No more excuses – Using File Info for tagging and captions

Photoshop CS2 and CS3 have an option called File Info that can save time in writing and placing captions for photos while helping photographers improve their skills.

When photographers open File Info, they should fill in their names under author, then write a standard caption for the photo in the description box. When they close the box and save the file, the information is attached to the photo. Page editors never have to ask who took the photo, and the information about the photo is accurate. Photographers know better than anyone else why the photo is significant because they took it, so they should know what to write to create context for the caption. No more, “A player dribbles the ball toward the basket.”

But File Info also has options for the photographer to review the process and learn from it. Clicking on Camera Data 1, the photographer can see exactly what the camera was set to do. Photographers can examine what works and what doesn’t, helping them experiment and take better images.

Now the fun begins. Your story and photo are in place and ready for the caption on a page. Simply click on the photo, then bring up the Links window. The link to the photo should be highlighted.

Select the down arrow on the upper right of the window and scroll down to the Link File Info command.

Then copy the information in description window, click OK to close, then paste the information. If the photographer has done his job, a beautifully descriptive caption should now be in place.