Where to metadata named persons?

[janeenadamsmartin]

Just trying to be sure I understand how searches of IPTC and Keyword data work before I get serious about updating my photos! 

 PM allows two fields: Keywords and Persons Shown.    If I put named people in the Persons Shown field, will all programs be able to search for it when I do a search?  Or should I put the names in Keywords as well?  Or heck, if I wanted to find photos from the city I live in  (and that's in the IPTC "City" field), will I be able to find them?

And I am thinking of programs other than PM.   Like Lightroom or programs my friends might have.  Do all programs look at all fields during a metadata search?     If I am trying to recall a picture, my search terms might be "hike, jan, san diego" and I don't want to have to remember what field name to search, too (Keyword= Hike, City= San Diego and Persons shown = jan)

Thank you,
jan

[Kirk Baker]

Jan,

Just trying to be sure I understand how searches of IPTC and Keyword data work before I get serious about updating my photos! 

 PM allows two fields: Keywords and Persons Shown.    If I put named people in the Persons Shown field, will all programs be able to search for it when I do a search?  Or should I put the names in Keywords as well?  Or heck, if I wanted to find photos from the city I live in  (and that's in the IPTC "City" field), will I be able to find them?

And I am thinking of programs other than PM.   Like Lightroom or programs my friends might have.  Do all programs look at all fields during a metadata search?     If I am trying to recall a picture, my search terms might be "hike, jan, san diego" and I don't want to have to remember what field name to search, too (Keyword= Hike, City= San Diego and Persons shown = jan)

Persons Shown is a relatively new field.  It only made its appearance in PM 5.  Prior versions of Photo Mechanic did not edit, display, or search the Persons Shown field.

I'd suggest putting people names in both Keywords and Persons Shown for the time being.  And do some tests with your friends.  See what their programs will do and adjust your strategy accordingly.

-Kirk

[janeenadamsmartin]

Thank you, Kirk.  Is it just the new "Persons Shown" field or should I put any terms I want to search by into the keyword field  (city, location, event) just in case?
jan

[Kirk Baker]

Jan,

Thank you, Kirk.  Is it just the new "Persons Shown" field or should I put any terms I want to search by into the keyword field  (city, location, event) just in case?

City has been around for more than a decade.  No need to make it a keyword unless it seems appropriate.

Location and Event are new to PM 5.

-Kirk

[Woodie]

Jan,

Just trying to be sure I understand how searches of IPTC and Keyword data work before I get serious about updating my photos! 

 PM allows two fields: Keywords and Persons Shown.    If I put named people in the Persons Shown field, will all programs be able to search for it when I do a search?  Or should I put the names in Keywords as well?  Or heck, if I wanted to find photos from the city I live in  (and that's in the IPTC "City" field), will I be able to find them?

And I am thinking of programs other than PM.   Like Lightroom or programs my friends might have.  Do all programs look at all fields during a metadata search?     If I am trying to recall a picture, my search terms might be "hike, jan, san diego" and I don't want to have to remember what field name to search, too (Keyword= Hike, City= San Diego and Persons shown = jan)

Persons Shown is a relatively new field.  It only made its appearance in PM 5.  Prior versions of Photo Mechanic did not edit, display, or search the Persons Shown field.

I'd suggest putting people names in both Keywords and Persons Shown for the time being.  And do some tests with your friends.  See what their programs will do and adjust your strategy accordingly.

-Kirk

Just my two cents.  I still put people in Keywords and am now putting them in Persons Shown also.  A little redundant I know, but some apps still don't recognize Persons Shown.

In the past, I used Location for a postal address: 125 S Main St for example.  In the keywords I used Places for a descriptive term:  Ace Dept Store

This way I can search (I currently use IDimager for cataloging, waiting for Camera Bits offering) for all Ace Dept Store photos (Places) or just one store (Location).  I now use Sublocation for the Descriptive term.  I'm still using Places in Keywords for the same reason given above: some software does not recognize Sublocation.

Ditto this for Event.  I'm hoping that the catalog app from Camera Bits will allow me to stop duplicating these fields, but for now, it's necessary for me due to the other apps I'm using.

[janeenadamsmartin]

How many keywords do most people have -- on an average?   Is it good practice to try to cover cover who,what, where, when?    I have a picture of me in my horse lesson.   My keywords are Jan, Joker, Horse, Lesson, Triana,   Should I add "where" (San Diego, UKE barn)? 

When I hike, I have keywords of Hike, Jan, Jack, Observatory Trail -- but I don't have "trees, squirrels, lake, deer."   Maybe I should be adding those to the individual photos that contain them...

If I have photos that I just exceptionally like, I am rating them 5 stars -- and hoping I can sort on "jan" and "5stars" at some point in the future...

What do folks find that work?

[Luiz Muzzi]

How many keywords do most people have -- on an average?   Is it good practice to try to cover cover who,what, where, when?    I have a picture of me in my horse lesson.   My keywords are Jan, Joker, Horse, Lesson, Triana,   Should I add "where" (San Diego, UKE barn)? 

When I hike, I have keywords of Hike, Jan, Jack, Observatory Trail -- but I don't have "trees, squirrels, lake, deer."   Maybe I should be adding those to the individual photos that contain them...

If I have photos that I just exceptionally like, I am rating them 5 stars -- and hoping I can sort on "jan" and "5stars" at some point in the future...

What do folks find that work?

Jan,
I have changed my workflow regarding captioning and keywording several times.
But my latest addition has been adding "Who does what and why in {city}, {country} on {monthname} {day0}, {year4}. {photog}" to the IPTC Stationery pad (Szurkebarat`s suggestion).
HTH,

-Luiz Muzzi

[janeenadamsmartin]

Hi Luiz!

I am doing that, too!   It works great.  But when a photo search is done in a program other than PM -- like Light Room or Faststone - will they be able to find City and Location data if it is not also in PM's Keyword field?   I'm thinking the only common field between all programs might be Keyword.

On the other hand, maybe I shouldn't worry about it as I'm intending to use PM..

(your posts have been helpful to me, btw, thanks!)

jan

[Luiz Muzzi]

Hi Luiz!

I am doing that, too!   It works great.  But when a photo search is done in a program other than PM -- like Light Room or Faststone - will they be able to find City and Location data if it is not also in PM's Keyword field?   I'm thinking the only common field between all programs might be Keyword.

On the other hand, maybe I shouldn't worry about it as I'm intending to use PM..

(your posts have been helpful to me, btw, thanks!)

jan

Jan,
As for me, I only use Lightroom or PS to edit my photos. PM is the only software I use to apply metadata and to organize and search for photos.
Regards,

-Luiz Muzzi