Easy GPS photo tagging solution for Lightroom II

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

10/28/2009 12:04:00 PM · #1

For LR users who own a GPS with a logging function there is an easy geotagging solution for attaching location information to your photographs. I just tested it and it is quite accurate, no more than 10 feet from the actual spot the photograph was taken and often at the exact spot the photograph was taken. (Within about 1 foot which is indistinguishable to me when viewed with Google Earth)

GPS has become critical to me for a wilderness landscape photography project I'm working on. I need a GPS both for serious navigation in exceptionally remote areas as well as for collecting location information to attach to pictures taken there.

Though you can buy expensive devices that attach physically to your camera and geotag photographs directly at shutter time, most folks can't afford them. For example, the Canon GPS device for my camera costs $950 and requires a wireless/wired GPS unit that they don't even supply! I opted against their solution though it would make life a tad bit easier.

Instead, I do what is more commonly done... use a match/merge method run on the computer that takes a GPS tracking log and matches the tracking points from the log with the date/time stamp on the photographs to attach the location information to the images.

As it turns out it is surprisingly easy to do this with a Lightroom II Plugin called "Geoencoding Support" by Jeffrey Friedl:
Geoencoding Plugin for Lightroom II

All I do is upload the tracking log I recorded while taking pictures at the same time I upload the pictures. Next I import the images into LR II as I normally do and then simply run the Plugin and... drum rollllll... ipso-facto, the geotag information is attached as a sidecar file to image. No fuss, no muss. The original image files remain untouched.

This has the disadvantage that the location data is not in the EXIF which is the "real" place it should be; it is in a sidecar file, but the Plugin author provides you a way to get it to EXIF if you need to.

Be advised that after 6 weeks of use you will be required to register the Plugin and make a "donation". That donation can be as little as 1 cent and your registered plugin can then be used on two machines. If you don't register it then it will be limited to 10 picture geotags per run.

Now I have glossed over some things here you need to be aware of. One item is how to install a Plugin into LR II. The other one is understanding GPS and knowing how to set it up to write a tracking log file. I had to wrestle with those things and you might to. Though I don't have to do any GPS file conversion in my process, you might with yours.

EstimatedEyes

Fujifilm GFX 50R

Fujifilm GF 45mm f/2.8

10/28/2009 12:21:14 PM · #2

Thanks for the post. I have Pharos Trips & Pics receiver that I stopped using because I could never get the software to work right, especially with RAW files. Might have to fire it up again and try it with this Plugin.

Photologist

Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max

10/28/2009 12:42:42 PM · #3

Originally posted by EstimatedEyes:

For those that don't use Lightroom or for those that can't get Pharos Trips and Pics to work, here's what I do (and I literally have been geotagging hundreds of photos a week lately)...

I use GeoSetter. It's free and not only geocodes your photos, it will create sidecar files for your RAW files. That way your original RAW files remain "DPC-legal". Not only does it geotag, it also will create a track of your journey on a map so you can trace your steps when you were out shooting.

The software works with any GPS device that can output a standard GPX file (as well as other formats such as NMEA, PLT, Sony LOG, IGC, etc). Don't have a GPS receiver that outputs to one of those formats? Download the free GPSBabel, it'll convert to/from many formats.

It also exports to Google Earth, supports multiple countries (languages), and it provides automatic filling of location IPTC fields and altitude (if your device doesn't capture altitude).

Like Dennis (

EstimatedEyes), I use the Pharos GPS unit and could never get the geotagging software that came with it to work properly. What I do is I download the data file from the GPS receiver and save it as a GPX formatted file. Then I use GeoSetter to tag my photos.

When I upload my photos to Flickr (watermarked, of course!), anyone can click on each individual photograph's "map" hyperlink and a map will pop up showing the location of where the photograph was captured.

Have a Mac and no money? Use the free GPSPhotoLinker or (also free) PhotoGPSEditor. (I don't have a Mac, so I can't vouch for these two programs)

Message edited by author 2009-10-28 12:51:33.

10/28/2009 01:24:35 PM · #4

Originally posted by EstimatedEyes:

I take all pictures in RAW format. Geoencode never even burped.

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

10/28/2009 01:33:09 PM · #5

Originally posted by AperturePriority:

... Download the free GPSBabel, it'll convert to/from many formats. ...

GPSBabel can be very useful. I have hundreds of photography locations I'd put into Google Earth because I used Google Earth to help me find photography locations I'm interested in. After exporting from Google Earth, I was able to convert the exported file to a POI (Points of Interest) file using GPSBabel that I could upload directly into my GPS unit.

That is one of many different useful ways you can put this program to work.

eckoe

Canon EOS-5D Mark III

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

10/28/2009 01:33:16 PM · #6

So for those of you that have no GPS solution that exports (I was one). But DO have a Blackberry, check this out:

//www.blackberrydownload.net/download-gps-logger.html

It replicates the function of a basic handheld GPS, with logging, that you can then export for use in the plugin.

This thread prompted me to look for an app like this, so haven't actually tested it in this capacity. I have tested the App, it works fine on my blackberry, with no ill effects. I have not yet downloaded and installed the plugin for lightroom, but I'm intrigued and hope to test it soon.

Photologist

Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max

10/28/2009 01:43:39 PM · #7

Originally posted by eckoe:

Apple iPhones (3G and later) can natively geotag the images capture with its camera. However, the first time I was using this, I took about 20 photos outside with no visible obstructions to the satellites. Of the 10, four were correctly tagged, four were shown as being taken about 400 m (1/4 mile) away, while two were shown as being captured about 5 km (3 miles) away.

I don't know why this happened, but my iPhone's GPS is normally very acurate (even indoors). That's why I recommend a dedicated GPS unit for geotagging photos, if you are serious about geotagging.

Message edited by author 2009-10-28 13:44:05.