Lately, I’ve been spending a lot of time organizing the photos in my Aperture Library to make my photos more searchable to potential buyers. I spent some time looking into stock photography references such as the Getty Images Keyword Guide and the International Press Telecommunications Council (IPTC) website to learn how to make it easier for people to find and Request to license my Flickr photos through Getty Images or me. In the process of SEO-ing (Search Engine Optimizing) my photos, I’ve found that many of the keywords recommended for stock photography are also IPTC Scene codes.
If you have an image editing / photo organizing application, you may input these scene codes in the IPTC Scene field under the Image section of the IPTC Core metadata. These codes (or keywords, if you will) help describe what a photo is “of.” You may also wish to add them as keywords or “tags” since sites like Flickr make it possible for people to search for photos by “tag.”
I’m sharing these IPTC NewsCodes™ under the IPTC licensing agreement. I hope these metadata help your photos and mine to be found and purchased in a prosperous new year!
IPTC Scene Codes
Copyright 2010, IPTC, http://www.iptc.org, All Rights Reserved.
- headshot
- A head only view of a person (or animal/s) or persons as in a montage
- half-length
- A torso and head view of a person or persons
- full-length
- A view from head to toe of a person or persons
- profile
- A view of a person from the side
- rear view
- A view of a person or persons from the rear
- single
- A view of only one person, object or animal
- couple
- A view of two people who are in a personal relationship, for example engaged, married or in a romantic partnership
- two
- A view of two people
- group
- A view of more than two people
- general view
- An overall view of the subject and its surrounds
- panoramic view
- A panoramic or wide angle view of a subject and its surrounds
- aerial view
- A view taken from above
- under-water
- A photo taken under water
- night scene
- A photo taken during darkness
- satellite
- A photo taken from a satellite in orbit
- exterior view
- A photo that shows the exterior of a building or other object
- interior view
- A scene or view of the interior of a building or other object
- close-up
- A view of, or part of a person/object taken at close range in order to emphasize detail or accentuate mood. Macro photography.
- action
- Subject in motion such as children jumping, horse running
- performing
- Subject or subjects on a stage performing to an audience
- posing
- Subject or subjects posing such as a “victory” pose or other stance that symbolizes leadership
- symbolic
- A posed picture symbolizing an event – two rings for marriage
- off-beat
- An attractive, perhaps fun picture of everyday events – dog with sunglasses, people cooling off in the fountain
- movie scene
- Photos taken during the shooting of a movie or TV production
Daniel Greene 
Comments welcome