Season 2 - Episode 4: Digital Asset Management for Photographers

Running Time: 35:35

Digital Asset Management for photographers - most of the information here is based on Peter Krogh's excellent book "The DAM Book, Digital Asset Management for Photographers", from O'Reilly Press.

1.  what is DAM and why do I need it? - DAM, as it applies to photography, is the ability to store and retrieve images.  A cataloging system if you wish.

2. Is it complicated? Well, yes and no, or no and yes.  It all depends on what you are trying to accomplish.

    a. Simple filing system based on photo name and or subject. - Can be relatively simple.  Just create a naming scheme that helps you identify the image and a directory structure that helps you locate these images.  The trick here is to developing a consistent naming scheme and filing structure.  Chances are if you have a fairly large collection, you will out grow it very quickly and need to revise it.  This is what has happened to me.
        (1) Simple scheme
             YYYY-MM-####.jpg   Y = year, M= month, # = sequence number
             YY-MM-DD-####.raw D= date
        (2) A slightly more sophisticated
             YYYYMM_####_????.raw  ? = letter codes for such thins as type of camera, Original
              or copy of the image, if scans, type media original used

    Here is an example of what I'm currently setting up:

    Codes

    first character - Source  What was used to generate the image
        E - Canon EOS-10D
        D- Canon 630SD
        S - Scanner

    second character - Original format
        N - Color negative
        S - Slide
        B - Black & White negative
        D - Digital
        P - Print (generally scanned)

    third character - purpose
        O - Original (Maybe a .CRW, .TIF, or .JPG file that does not get modified)
        M - Master (May get some attention, bit not a lot.  Generally only levels are adjusted. Next
         step is to Correct it.)
        C - Corrected (Color balanced, spotted, and maybe cropped. Ready to start creating P,S
        and/or W)
        P - Print (used for making a print)
        S - Slide Show (Resized for a slideshow in Flash or JavaScript)
        W - Web (Low DPI and sized for web sites)

    fourth character - status
        A - Archive (not worked on at all the original image unfooled with)
        W- Working (all sorts of fooling around goes on here)

    Examples:

    JHN_200705_2975_EDOA.CRW
        Shot in 2005 during May with my EOS-10D, digital format, original, and archived

    JHN_199907_0009_SBOA.TIF
        Shot during July 1999 in B&W film then scanned. It is the original scan and is archived

    JHN_199907_0009_SBCW
        Shot during July 1999 with B&W film then scanned.  Currently a working image that has not
         yet been assigned.


    b. Cataloging - cataloging you images into a database system with the necessary META DATA is probably the best way to go.  Several nice packages out there to help you. Again, this will require a good naming scheme and a good directory structure.  If you were fortunate enough to create these early on, then it is a simple matter to good through these and have the cataloging software pull what meta data may already exist in the images in to the database.  There you can update it.

3. META DATA - What is meta data?  A simple definition is this is data about data - or in this case information about you images. Some information can be entered by the camera automatically such as the Name and brand of camera, the ISO, the shutter speed and f-Stop, just to mention a few pieces. This is general refereed to EXIF data and can't be edited.

Other data that can be recorded includes copyright notice, and contact info.  There are standards for all of this data - IPTC and most of the newer software packages support the Core Data Items.

Then there is the XMP meta data that may be included.  Adobe makes extensive use of the XMP data.  In earlier versions, pre-CS, the XMP data was stored in a side-file, not in the actual image.

Today, most is not all of the data is actually store in the image.  This way, is you share or sell  your image, this data goes along with it.

The cataloging program makes a copy of it and stores it in a database along with a thumbnail of the image and a link to where it is stored.  Handy.

One of the really powerful features of this meta data include the use of Keywords.  A set of carefully constructed keywords will help you in finding images that meet your requirements.  We could do a hold program just on keywording and may well do so.

Just creating a naming scheme is not really enough.  You need to have a directory structure to aid in the filing and work flow.

4. Directory Structure

At some point you are going to want, and I strongly recommend, to backup your images. Peter advocates online back up to either a attached external drive or a NAS (Network Attached Storage) and eventual off line back to some sort of storage media like CDs or DVDs.

Now, I suspect that a lot of folks are not going to be able to afford external HDs or NAS, although the prices of each are coming down dramatically.  Keeping your images on line makes it a heck of a lot easier to find  than shuffling CD/DVDs and looking for the file.  Still, it necessary to store backup data, preferably off site, on CD/DVDs to guard against the day that you have a major disaster.

