A process that I have been too lacked on, that of keywording images.
Besides setting and trying to think of logical keywords that are appropriate, are there any set guidelines or standards that are typically used to keyword images?
From experience has anyone found a "system" be it a software tool or the like that works efficiently?
I'm not exactly sure what I'm looking for as a solution, but I do know the more images I set and keyword the more my brain seems to go numb. I was hopping there was a better way.
I was in the same situation as you, having to keyword a lot of images, I thought I would go out of my mind with boredom! What I do now is keyword the image as soon as it reaches PS, and make sure I process the images of a series in a row so I can copy/paste the keywords in most images instead of typing them out.
Thats just how I do it now, If anyone has a better system I love to hear it as well!
Hey Brad, "I feel your Pain" !!! I use lightroom and put all my new shots directly into the Keyword, "Misc". I then sort from there and dump the clunkers, then attach the appropriate keywords to the others and move them out of Misc. Unless you are posting to a stock agency or somewhere similiar, I don't think there is a standard for what keywords to use. I use what rings a bell in my memory to find the appropriate shots. Some of my shots only have one keyword and others may have as many as 5 or 6. Hope this helps.
Late last year I set about establishing a keyword system (using Bridge--I had CS3 at the time, now CS4) for the first time. It was an exercise in patience at it took me weeks to fully implement the system on all my images, but it was worth doing, IMO. The keyword system itself continues to evolve slightly, within the general parameters I set at the outset, as I photograph new places and things, but once the initial system was in place I set about adding keywords for new images as I add them to my storage devices so there will never be another siege like the one related to keyword system startup.
My system--and it works for me, your mileage may very well vary--is based on a handful of broad categories that's representative of my shooting interests (mostly landscapes with a bit of macro thrown in), with many, many specific subcategories. The broad categories are: location, season of the year, subject and photo style.
I think the photo management/workflow tool you use impacts how you do keywords.
I use Apple's Aperture. And I photograph mostly birds. I have a three-way approach to keywords: I use family names or variations (Corvids, Raptors, Waders, Shorebirds, etc.); geographic names (Continent, Country, State, Area); and behaviors (Flying, Perched, Nest, Courtship, Feeding). I use the caption for the common name. When an editor wants a flight shot of sandhill cranes from Delta Junction, I can create a smart album with those descriptors. Combined with Aperture's rating system (1-5 stars), you have a lot of flexibility. My only folder structure is month/year.
Aperture encourages a relatively flat organization and lots of keywords. It's lift/stamp tool makes assigning keywords very straightforward and, more importantly, very fast. I came back from three weeks in Ecuador with over 9,000 images. Using Aperture, I was able to classify all of them in two days of intense work. And much of that time was spent confirming species ID, not assigning the keywords.
I second Bill's suggestion about the Controlled Vocabulary. I was also approached to do a review of fotoKeyword Harvester. You might want to check it out. It is a nice piece of software that I am still using now.
Back when I was running all the royalty-free websites at Getty Images we had an entire team of keyworders working for us. Consistency and accuracy of are paramount importance. Keep in mind that if you already sell, or plan to sell, stock photos, the keywords embedded in your metadata can often be automatically uploaded and used to assist in the sale of your own images. Thus, you definitely want to go down the road of a Controlled Vocabulary as all reputable stock photo houses will be using one form or another of a controlled vocabulary. Many will be used a modified form of an established vocabulary and will be using their own custom-made keywording tools (and vocabulary). But the point is that follow established rules early on in your keywording efforts can save you a lot of time later (and help you with a better and more efficient system of your own).
Back when I was running all the royalty-free websites at Getty Images we had an entire team of keyworders working for us. Consistency and accuracy of are paramount importance. Keep in mind that if you already sell, or plan to sell, stock photos, the keywords embedded in your metadata can often be automatically uploaded and used to assist in the sale of your own images. Thus, you definitely want to go down the road of a Controlled Vocabulary as all reputable stock photo houses will be using one form or another of a controlled vocabulary. Many will be used a modified form of an established vocabulary and will be using their own custom-made keywording tools (and vocabulary). But the point is that follow established rules early on in your keywording efforts can save you a lot of time later (and help you with a better and more efficient system of your own).
Discussion
10 repliesBesides setting and trying to think of logical keywords that are appropriate, are there any set guidelines or standards that are typically used to keyword images?
From experience has anyone found a "system" be it a software tool or the like that works efficiently?
I'm not exactly sure what I'm looking for as a solution, but I do know the more images I set and keyword the more my brain seems to go numb. I was hopping there was a better way.
Thanks for your time.
I was in the same situation as you, having to keyword a lot of images, I thought I would go out of my mind with boredom! What I do now is keyword the image as soon as it reaches PS, and make sure I process the images of a series in a row so I can copy/paste the keywords in most images instead of typing them out.
Thats just how I do it now, If anyone has a better system I love to hear it as well!
Merle
My system--and it works for me, your mileage may very well vary--is based on a handful of broad categories that's representative of my shooting interests (mostly landscapes with a bit of macro thrown in), with many, many specific subcategories. The broad categories are: location, season of the year, subject and photo style.
I use Apple's Aperture. And I photograph mostly birds. I have a three-way approach to keywords: I use family names or variations (Corvids, Raptors, Waders, Shorebirds, etc.); geographic names (Continent, Country, State, Area); and behaviors (Flying, Perched, Nest, Courtship, Feeding). I use the caption for the common name. When an editor wants a flight shot of sandhill cranes from Delta Junction, I can create a smart album with those descriptors. Combined with Aperture's rating system (1-5 stars), you have a lot of flexibility. My only folder structure is month/year.
Aperture encourages a relatively flat organization and lots of keywords. It's lift/stamp tool makes assigning keywords very straightforward and, more importantly, very fast. I came back from three weeks in Ecuador with over 9,000 images. Using Aperture, I was able to classify all of them in two days of intense work. And much of that time was spent confirming species ID, not assigning the keywords.
Check out http://controlledvocabulary.com/products/. Dave Riecks also runs a controlled vocabulary Yahoo group that is very informative.
Bill Speaks
www.speaksimages.com
Back when I was running all the royalty-free websites at Getty Images we had an entire team of keyworders working for us. Consistency and accuracy of are paramount importance. Keep in mind that if you already sell, or plan to sell, stock photos, the keywords embedded in your metadata can often be automatically uploaded and used to assist in the sale of your own images. Thus, you definitely want to go down the road of a Controlled Vocabulary as all reputable stock photo houses will be using one form or another of a controlled vocabulary. Many will be used a modified form of an established vocabulary and will be using their own custom-made keywording tools (and vocabulary). But the point is that follow established rules early on in your keywording efforts can save you a lot of time later (and help you with a better and more efficient system of your own).
Cheers...
Brad
Back when I was running all the royalty-free websites at Getty Images we had an entire team of keyworders working for us. Consistency and accuracy of are paramount importance. Keep in mind that if you already sell, or plan to sell, stock photos, the keywords embedded in your metadata can often be automatically uploaded and used to assist in the sale of your own images. Thus, you definitely want to go down the road of a Controlled Vocabulary as all reputable stock photo houses will be using one form or another of a controlled vocabulary. Many will be used a modified form of an established vocabulary and will be using their own custom-made keywording tools (and vocabulary). But the point is that follow established rules early on in your keywording efforts can save you a lot of time later (and help you with a better and more efficient system of your own).
Cheers...
Brad