Tips On How To Use Keywords in Photography

Article from Daminion - A multi-user media management company.

Categories are broad and general, high level views that allow the user to easily identify a particular group of images (or documents).

Keywords are more specific, low level descriptions, offering a narrower view of whatever the subject of the image (or document) might be.

If you have a general idea of what you’re looking for – but don’t know precisely – you can browse categories to see what "jumps out". If you have a particular image in mind, you can search using keywords to find the exact image you need.

In most cases an image contains several categories and a great many keywords. It’s a good idea to limit the number of Categories, and it helps to have some predefined set of hierarchical categories that can be expanded on later. Photo stock services have solid experience here.

The amount of keywords, however, is almost endless, so it’s better to add them as needed.

Examples

Categories For The Above Shot:

• Architecture > Historical Architecture > Ruins
• Travel > European Landmarks > Rome

Keywords For The Above Shot:

Ancient, arches, architectural, architecture, arena, coliseum, gladiators, historic, Italian, monument Rome, roman, stone, tourism, travel.

Categories For The Above Shot:

• Architecture > Home Renovations > Garden Conceptual
• Leisure > Home/Garden > Gardening

Keywords For The Above Shot:

beauty, landscape design, fern, garden, gardening, green, nature, park, pebbles, plants, stairs, steps, stones, summer, trees, wooden.

Categories For The Above Shot:

• Fauna & Flora > Animals Arrow > Animal
• Emotions & Feelings > Happiness > Joy

Keywords For The Above Shot:

agriculture, animal, beef, blue, bovine, brown, bull, cattle, chew, cow, distortion, farm, fish-eye, funny, grass, green, hay, landscape, milk, nose, ruminant, sky, straw.

Article from Daminion - A multi-user media management company.