SAA's investigative studies, education and advocacy initiatives have made clear the urgency to better identify and manage digital photo assets. We need to prepare for anticipated changes in copyright laws and respond to a increasing infringements of digital files, which are easily sourced, downloaded and used.

We need to recognize metadata are key to easily finding digital images during searches — whether online or offline — thereby increasing licensing opportunites. Managing your digital assets is an increasing challenge and  metadata help surmount it.

Commit yourself now to embedding identifying information in every digital file. Take time to understand the issues and the opportunities.

Read our Metadata Manifesto, which calls for industrywide adoption of guiding principles, standards and technology to embrace photo metadata use. We outline steps photographers, distributors, users and developers must take to help make this happen.

Understand copyrights and commit to protecting and respecting them.

Read what we've learned about Internet Infringements, one of the licensing industry’s most serious issues. An SAA investigative white paper reports findings of our 2006 investigative study using PicScout visual-search technology. It uncovered a high rate of misuse.

Learn what our MetaSurveys found out about industry metadata practices.

Spread the word! Encourage your colleagues, association leaders, stock distributors, clients and other stakeholders to work together to define, adopt and promote best practices for digital photo metadata.

Make a commitment to embed metadata in every digital file.
Don't let your images leave home without it!

Learn how to add photo metadata, like descriptive and rights information, to your digital image files using popular professional software with some help from our tutorials. You can read them online, download as a PDF, or view many as a screencast / video tutorial.

Tutorials for Adobe Photoshop File Info, Adobe Bridge, Camera Bits Photo Mechanic and Microsoft Expression Media are available now.

If you are curious as to whether your chosen software application supports the IPTC Core, or the older "legacy" form (Information Interchange Model or IIM) of IPTC, check out the list maintained by the IPTC of Software supporting IPTC photo metadata standards IIM and "IPTC Core."

Coming soon.. Adobe Lightroom.

We've made a major start of pulling together a comprehensive resources guide to photo metadata.
Our goal is to satisfy the needs of both beginners and experts who work with digital images by serving
as a clearinghouse of information about photo metadata. Find what you need here, or let us know
what else we can add. contact us

Metadata Q&A
Why store metadata in image files? What are the key standards? How do you embed it?

Classes of Metadata
Different classes of text information about digital files serve specific purposes.

Types of Metadata
An image file can include metadata representing one or all industry standards.

History of Photo Metadata
It's actually been around almost as long photography has existed.
We just didn't call it metadata then.

Links & Resources Guide
Here’s a reference library with links to everything published about metadata
on the web, leading with a short list of "recommended reading."

Glossary of Terms
This meta-dictionary will help you understand the many metadata terms
and acronyms you may encounter – from ANSI to XMP.

We hope you had the opportunity to attend one of our free evening getMETAsmart! events. During 2009 we travelled to Dallas, San Antonio, Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Washington DC, Chicago Atlanta, and Minneapolis!

If you were in attendance at one of those events, you saw how using standard metadata will help protect your copyrights, support your licensing efforts, smooth your workflow, and help you manage ever-expanding digital archives. You also would have learned how easily you can embed and preserve metadata in your files, using popular professional software.

The programs were presented by SAA Metadata Project Leader and respected metadata guru David Riecks. In some cities, he was joined by SEO experts from Photoshelter and a panel of photographers who explained how metadata helped them better protect and promote their images online and smooth their workflow. Meet our Presenters

If you are interested in hosting a Photo Metadata event, please use the contact link (in the left column) and let us know where you are located, and how you might be able to assist. 

Although there are no new events currently scheduled, we hope you'll still take our META Survey.

2006
SAA published a Metadata Manifesto.
This was our call to action that the stock industry – and everyone who creates, distributes and uses digital imagery – urgently needs to commit to using embedded metadata to help protect and promote licensed use our images. Read the Manifesto.

2007
Library of Congress awarded SAA a preservation partnership.
In acknowledgement of SAA's leadership in promoting photo metadata use, and in order to support and expand our efforts, SAA was awarded a $100,000 partnership through the Library's National Digital Information Infrastucture Preservation Program. SAA was tasked with investigating industry practices and then developing a program of metadata education for photographers. Read SAA's Press Release

2008
Project Partners join in support.
Our Project Partners are Microsoft, Adobe Systems, PicScout, CameraBits, the IPTC, and Photoshelter.
Learn more about our Project Partners and why they support this Project.

SAA began a MetaSurvey.
Our investigations of current metadata practices began with a Metasurvey of Stock Distributors which looked at the current metadata practices of a group of major companies. Our findings confirmed our suspicions that too many images in the licensing market lack key identifying and content information. We have shared these findings at major industry conferences, with stock distributor management, and with fellow association leaders, and the dialog continues. Read Press Release.

2009
Launch of PhotoMetadata.org and getMETAsmart tour.
Having gained a better understanding of the challenges that need to be met, and started an industry dialogue, we are now moving forward with an education initiative aimed at boosting awareness and commitment to metadata use and best practices across the licensing industry.  Attend an event or listen to a podcast [coming soon]

The MetaSurvey continues.
Phase two is a MetaSurvey for Photographers which is now live on this site. We urge all photographers to complete this brief questionnaire about your digital imaging workflow and use of metadata, to help us understand current practices. We will report on our findings, and use them to guide our development of the most useful tools and resources.  Take the MetaSurvey now!