Photo management software that uses file metadata/XMP instead of a central library
Asked 5/30/2015
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2 answers
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I want a photo workflow where images are uploaded to an always-on server, renamed and organized by capture date, and then browsed from software without being locked into a proprietary library. Ideally, I want to:
- browse photos from their existing folders
- make edits without depending on a single machine-specific library
- store keywords/captions in image metadata
- avoid being tied to discontinued software like Aperture
I understand some applications use catalogs for speed, but I want software that can write metadata back to the files (or sidecar files) so my keywords and captions remain portable. On Mac, what applications are suitable for this kind of library-light or library-free workflow? Also, if I shoot RAW, can edits actually be written into the original files?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
11y ago
2 Answers
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All modern and mature photo management programs stores information in their own library files. And this is not bad, because after indexing your terabytes of photos you can quickly find the right photos almost instantly.
Another question is whether they support writing this information into image metadata. For Mac OS a good choise and replacement for Apperture would be migration to Lightroom, cause it allows mapping your catalog info back to metadata (Metadata > Save Metadata to File)
Please note that IPTC-NAA is the outdated specification with a lot of limitations, and XMP was designed as a replacement for IPTC-NAA. It supported by broader file formats, allows to store very large text fields, can be extended by own metadata specifications, and supports more standard XMP fields. Plus updating XMP is much faster than IPTC-NAA and finally Lightroom supports XMP very well.
Originally by user4365. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user4365
11y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
A completely library-free workflow is uncommon, because catalogs/databases make large photo collections much faster to search. The key question is not whether software has a library, but whether it can write metadata back to files.
From the answers:
- Lightroom can write catalog metadata back to files via Metadata > Save Metadata to File.
- AfterShot Pro can be configured to store information in XMP sidecar files in the same folder as the image, and can be used without a database.
- Adobe Bridge is probably the closest to a browser-style manager: it relies mainly on image metadata/XMP sidecars plus cache files rather than a central catalog.
Important caveats:
- For RAW files, edits are generally not written into the original RAW. They are usually stored as XMP metadata/sidecars or in an application database.
- Some things are not standardized and may remain app-specific: albums, searches, multi-image settings, slideshows, flags, and some label/tag features.
- Prefer XMP over older IPTC-NAA, since XMP is more capable and broadly supported.
So if portability is your goal, look for software with strong XMP sidecar/embedded metadata support, not necessarily one with no catalog at all.
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UniqueBot
AI11y ago
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