(A very long post about a simple topic.)
Much to my surprise, one of the most popular posts on this blog is a 2018 article about how to write a photo caption. This is a follow-up to that article and will explain how to fill out the other IPTC data fields found in most photo software.
IPTC refers to the International Press Telecommunications Council, a consortium of major news agencies which formed in 1965. The organization established, and maintains, universal technical standards for the exchange of news data. This means that some of the IPTC fields will apply only to news photographers and perhaps stock agency photographers. But there are several fields that every photographer should be using.
Most news organizations and stock agencies have their own system for completing IPTC information. You, as an individual photographer, should decide on your own system for filling out IPTC data. This will benefit you because your images will have more usable metadata that will help every time you search your archives. It will also help your IPTC-aware customers. But remember that most non-news customers are not IPTC-savvy and they may never see your IPTC data. Also, some social media sites, online image compressors, and some image processors will remove IPTC data from a photo.
Adobe’s implementation of IPTC data through their file info dialogue boxes isn’t very good. The gold standard is Photo Mechanic which has the best file info dialogue box because it offers lots of customization and time-saving shortcuts. It’s a shame that Adobe doesn’t come close.
The screenshots below are from Photoshop because it’s so widely used. The name of each field might vary from software to software.
When completing IPTC information, spelling counts.
Basic Info
This, as the name implies, is the absolute bare minimum of what you should fill in for all your images.
Document Title: Also called Title or Object Name. This is a few words categorizing the photo. This Title field should not be confused with the Headline field which gives a bit more information about the photo content.
The wire service that I worked for required the country where the photo was made to be listed first. I still do this out of habit. Examples:
Canada Hockey NHL
Canada Federal Election 2024
Canada Honda Vehicle Recall
Canada Acme Corporation President
If you’re not news photographer, you can still use Document Title:
Toronto Michael Johnson Susan Smith Wedding 2024
Ottawa Peterson Family Portraits 2024
Toronto Acme Corporation Headshots 2024
Author: Also called Creator or Byline. This is the first and last name of the person who shot the photo. You know that you shot your photos but the Author field isn’t for you, it’s for anyone else who receives your images. If your photos will leave your computer, put in your name.
Note that if you hand your camera to someone to shoot a photo for you, they are the Author or Creator. In many countries, the Author or Creator owns the copyright to the photo.
Author Title: Also called Creator’s Job Title or Byline Title. This is mostly for news organizations where a photographer might use Staff (or STF), Freelance (or FRE), Stringer (or STR), Pool (or POOL), or Handout (or HO), as appropriate. If you’re not a news photographer, you can leave this empty or you might simply use Photographer.
Description: Also called Caption. This is where you describe the who, what, where, why and when of the photo. Sometimes you might also include the how of the photo. Include only facts, no editorializing on your part, no personal thoughts. A good caption adds value to your photo and to your archive. Always include a caption. Always.
Rating: If you like to rate your photos. Rating information is often, but not always, carried from one brand of software to another.
Description Writer: This is mostly for news organizations. It’s the name or three initials of the person who wrote the caption and anyone else who may have later edited that caption. This can be important for news organizations if they ever need to track a caption or any edits. If you’re not a news photographer, you can leave this empty.
Keywords: Important for anyone who shoots stock images and less important for those who don’t. There are hierarchical keywords and flat keywords. You have to decide on a system and then be very consistent with it. A web search will give you a lot of information about keywording.
Copyright Status: In most cases, you will set this to Copyrighted.
Copyright Notice: Also called Copyright. This is where you put your copyright notice. Always use this field. Examples:
Copyright 2024 Your Name
Copyright © 2024 Your Name. All rights reserved
Copyright © 2024 ACME Corporation
Copyright info URL: If applicable, the web page that has more information about your copyright policy.
More Basic Info
Not sure why Adobe put this Origin section in a separate dialogue window. It really should be part of the Basic window because you also need to fill out these fields.
