Geotagging Images in Lightroom

This post explains geotagging in Lightroom, the process of adding location metadata to images. Geotagging is a significant part of my photography workflow. Lightroom's full integration with Google Maps is one of my favourite features. Maps inspire me. There's always another remote road to drive, spectacular vista to encounter, and enticing trail to hike.

Aside from its "cool" factor, geotagging is useful because it's one of the main ways I search for images. I also search based on the date an image was taken (thanks to my folder and file structure) or based on an image's subject (after I've added keywords, which I'll write about in a separate post).

Geotagging is done in Ligthroom's Map module. After you've geotagged your images, that module displays a map with pins showing where your images were taken:

Lightroom's Map module, showing where my images were taken

Given my residence, it's not surprising that most of my images were taken in North America. You can zoom in on the map to see more detail:

LIGHTROOM'S MAP MODULE, SHOWING WHERE MY IMAGES WERE TAKEN in western Canada and the Territories

You can click on the markers to highlight the images taken at that location but the coolest feature is Lightroom's ability to show you only those images that were taken on the visible area of the map. For example, suppose I want to find the images I took near Stewart, British Columbia. If I remembered when I was there, I could browse my folders by year and date. If I don't remember when I was there, I can type "Stewart, BC" into the location search box, zoom as appropriate, and then click on Visible on Map to enable that filter:

Lightroom's "Visible on Map" FEature

Amazing! Only the 26 images visible on the map are selected. I can then navigate to the folder by right-clicking on any image and selecting Go to Folder in Library.

Instructions

Some cameras (such as the Canon 6D) can automatically add location metadata to every image. However, I turn that feature off because it uses a lot of battery power (even when the camera is turned off). It's so easy to geotag in Lightroom that I don't feel that I'm missing anything. If I'm at a location that I think might be hard to remember, I can always take a photo with my iPhone and have it record the location without wasting my camera's battery.

The following screenshot shows Lightoom's Map module and identifies the features that let you geotag images:

Geotagging in Lightroom: Suggested Location Metadata

To geotag images in Lightroom:

1. Switch to the Map module (A).
2. Select all images taken at a location (B). My folder structure makes this easy. In the screenshot, I'm in a folder where all images were taken at the same location (Wellington Harbour) so I can Edit→Select All.
3. Use the search box (C) and/or change the map style (D) to zoom to the exact location.
4. Right-click on the map where the images were taken and select Add GPS Coordinates to Selected Photos. This should provide suggestions for ISO Country Code, Country, State/Province, City, and Sublocation. Suggestions appear in light grey (E). If suggestions don't appear, you need to enable the feature: In Edit→Catalog Settings→Metadata, make sure that Lookup city, state, and country of GPS coordinates to provide address suggestions is checked.
5. Confirm the suggestions by clicking on the field name (such as ISO Country Code) and selecting the correct value.
6. Manually enter a sublocation. For example, I want the sublocation for these images to be Wellington Harbour rather than the suggested Bloomfield.

After values are entered into a location field (either by confirming a suggestion or manually entering a value), the light grey text turns white (F):

GEOTAGGING IN LIGHTROOM: ConfirmED LOCATION METADATA

Voila! You're done! Wasn't that easy? Now you can browse Lightroom's map, marvel at the places you've been, and dream of where to go next!

Photography Workflow

Here's my photography workflow. Your mileage may vary. I'll describe the steps in further detail in other posts.

Remember, images aren't going to organize themselves! It's a good feeling when you can easily find that picture of grandma in a onesie doing a handstand.

1. Go somewhere. Leave the warm place where your computer is. Maybe go outside. It'll be okay. I promise.
2. Using your camera, clear the memory card. Only do this when you're sure that the images have already been copied to your computer and backed up. I've written a detailed post on my backup workflow.
3. Take photos. If the camera supports it, shoot raw. Learn to move away from automatic mode - see my image-taking workflow.
4. Go back to where your computer is. Ah, the indoors. So warm. So safe. So filled with a computer.
5. Remove the card from the camera. I know that you can attach your camera to the computer using a fancy cable, but that wastes your camera's battery. Only turn on your camera when you're going to use it to capture stunning images of subjects such as that decaying house plant in the corner.
6. Import the images to Lightroom. Copy the files rather than move them; keep the originals on the memory card as a backup until you are absolutely certain that you have other backup copies, and preferably an offsite backup. I've written detailed posts on importing images to Lightroom and my backup workflow.
7. Put the card back in the camera. This step might seem obvious but it's no fun when you forget. 100% of my sasquatch encounters have occurred when my camera's memory card was in my computer.
8. Organize images in Lightroom. Delete photos that you will never need (Be careful! I once deleted blurry images of a rare bird that will likely never be seen again. My photos could have helped with the identification.) Create new folders to keep files organized. I've written a detailed post on the folders and files I use to keep my images organized.
9. Edit images in Lightroom. Do whatever you do to make your images worthy of publishing. Maybe increase exposure in the shadows, decrease exposure in the highlights, or add an amount of saturation that will later seem as subtle as a sledgehammer.
10. Add keywords to images in Lightroom. How else are you going to find those images of that weird lizard you took two years ago?
11. Geotag images in Lightroom. How else are you going to find those photos you took at that awesome sewage lagoon in northern Ontario? I've written a detailed post on geotagging images in Lightroom.
12. Flag the very best images. Flagging the best images makes it easier to find them later.
13. Publish images to SmugMug from Lightroom. How else are your adoring fans going to see your work?
14. Use Lightroom collections. For example, I have one collection for my all-time favourite bird images, another for my favourite mammal images, and another for my favourite scenery images.

Finding Images

Thanks to the above workflow and Lightroom's features, I have many ways to find images:

• Browse folders by year and event
• Filter to only show flagged photos
• Search by keyword in Lightroom's Library module
• Search by location in Lightroom's Map module
• Browse my Lightroom collections
• Use Lightroom's on-the-fly Quick Collection
• Use a Lightroom smart collection. I have a temporary smart collection that I edit when I want to combine search critera. For example, suppose I want to find flagged bear images taken with a slow shutter speed. That's three criteria:

Using a Lightroom Smart Collection to find flagged bear images taken with a slow shutter speed