Keywording has become the photography equivalent of being told to eat your vegetables. But really, who cares about keywording? And more importantly, why should you care about it?
Personally, I have given up on the notion of becoming a thorough keyworder. I'm not going to cozy-up with a Coke Zero and keyword a thousand images for the evening. Just not going to do it. But thanks to some innovative tools in Aperture and Lightroom, I can add basic keywords on import, and believe me, that really helps.
In this episode, I talk about different approaches to keywording and some of the benefits from having descriptive terms attached to your images. It's an honest look at this noble, but tedious endeavor.
New Monthly Photo Assignment
Pool of Light is this month's photo assignment (that's right, we're revisiting the Dec. 2006 assignment). I think this is one of the most striking effects you can capture in photography. Your subject is illuminated and the light falls off all around it. You can assist with this effect using the "vignette tool" if you photo application has one. You can read more about how to submit on our Submissions page. Deadline for entry is May 31.
Listen to the Podcast
Now that I've piqued your curiosity, it's time to listen to today's audio show titled, "Who Cares About Keywords." You can download the podcast here (30 minutes). You can also subscribe to the podcast in iTunes
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Great podcast - as usual! I guess I am one of those keyworders who's ambition is to do the job "properly" and add all the releveny keywords to my pictures or not at all. So I was really interested to hear about a more relaxed and practical approach in this podcast.
The truth is I fall hopelessly behind and then have to play catch up. On the positive side at least I know what's done and whats to do - Its not like I have 100% of my images 30% complete I have 50% of my images 100% complete. But it just feels like a battle.
So I'm turning over a new leaf. From now on I'm going to import using just a few relevent keywords. But one of those will be PARTKEY so I can tidy up as and when I can and then remove this keyword.
Love the podcasts - one minor little moan...
You mentioned Lightroom, Aperture, Bridge, Photoshop.
What happened to the 'little' cousin called Photoshop Elements 6?
This is available for the APPLE and/or WINDOWS and does the equivalent of keywords - tags in Elements 6 - and also uses virtually the same Photo Downloader (one of your porevious podcast) as that used by Lightroom in Windows?
It's catalogues are fast and efficient and it's editing capabilities suit about 90% of all requirements for editing pictures and, above all, cheaper than Elements and Aperture for those on a smaller budget.
Regards
Graham Burton
Hi Graham, You're absolutely right about Photoshop Elements 6. And IMHO, this is especially true for the latest Mac version that includes Bridge and Photo Downloader. It's a terrific application and one of the best software values in photography.
Awesome notice about google. I'm honestly amazed that it hasn't been pronounced earlier.