Date Created: Also called Time and Date. This is the time and date when the photo was shot. In most cases, this information will automatically be pulled from the image EXIF data so make sure your camera clock is correctly set. But if your camera clock was incorrectly set, you have to correct the EXIF date in the image(s) so that the correct date is properly embedded in the image file. There are free and paid-for tools to do this. Always make sure this date matches the date in your caption.
City: The city, town or village where the photo was shot. Spell the name in full, do not use abbreviations. If there is no city or town nearby, because you’re really in the middle of nowhere, then use the region name if available. If there is no city, town or region, then leave this blank. For example, if the photo was shot from a boat in the middle of Lake Huron, there’s no city, town or region. You would mention “Lake Huron” in the caption and optionally in the Sublocation field.
State/Province: The state or province where the photo was shot. Spell the name in full, do not use abbreviations.
Country: The country where the photo was shot. Spell the name in full, do not use abbreviations. Some software has a Country Code field in which you can input the ISO three-letter code for the country but this would be optional.
Credit Line: How a credit line should read when the photo is used. Depending on your situation, this field may be optional. Often this is just your name but it could also be something like:
Copyright 2024 Your Name
Copyright 2024 Your Name / wonderfulwebphotos.com
Your Name / Acme Corporation
Note that a customer using your photo isn’t legally required to use this credit line. If you have a specific credit line that must be used, be sure to have that stated in your contract and repeat it in your cover email when you deliver the photos. Remember that many customers are not IPTC-savvy.
Source: Mostly for news organizations. Obviously you’re the source of your photos so there’s no need to use this field. But if you’re shooting for a company that will later distribute the photo, that company might want to be known as the source. In most cases, you can ignore this field.
Headline: A short sentence describing the photo in slightly more detail than the Document Title. Examples:
Montreal Canadiens at Toronto Maple Leafs
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau voting
Honda President John Smith announces vehicle recall
Acme Corporation President Jane Doe at annual meeting
If you’re not a news photographer, you might still use Headline:
Johnson Smith ceremony St. James Church
Johnson Smith reception Hilton Hotel
Peterson group backyard portraits
Peterson group indoor portraits
Jamie Peterson son portraits
Susan Peterson daughter portraits
Bill Peterson father portraits
Nancy Peterson mother portraits
The Headline works in tandem with the Document Title.
Document title = a general overview of the photo.
Headline = a narrow overview that expands on the Document Title.
Caption = full information about what’s happening in the photo.
For an NBA basketball playoff photo, the IPTC info might read:
Document Title: Canada Basketball NBA Finals
Headline: Golden State Warriors at Toronto Raptors Game Five
Caption: Golden State Warriors guard Andre Iguodala (L) charges between Toronto Raptors forward Kawhi Leonard (L) and forward Norman Powell (R) during the NBA Finals game five at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada, 10 June 2019.
For business headshots at Acme Corporation, the IPTC info might read:
Document Title: Toronto Acme Corporation Headshots
Headline: (optional in this case but if applicable): Sales Department headshots
Caption: (in this case, very brief): Diane Smith, Acme Corporation, Toronto, Canada, 24 November 2024. (You might add a business title if you know it. But if you’re shooting a number of people, it’s unlikely that you’ll know their job titles.)
Instructions: Also called Special Instructions. If there are any special handing requirements or restrictions for the photo, this is where you put it. If there are special instructions, you should also confirm them with the customer or editor by email. Examples:
Mandatory credit line: Copyright 2024 Jane Doe / Dashing Doe Photography
No cropping allowed
Warning: Graphic Content
Best quality available (if, for some reason, the photo is of low quality and there’s no better image available)
Transmission Reference: Also called Job ID or Job Identifier. This is a reference number used mostly by news organizations. Every image a photographer sends to a news organization on a given day would have a unique number. Often it’s the photographer’s initials followed by a zero-padded two-digit number. If a photographer knows they will be sending more than 99 photos in a day, for example at a major sports event, they would use a zero-padded thee-digit number.
