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SAA Conducts MetaSurvey of Stock Images |
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Written by Stock Artists Alliance
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Friday, 30 May 2008 |
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Do Our Digital Images have Metadata?
The Stock Artists Alliance is Conducting a MetaSurvey to Find Out.
May 28, 2008 The SAA PhotoMetadata Project
is now well underway with the launch of a comprehensive survey of
metadata practices by photographers and stock image distributors. SAA
will present its initial report of MetaSurvey findings at the 2nd International Photo Metadata Conference in Malta on June 6.
Preliminary MetaSurvey findings confirm what SAA has long suspected:
Too many images in the licensing market lack key identifying and
content information. "Our earlier survey findings show many
photographers embed metadata to protect their images," Project Chair
David Riecks reports, "but we are concerned to see that essential
metadata is often lost as images move through the workflows of stock
distributors and end users."
SAA's MetaSurvey is the first step in a yearlong project to raise
awareness and promote use of metadata in digital image files. Funded by
an award from the U.S. Library of Congress
and matching grants from industry partners, this project expands the
association's work to champion the use of photo metadata by everyone
involved in image licensing - from photographers, to stock image
distributors, to end users.
SAA has now conducted extensive random sampling of digital image files
available on stock distributor websites to document the presence of
metadata in thumbnails and larger preview images. The work continues as
the team is now tracking sample images to see what happens to embedded
metadata as files are forwarded on from distributors to multiple
sub-distributors.
Later this summer, a full report of MetaSurvey findings will be
published on a dedicated project web site alomg with a suite of online
resources. A series of educational events to support and promote photo
metadata use starts up this Fall.
"It's time to get serious about metadata," states Betsy Reid, SAA's
executive director. "Images need embedded information about their
ownership and content to facilitate use and protect them from misuse.
This is now urgent given what we know about the high degree of
infringements on the internet and the expected passage of Orphan Works legislation."
Introducing SAA's Project Partners
In addition to the Library of Congress Award, SAA is that the project
is also supported by a diverse group of industry partners, each
committed to the usability and preservation of digital images.
Microsoft has shown its commitment to metadata portability by storing
information within digital image files, in addition to creating an
extensible, system--wide platform for image handling that will reduce
the need for sidecar files. www.microsoft.com
Adobe is the leader in building XMP metadata technology that powers
platforms and products used by the creative community to better manage
media assets and workflow, enabling creators to more efficiently
express their vision. www.adobe.com
IPTC, the International Press Telecommunications Council, develops and maintains the most widely used photo metadata standards. www.iptc.org
CameraBits is the maker of Photo Mechanic™, powerful image-editing software that
helps photographers easily add metadata to their digital files. www.camerabits.com
PicScout deploys advanced visual search technologies to protect the
image collections of the world's top distributors on the internet and
across other media. www.picscout.com
About SAA's Library of Congress Award
The Library of Congress awarded the Stock Artists Alliance one of eight
partnerships for preserving digital media through its Preserving
Creative America initiative, a part of the Library's National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP).
SAA's award acknowledges the association's ongoing work to promote the
importance of using and preserving photo metadata, emphasizing the
high-risk area of stock photography. An active proponent of image
metadata use and best practices, SAA established itself as a leader
with the publication of the widely recognized Metadata Manifesto.
Learn more about the SAA PhotoMetadata Project at: http://www.stockartistsalliance.org/photometadata-project
About SAA
The Stock Artists Alliance (SAA) is the only trade association
dedicated to the business interests of professional stock
photographers, supporting its members with information resources and
ongoing advocacy initiatives. More information about SAA is available
at www.stockartistsalliance.org
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Last Updated ( Friday, 30 May 2008 )
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