Image Metadata Specifications
Metadata is information about the image. It is as important in picture sales as the image itself. To ensure this information is not separated from the image, it is embedded in the image file itself using a system developed by the International Press and Telecommunications Council (IPTC). You can input metadata into an image file or a group of image files using programmes such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Photoshop Bridge, Microsoft Expression Media, PhotoMechanic and others. These are the fields that Africa Media Online requires that you fill out:
Caption: In three sentences answer the questions about the subject matter of the image Who, What, When, Where, Why. Make sure spelling and grammer is carefully attended to. Picture buyers will judge you as much by the quality of your captions as by the quality of your pictures. If you are sloppy, they will avoid your pictures
Date Created: If yours images are taken on a digital camera, this will be automatically captured from the EXIF metadata generated by the camera. If you are submitting scanned images, then you need to make sure this field is filled in
Location: This is the specific location of the content of your picture – e.g. a street name / a stadium name / a neighbourhood
City: This is the name of the town or city or rural region. First letter of each word must be a capital and the spelling must be correct
Province: This is the name of the province or state. First letter of each word must be a capital and the spelling must be correct
Country: The name of the country. First letter of each word must be a capital and the spelling must be correct
Keywords: Of vital importance, keywords help buyers find your picture. The key here is do not put irrelevant or only marginally relevant keywords in the keyword field. The buyer must be delighted that your image was returned for the search term she typed in, not irritated.
Next in the Set-up process – Upload some files: images, audio or multimedia