Watch the Video Tutorial

The video shown below explains the different settings available in the Library View Options.

Metadata Views

To expand the Metadata Panel, hit [Ctrl + 4]. Starting from the top, this panel allows us to select from a variety of different views. Each view provides you with different options to what metadata is displayed and available to edit. “Default” is the most common view because it gives you a summary of what we think is the most important information on your image.

Within the default view, the first group of information displayed is basically file system metadata which includes the name, sidecar files, copy name, folder, and status.

Below that, we have some copyright and informational metadata. This includes the title, caption, copyright, copyright status, creator, and sublocation.

Just after that, certain attributes are listed such as the rating and any labels that we have had applied to the image. Below that is our EXIF data, which includes information such as when the image was captured and exactly how it was captured, what kind of camera was used, what dimensions were used, etc.

If you want a different grouping of information to be shown within the Metadata Panel, you can select another one. For example, try selecting the “EXIF” view.

This can be really useful for viewing every bit of EXIF data. In the example below, we can see that the flash didn’t fire, we had focal length of 120 mm, the camera that was used, and so forth.

Another useful metadata information tab is IPTC. It shows standard metadata information such as contact information and image information.

Although the other views are useful in certain circumstances, the default view is generally the best view to keep it on because it gives you the most useful information that you would need to view and edit.

Syncing Metadata

Since we are on the subject of metadata, I am going to show you how to sync metadata in Lightroom.

First, select an image and add any kind of metadata. In this example, I added a title for this image as “LR4 Tut Series Exercise Files”.

At this point, the title is added to the selected image. In order to sync this title with the other images, make a selection of images for which you would like to sync the metadata.

Notice that many of the information categories will now display “< mixed >” since a single name or piece of information in that category does not match across all of the selected images for those specific categories. Of course not all categories should be synced or they will not be distinguishable between each other. However, syncing certain information can be very beneficial when organizing images.

In this next example, we will sync the caption. As shown below, I typed in “Shot by Lin and Jirsa Photography” as the caption.

Since I have more than one image selected, as I hit “Enter” a prompt will pop up and ask me if I want to apply the metadata change to all of my selected images. Click “Apply to Selected”.

This syncs the metadata status to all of your selected images.

Another useful tool in the Metadata Panel is the “Sync Metadata” tool which provides you with the ability to sync what is already entered as metadata across a larger selection. You won’t have to repeatedly type the same metadata information because it will sync across your selection automatically. Keep in mind that the image selected first will contain the metadata that will be synced to the rest of your selection.

After making your selection, click “Sync Metadata”.

This will pull up a menu with a variety of information categories that you are able to sync. Simply “check” the options you would like to sync. In this example, we will select “IPTC Creator”, “IPTC Copyright”, and “Title” under the “IPTC Status” pull down menu.

Then, click “Syncronize”.

At this point, the title is “LR4 Tut Series Exercise Files” and is no longer displaying “< mixed >” since the selection title was synced.

Conclusion

At this point, you should have a good understanding of the Metadata Panel and what you can do with it. It is a great organizational tool and when used correctly can improve your overall workflow.

Here is what it can do for you inside of the Exif Data.

[REWIND: How To Find Your Stolen Images Online]

What’s unique about this service is its business model because you don’t pay a monthly or yearly fee; so its free to sign up. Instead, the photographer hoping to protect their image must estimate how many times they foresee their work being viewed and pay for credits to apply the protection to the image(s) accordingly.  You can see an example of how this adds up below and if you want a 30 seconds overview of how use this tool, click here.

This service is intended to stop what company calls “casual theft” but isn’t a foolproof ward against images reapers dwelling in the shadows of the internet.

Per the company blog:

We want make the act a little more deliberate, so that you know you’re doing something against the photographer’s wishes when you take that image.

Our primary goal is not securing images, but making sure image creators get credit for their work. The watermark is just one piece of that.

A bigger hope though, is that this could encourage communication with image creators to get permission to use their work.

[REWIND: Why You’re Missing Out If You Aren’t Printing Your Work]

Many photographers may not see the need for this at first but, when you’ve been putting in the work marketing, loosing sleep to learn that next skill, networking to land a dream client, the paranoia of not having it pay off will evenutally seep into your mind. This is atleast a tool to bookmark for future consideration.

Via: Dpreveiw.com