What's Your Practice with IPTC Keywords?

[Rob Hedge]

I'm interested in knowing people's views on whether words should be repeated in the Keyword field that are already in the Location or Description/Caption fields.

Thanks

[Bildarchivare]

It depends on what Media Asset Management you are using. The majority of the systems (and at least all those I'v been working with)  search all fields - which is of course also dependent of the preferences chosen - so there is no need to repeat the words of the description / the headline in the keywords.

[Rob Hedge]

H @Bildarchivare,

That approach, which I find attractive, makes the Keyword field the least important of the fields when it comes to search terms. It treats the field as a catch-all for terms that aren't already elsewhere and aren't central to the image. Carl Siebert seems to endorse this view in one of his posts and videos.

I have the impression that the approach is the direct opposite of what many people actually do. Recently, I watched a video in which someone demonstrated using the Structured Keywords Panel. His demonstration amounted to going to a fair amount of effort to duplicate the content of the Location fields in the Keywords field.

If one takes the view that Description/Headline/Location come first, it raises the question of what to actually use the Keywords field for.

[Bildarchivare]

Hi Rob,

repeating in the keywords what is said in the description/headline/copyright/city doesn't seem to make much sense. We use the keywords field for different purposes such as:
- alternative spellings
- synomyms or homonyms
- customer-related keywords
- conceptual keywords such as ideas, emotions, moods, relationships etc
- special historical or topographical terms
- sayings and phrases
- photography terms

These terms maybe central to an image but are not expressed in the description or headline, so the keyword fields provides a possibility where to record them.

[Rob Hedge]

Thanks @Bildarchivare. Very helpful.

Does anyone else have views on this question?