Hello,
So I started using Flickr last week for the first time and posted some pics. Out of curiosity I looked at the exif today and yikes, way too much info there. What's the best way to control what's exported?
Here is a full exif from one of my images: [link]
I would at the very least not like to have phone number and address in there. Also looks like the copyright character is a weird UTF8 char, can that be fixed?
Also I know I can post to Flickr from within Aperture but there doesn't seem to be an obvious way to make sure the watermark is printed on web export direct to Flickr. Is that even possible? Right now I first export, then I upload, seems inefficient.
Sorry I know that's like 3 questions in one post :-)
Thanks
R
Robert,
FYI, there are two types of metadata—EXIF and IPTC. EXIF is the data the camera embeds (exposure information, camera lens, etc.), whereas IPTC is the metadata you add, such as copyright, address, and so-on.
You can choose to have metadata not included on export from the Metadata presets list. Go to Aperture > Presets > Image Export… and for every preset, you can choose to include Metadata or not [screenshot].
Further from the Aperture > Preferences > Advanced, you can choose to enable “location information” on web shared images [screenshot].
There are two important things to understand about these choices.
The settings under the Export presets apply to images exported using the Export command—not images shared through the flickr/ Facebook/ MobileMe interface.
The Location data shared (or not) from the Preferences is Location data set in Places—not personal address data you have embedded in the IPTC fields.
You can’t actually disable sharing of the metadata to flickr/ Facebook/ MobileMe in Aperture, however in Flickr itself, you can choose to not display metadata, and even to not have that metadata imported (or rather, have it stripped) on import. However you should check this out and please do report back (I’m not a big flickr user). If you go to Your Account > Privacy & Permissions, you will see the two options I’m talking about. However in Flickr, they are both referred to as EXIF fields, which as I mentioned above, is not the information you are likely concerned with (i.e. your home address). Most people share their EXIF data on Flickr to help the community at large learn how they got the shots that they did.
It may be that there’s no way to strip IPTC data on import/ sharing, and that does make sense. The whole point of IPTC is to protect your files, not reveal your private information.
So that brings us to what information you should actually be including in your IPTC fields. Clearly your copyright and and email address, and web site, are needed. The address field should only be populated if you have a non-identifying address, such as a PO Box. I embed my PO Box in all my photos, and if someone really wants to send me a Christmas gift, they know where to send it :)
Putting the address where your children live is generally not considered a Good Idea™.
As far as watermarking for Flickr, no, you can’t, not without doing what you suggested (export then upload). I’m unhappy with this, and it’s a feature request for future versions. I’d much rather have real control over the way my photos are uploaded. I don’t have a flickr Pro account, which lets you upload higher resolution files, but as far as I know you still don’t have the ability to choose an export preset (which is of course where your watermark lives). If I’m wrong, please someone tell me, and I’ll go Pro right away!
Finally, I have no idea why the © symbol is showing as that � thing. My filckr images are the same. Lame. Of all the symbols to not translate properly… *sigh*
-Joseph @ApertureExpert
@PhotoJoseph
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