Last night the getMETAsmart seminar was held here in San Francisco and I was really impressed with it. I know what you’re thinking a seminar on metadata sounds like a real snoozefest, but the information shared by the likes of David Riecks, David Sanger and Grover Sanschagrin was incredibly informative. If you’re unfamiliar with metadata or unsure how to use it efficiently then this event is one you should definitely attend. While I consider myself to be knowledgeable of metadata application & best practices I learned quite a bit making the event extremely worthwhile.
Check www.photometadata.org for locations and dates of this event in your area. If these seminars are not happening in your area then bookmark this site and reference it often. There is a lot of great information on it and much more will be added through out the year such as tutorials. Best of all they are FREE.
What was covered in the event?
I’m glad you asked. The event started out with an intro to metadata by David Riecks. Grover Sanschagrin gave a great presentation on metadata & search engine optimization (SEO). David Riecks then powered through two other sections on the inner workings of metadata and more advanced discussions around workflow and software. Rounding out the event was a panel discussion with photographers talking about real world use of metadata and the value it provides to their business. The panel fielded numerous questions from the audience making for a very interactive exchange of information.
Wondering what value metadata provides? Check out this great example of why metadata is crticially important to photographers on Gary Crabbe’s blog.
Start here:
OMG – I’m one of the mediocre Travel & Leisure photogs
How it concluded:
Wrapping up the Mediocre fiasco & how to do it right
[tags]metadata, SAA, Stock Artists Alliance, getMETAsmart, David Riecks, David Sanger, Grover Sanschagrin, photography[/tags]
Jim,
Metadata is so important, and yet probably the most time consuming and least enjoyable part of being a pro photographer. I have toyed with many different workflows, and have researched outsourcing, and have yet to come to an efficient and cost effective solution. Thanks for the post, I think Metadata is the big gorilla in the room that we tend to look away from.
Jim, did you hear any mention of whether an online version of the presentation(s) might be made available?
Tony… It is painful. What I got out of seminar is that software companies are doing their best to manage a Hydra of different standards. There are also terminology and usability issues that are being worked out. Knowing that others are aware of this pain point was the metadata clouds silver lining.
Phil they were video taping the event. My hope is that they put everything online. Be sure to ask David Sanger on Twitter. He was deeply involved with the seminar and likely would know.