The term metadata sounds intimidating, doesn't it? But don't be afraid of the word. Metadata is simply information that is embedded in your photographs, right inside the file. There are different types of metadata, all with ridiculous technical names that you don't really need to know. But a basic understanding of metadata and how to use it will save a lot of time and work as you establish and maintain your photo archive.

Information

Metadata is simply information. When you take a photograph with any digital camera, information such as the date, the exposure settings, the lens you used, etc., is recorded into the file. Most archiving programs can read this information, allowing you to search for specific terms.

In addition, most archiving programs will allow you to add information to your photographs. Such information can include captions, locations, keywords, etc.

Getting into the habit of adding this information to your photographs will allow you to find photos with just a few keystrokes, rather than going through a needle-in-the-haystack visual search. As your archive grows to include thousands of photographs, good metadata habits are invaluable. And since you're putting this information directly into your jpeg and RAW files any program can search for it, now or later.

Now I'm going to get into technical terms like EXIF and IPTC and XMP. But don't be afraid. You can completely ignore these terms. They are only descriptors for types of data. Focus instead on the types of information that you can put into your photographs. These are words we all understand like date, caption, and city. Let the nerds worry about the technical terms and what they mean. Your software will handle the hard stuff.

EXIF

EXIF information is basically the camera settings for any given photograph. This technical information is recorded directly into your file. Typical EXIF information:

Date and Time
Photo Size (in pixels, height and width)
Aperture
Shutter Speed
ISO Setting
Exposure Mode
Metering Mode
Lens Focal Length
White Balance Setting
Flash Setting

When would this information come in handy? Say you're looking for wide angle images. You could search for photographs shot with lenses 28mm and wider. Or you're looking for photographs taken with slow shutter speeds? You could search for shutter speeds below 1/30th of a second. Looking for horizontals? EXIF information can handle it.

IPTC

IPTC information is basically fields where you can put information about the content of the photograph. Typical IPTC information:

Description (or caption)
Keywords
City
State
Country
Photographer
Copyright

IPTC information is the information that makes an archive very effective for finding images. Those photographs of your niece that you took ten years ago? If you have entered her name in the caption or keyword field of the photographs you've taken of her, you can simply search for her name. Are you doing a project on a small town in Texas? As long as you've been putting the city names in the City field, they'll all come up with a simple search.

I'll describe my system next, but first a suggestion. At the very least, enter a basic description, city and state, photographer's name, and a basic copyright notice into all of your photographs.