articles/Stock/keywording-page1

META machine take command of your keywording - part 1 of 1 2 3 4 5

by Dave Wall Published 01/08/2013

Over the last few months I have been rolling out another new training course that is really close to my creative heart ... Stock Photography. It has been gathering momentum and getting some rave reviews and I am gradually getting the message across that Stock Photography isn't dead ...

it has just changed (just like every other genre of photography). It is an uphill struggle at times as the media in general, only like to report doom and gloom. Stock photography has been at the forefront of this photographic bashing for such a long time people have come to believe it.

If Stock Photography were dead ... my business would be also. It is such an integral and large part of it. Trust me when I say "My business is far from dead (in fact last year was my best ever, and this year 'already' is set to smash it)".

So all is rosy (for me at least) in this liberating sector of the market, however, there is still one area of it I hate, detest, despise ...

keywording!!

I really can't explain how depressing keywording is, but ultimately it is an invaluable tool I cannot live without. Whether you are stock photographer or not the same also applies if you are to get organised ...

and KEEP organised.

Even for my non-stock work, keywording is imperative so I can find my images quickly and efficiently. To prove the fact I have 300,000 images in my files and I can locate any one, on any drive, in any folder ... in less than 15 seconds!!

All because of effective keywording!!

A necessary evil.

So how can you go about this extremely tiresome chore?

You could keyword online ... but it is very slow and you cannot batch keyword images en masse.


You could keyword in Adobe Lightroom for example ... but it is also a little slow and laborious. Lightroom doesn't allow for what is known as a controlled vocabulary (a list of words that can be expanded) necessitating the need to type words in constantly and 'think on your feet' for every type of image within your library. When you get up to 50 keywords per image you soon realise that this method is just too counterproductive.

In 2009 (while I was researching for another magazine article) I came across a keywording program that changed my life forever...

METAmachine.

Over dramatic statement?

Not at all!!

It really is that important to me. If I am being honest it is just as important as Photoshop and Lightroom! So why is METAmachine soooooo good, and why do I rave so much about it?

When you first open the program it isn't, in all fairness, the prettiest to look at and it is a little utilitarian. After all it is an admin piece of software and not a creative tool so to speak. However, what it lacks in looks, it more than makes up for in personality and functionality!

METAmachine itself is broken down into five distinct sections to aid the user to add captions, keywords, licensing options and much, much more!

Let's take a more in-depth look at this small powerhouse of a program.


You are currently on page 1 Contact Dave Wall

1st Published 01/08/2013
last update 21/07/2022 08:46:24

More Stock Articles



There are 0 days to get ready for The Society of Photographers Convention and Trade Show at The Novotel London West, Hammersmith ...
which starts on Wednesday 15th January 2025


Fast and intuitive, PortraitPro intelligently enhances every aspect of a portrait for beautiful results.

Update cookies preferences