-speak - Front or Back Yard, Residential Structure, Downtown District, Expressing Negativity. No human searches on those terms, so they're useless in any context without the translator (part of the search engine on Getty sites).

qunamax · « **Reply #5 on:** April 21, 2017, 10:09 »

Simply you embed keywords into photos, in metadata and they are automatically read and populated by agencies when you upload, you do the same thing with titles and descriptions.
Almost every photo editing/organizing software has this functionality.
I personally use a free Xpiks, for both keywording and uploading to different agencies.

increasingdifficulty · « **Reply #6 on:** April 21, 2017, 10:51 »

The QUICKEST way is to embed them into the metadata.

The BEST way is to have a text file with each image and optimize title, description and keywords for each agency. The search engines use metadata differently and if you want to optimize ranking everywhere, you can't use identical metadata.

Sean Locke Photography · « **Reply #7 on:** April 21, 2017, 10:54 »

Quote from: dirkr on April 21, 2017, 09:21

I think the OP's question is a bit more basic: how to avoid having to repeat typing the same information multiple times for the same image on different agency websites.

If that's the question, the answer is to store the metadata within the image file. The IPTC standard let's you do that, and there are many applicstions that allow you to do that, including Photoshop, Lightroom or also free applications like Irfanview.

This is the only way to do it, imo.

odesigns · « **Reply #8 on:** April 21, 2017, 12:48 »

You photographers have it way too easy....

Pauws99 · « **Reply #9 on:** April 27, 2017, 03:03 »

Quote from: increasingdifficulty on April 21, 2017, 10:51

The QUICKEST way is to embed them into the metadata.

The BEST way is to have a text file with each image and optimize title, description and keywords for each agency. The search engines use metadata differently and if you want to optimize ranking everywhere, you can't use identical metadata.

Nice theory but how are you able to work out whats best for each agency?

increasingdifficulty · « **Reply #10 on:** April 27, 2017, 03:23 »

Quote from: Pauws99 on April 27, 2017, 03:03

Quote from: increasingdifficulty on April 21, 2017, 10:51
The QUICKEST way is to embed them into the metadata.

The BEST way is to have a text file with each image and optimize title, description and keywords for each agency. The search engines use metadata differently and if you want to optimize ranking everywhere, you can't use identical metadata.
Nice theory but how are you able to work out whats best for each agency?

It's not a theory.

You figure it out by reading everything available on each search engine and by testing them yourself. Some are incredibly simple, others a bit more complicated. They are all very primitive compared to something like Google though.

Pauws99 · « **Reply #11 on:** April 27, 2017, 03:30 »

Quote from: increasingdifficulty on April 27, 2017, 03:23

Quote from: Pauws99 on April 27, 2017, 03:03
Quote from: increasingdifficulty on April 21, 2017, 10:51
The QUICKEST way is to embed them into the metadata.

The BEST way is to have a text file with each image and optimize title, description and keywords for each agency. The search engines use metadata differently and if you want to optimize ranking everywhere, you can't use identical metadata.
Nice theory but how are you able to work out whats best for each agency?

It's not a theory.

You figure it out by reading everything available on each search engine and by testing them yourself. Some are incredibly simple, others a bit more complicated. They are all very primitive compared to something like Google though.

Thanks I might try doing a bit of delving on some of my higher earning sites. I can see how I can test things....but not sure where I find out about search engines don't the agencies keep this tight to their chests? other than general stuff like if they prioritise on search order.

increasingdifficulty · « **Reply #12 on:** April 27, 2017, 03:37 »

They don't post a detailed list on their algorithms, no, but if you do a bit of detective work you will find interviews, forum posts, even blog posts on the sites themselves etc. where they give away valuable information.

If you spend enough time on each site keeping track of other images/footage you will also notice things you can use.

Pauws99 · « **Reply #13 on:** April 27, 2017, 03:50 »

Quote from: increasingdifficulty on April 27, 2017, 03:37

They don't post a detailed list on their algorithms, no, but if you do a bit of detective work you will find interviews, forum posts, even blog posts on the sites themselves etc. where they give away valuable information.

If you spend enough time on each site keeping track of other images/footage you will also notice things you can use.

Thanks....

suz7 · « **Reply #14 on:** April 27, 2017, 05:06 »

Hi,
Sorry to add to this
How do you add metadata to after effects videos?

thanks

fritz · « **Reply #15 on:** April 27, 2017, 10:31 »

One by one

unnonimus · « **Reply #16 on:** April 28, 2017, 06:25 »

All of my titles, keywords, EXIF, IPTC and csv files are computer generated with custom software that I wrote.

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Author Topic: How do you organize your keywords? (Read 5072 times)

aivzdog

Lana

odesigns

dirkr

Jo Ann Snover

qunamax

increasingdifficulty

Sean Locke Photography

odesigns

Pauws99

increasingdifficulty

Pauws99

increasingdifficulty

Pauws99

suz7

fritz

unnonimus

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