by True Blue

Created on: May 27, 2009   Last Updated: May 28, 2009

Geo - tagging = Geographical tagging is a way of naming an image with the precise geographical location of where it was taken, using GPS = Global Positioning System with longitude and latitude reference points that look like :- 51 37' 27.59" N 0 0' 18.58" E.

There are two ways to tag an image, Automatically or Manually.Automatically, is a relatively new process that is catching on within the compact camera market, where the camera actually geo-codes a photograph. Cameras are now appearing with a built in GPS system that codes your photos as they are taken with the longitude & latitude of your location as well as the EXIF data of the image. These camera are normally quite expensive and unless you really need to geo-code every image, investing in them is totally up to you.

Manually, is in my opinion is a very good method because you physically tag the image you want, once you've uploaded it to a particular site.Photographers who take really stunning photographs of an impressive landmark, like a lake or waterfall, come into possession of a picture they can show the world. When those images are exhibited, they will get one repetitive question posed to them.

"Where did you take that picture?"

IThey could very easily name the place, or the road they was on, etc; and even spend a while giving directions on how to get there. However, in order to answer the multitude, nothing works better than the simple co-ordinates of longitude and latitude, which take you straight to the spot on the map.

To the uninitiated a great place to start tagging your images is a website called www.Flickr.com or if you're into panorama images then www.panoramio.com has a unique facility of exhibiting your images. My examples can be found at http://www.panoramio.com/user/2872169. Once you've signed up, you can showcase your pictures by uploading a photograph, naming it and placing it on the world map. The co-ordinates are shown on the map and can be accessed by all the users on the site. As an incentive to start geo-tagging, if your photographs are of a very good quality, Panoramio.com assessors have the facility to add your photo to Google Earth. You will experience a slight delay though, as there are massive amounts of photos being uploaded every day for consideration. You can also win prizes on the site in their monthly competition, for your work.

Google.com are leaders in the field of Geo-Tagging and are famous for their ability to tag their maps with photos, video, and wiki-documents relating to that area. Everyone can now get their chance to tag their photos and showcase them on the biggest gallery of photos in the world.Geo-Tagging made it possible to find a single photograph and it's location on planet earth. That very same platform now makes it possible for the world to upload and tag their photos so that everyone can find the locations of every single photograph submitted.

The most complete package on the market for easy geo-tagging is Picasa from Google. There you can edit your photos, upload them to a web album, and geo-tag it in situ, on the web. If you do want to go the whole hog, and actually download and install Google Earth, then Picasa offers you the ability to geo-tag one or many of your photographs straight onto the Google Earth platform, with a couple of clicks. The only down side is that Google Earth requires a lot of ram to run the programme and can be quite slow, but well worth the wait.

Happy Tagging!

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