Keeping in mind that CD only hold about 680Mb and DVDs hold 4Gb, I'd suggest setting up your directory structure to accommodate the size of your target storage media.  Peter calls them "Buckets".  

Naming your directories is important in helping you identify what sort of files are stored in them.  This can get complicated and I'll only present a very simple way here.  This topic can go on for a very long time.

I keep all of my on line images on a NAS so that they can be access from and PC on my home network.  Images are stored in the directory /images.  I further break this down to RAW images and Working Images.

    A. RAW images are just that - the original from the cameras, be it .RAW or .JPG and the original scanned image from my scanner, which are stored as .tif files.

Under the RAW directory I create sub directories, or "buckets" containing files.  Since I have a single sided DVD burner in both my desktop and laptop, the directory size will be kept to something less than 4Gb.  I further break down my RAW directories by using a letter code to identify the source of the image - RAW_E_### would be RAW files from my EOS-10D and the #### is a sequence number.  RAW_D_#### is My Canon 630SD pocket camera, and RAW_S_#### is for my scanned images.

    B. Working images are images that I'm working on and are copies of the original RAW image.  Thees may have any number of extensions depending on what program I'm working with and what my target use is to be.  This is where a catalog program will come in really handy.  A good one will help you keep track of you raw as well as any derivative files that you may create from it.  I'm still working out my working scheme but the directory structure will accommodate the target storage media I'm using.

Peter's book offers up several very good ideas.  Keep in mind that his ideas are just that - ideas.  Not carved in stone.  You may need to modify or even create your own entirely unique method for storing and managing your working files.

5. Software

I will not recommend any software.  I will, however, tell you what I'm currently using.  This list may well change.

    1. Adobe CS2 Bridge        http://adobe.com
    2. Adobe Lightroom 1.1     http://adobe.com
    3. IDImagerLite                 http://www.idimager.com/
    4. Adobe CS PhotoShop   http://adobe.com

I hope to include Light Crafts LighZone 3, once thy are able to resolve why it will not run on my laptop.

Lightzone http://www.lightcrafts.com/products/index.html

Info on Metadata - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extensible_Metadata_Platform#cooliris
                         - http://www.exif.org/
                         - http://www.adobe.com/products/xmp/
                         - International Press Telecommunications (IPTC)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Press_Telecommunications_Council

Keywording - Controlled Vocabulary - http://www.controlledvocabulary.com/
                  - http://www.hindsightltd.com/reference/keywording.html

Keywording Services (in alphabetical order):

A2Zkeywording:    www.a2zkeywording.com
Based in Tivoli, New York, A2Z uses a combination of their own in-house software as well as their own experienced keyworders.  Prices range from $2.75 to $3.50 per image, depending on volume.  A2Z also sells their thesaurus software for $299 plus $52 for one year of support.

Adnet Infosystems:     www.adnetinfosystems.com
With operations in Mumbai, India, this company provides affordable keywording and many other technical services to the stock photo industry.

JaincoTech:        www.jaincotech.com
A service provider for all technical aspects of the stock photo industry, Jainco has offices in Ohio and India.  Jainco charges $0.75 to $1.50 depending on quantity and turn-around time required.  They also offer keywords in French and Spanish and hope to add German and Japanese in the near future.

KeywordCompiler:    www.keywordcompiler.com
This NYC-based company provides a free basic version of their keywording software, called KeywordCompiler.  Users can purchase more robust versions of the software, with more sophisticated features: $99 for single user licenses and up to $999 for multi-seat licenses.  The company also provides keywording services for $2.00 per image ($1.50 per image for batches of over 5,000 images.)

Keywording.com:     www.keywording.com
A keywording service with offices in Portland, Oregon and County Kerry, Ireland.  Charges approximately $3.00 per image depending on quantity and depth of keywording required.

Keywords-To-Go:      www.keywords-to-go.com   
Part of StockAnswers, a stock photo consulting firm managed by industry veteran, Paul Henning.  Charges $3.00 to $4.50 per image, depending on quantity. The Keywords-To-Go homepage has an excellent overview of importance of kewording.

OnAsia Digital Services:   www.onasiadigital.com
A service provider for all technical aspects of the stock photo industry, OnAsia operates out of Bangkok, Thailand.  Prices for keywording begin at US$1.50 per image and are negotiable for high volume orders.  They plan to offer keywords in French by the end of 2006.  They will also offer their keywording software package for licensing later this year.