This reference number can be used if there is a problem with a photo. It’s easier for an editor to tell photographer John Smith, “We need JS09 resent” rather than “We need you to resend the photo of the prime minister standing and laughing while holding a book in his right hand.”
Urgency: For news organizations.
IPTC Details
Many of these fields are repeated from the first two windows. Not sure why Adobe does this because it only makes the process longer. If you already entered information in the first two dialogue windows, that information should automatically show up here. So with Photoshop, it’s best to start first with the Basic window, followed by the Origin window, so that the information will automatically show up in this IPTC dialogue box.
IPTC Contact: This section has optional fields where you could enter your contact information. Make sure the Creator field is filled in. You might want to add at least your website address and/or email address.
IPTC Image: This section is mostly for news organizations. Intellectual Genre and IPTC Scene Code are specialized codes that I’ve never known anyone to use. Sublocation is an optional field for a location that might have a well-known name. Examples are national and provincial parks, a mountain, a local island, a large body of water, a “district” within a large city, etc. Usually a sublocation would be mentioned in the caption.
If you want to use ISO Country Codes, use the Alpha-3-codes. But using country codes is optional for non-news photographers. Note that ISO country codes may differ from country codes used by the International Olympic Committee.
IPTC Content: Some of these should already be filled in because you entered the information in the first two dialogue windows. Alt Text is an optional field that gives a brief description of the photo that can be accessed by assistive technology. Extended Description, another optional field, is similar in purpose to Alt Text and it elaborates on the information in Alt Text. These two do not replace the need for a proper caption. For example:
Alt Text: A full-length photo of a business woman standing in an executive office and looking toward a large window to one side. Small plants, a bookshelf and a desk are in the background.
Extended Description: CEO Nancy Brown is wearing a dark blue pantsuit with a white blouse and purple scarf. Her arms are crossed in front of her body as she looks through a window at the city skyline.
IPTC Subject Code is for news organizations. I don’t know anyone who uses this field because most news organizations prefer the old nomenclature of Category and Supplemental Category which are easier to read and remember. For example, for a photo of a hockey game:
Category: SPO
Supplemental Category: ICE HOCKEY
versus:
IPTC Subject Code: 15000000, 15031000
Subject NewsCodes are intended to replace Category and Subject codes are to replace Supplemental Categories. But most likely you won’t have any need for these.
IPTC Status: Most of this section should already be filled in if you entered information in the first two dialogue windows. But Rights Usage Terms is an important field that Adobe has hidden at the very bottom. What you enter here will vary from customer to customer. It’s very important to remember that many customers are not IPTC-aware. So you must repeat your usage terms in your contract and in the cover email that accompanies the photo delivery. Example rights usage terms might be:
Editorial use only
One-time use only. No Archives.
Licensed to ACME Corporation only. No redistribution.
Web use until December 31, 2024
Specialized IPTC Extension
These are for special situations and each field should be self-explanatory. These are optional fields unless you photograph models, artwork or other subject matter that requires a release. These fields identify the existence of a release and any other pertinent information. If any of these apply to your photography, then use this section to record the necessary information.
Conclusion
Determine which IPTC fields apply to you and don’t worry about the others. I recommend that you always fill out Author or Creator, Description or Caption, Copyright Notice, the location (City, Province, Country) and be sure the Date is correct.
If applicable, you might also fill in the fields for Keywords, Instructions, your web site and email address, and Rights Usage Terms. Some fields, like Rights Usage Terms and Instructions, will vary from customer to customer.
Some photo software lets you create IPTC templates that can make all of this easier and faster.
Having IPTC information embedded in a photo means you can’t forget any of it because the data travels with the photo. This embedded information can be searched in your archive so it should be almost impossible to lose a photo.
