Landis

Q: Where is the location metadata stored in photos taken with an iOS device?

I just got back from a trip with lots of photos taken with a couple of iPhones as well as a digital point-and-shoot camera.  The photos taken with iOS devices mostly have locations associated with them as evidenced in the "Get Info" dialog box in Photos for Mac. They show properly on a map and have properly associated location keywords (e.g., "Sierra National Forest, Northeast Fresno County, United States"). But I can't figure out where the geographic coordinates are stored. There's nowhere to look in Photos for Mac that will give me the actual coordinates. Additionally opening the images in Preview will not show a GPS tab in the "More Info" box the way my GPS-equipped camera will. And finally looking at all the metadata in Photoshop or Adobe Bridge will also not show any coordinates or any other type of geographic information.  I just checked my old version of iPhoto (9.6.1) and it will also not show any location information. 

 

Photos for Mac will show some rudimentary information, but I can't find where it's getting this. Any ideas?

Posted on Aug 6, 2016 5:09 PM

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Q: Where is the location metadata stored in photos taken with an iOS device?

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  • by Rysz,Solvedanswer

    Rysz Rysz Aug 6, 2016 6:20 PM in response to Landis
    Level 7 (20,202 points)
    iTunes
    Aug 6, 2016 6:20 PM in response to Landis

    If you are not seeing GPS info in Preview's Inspector window, you are likely stripping it while dragging or exporting to desktop. Try dragging the image out of Photos while holding down the Option key.

    Photos- GPS.png

  • by LarryHN,Helpful

    LarryHN LarryHN Aug 6, 2016 9:47 PM in response to Landis
    Level 10 (84,150 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Aug 6, 2016 9:47 PM in response to Landis

    Photos gets teh information form the same place all photo programs do - the EXIF/IPTC date within the photo - this script will show the actual coordinates  -  Script: Extract the Numerical GPS Values Using an Apple Script  -   and Old Toad has compiled it into an application downloadable from his page - http://www.oldtoadstutorials.net/No.P01.html

     

    And you can see them in Preview - export the unmodified original or export checking the includ location box or open the photo in Preview using the external editores for Photos extension ($0.99 from the app store)

     

    LN

  • by Landis,

    Landis Landis Aug 6, 2016 9:51 PM in response to Rysz
    Level 2 (267 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Aug 6, 2016 9:51 PM in response to Rysz

    Thank you, this was indeed the case. I didn't realize that exporting from Photos for Mac would strip the GPS data from the images. I'm not sure of what Apple has changed, but I can't drag the images from Photos for Mac out into the Finder (with or without the Option key). I can only Export - and if I don't use "Export Unmodified Original" I lose the geographic coordinates.

     

    Extremely frustrating.  I can't wait for Apple to fix this very poor implementation of a replacement for iPhoto.  iPhoto wasn't great but it was leaps and bounds better than Photos for Mac.

  • by léonie,Helpful

    léonie léonie Aug 6, 2016 11:03 PM in response to Landis
    Level 10 (105,599 points)
    iLife
    Aug 6, 2016 11:03 PM in response to Landis
    I didn't realize that exporting from Photos for Mac would strip the GPS data from the images. I'm not sure of what Apple has changed, but I can't drag the images from Photos for Mac out into the Finder (with or without the Option key). I can only Export - and if I don't use "Export Unmodified Original" I lose the geographic coordinates.

    Photos for Mac should include the location meta data, when you export the edited versions with "File > Export".

    You may want to check your Photos > Preferences:

    Is "Photos > Preferences > General: Include location Information for published items" enabled?

    Screen Shot 2016-08-07 at 07.46.48GMT.png

     

    And when you use "file > Export> Export .. photos", do you enable "Include location Information"?

    Screen Shot 2016-08-07 at 07.50.17GMT.jpg

     

    It is for security reasons, that location information is no longer included by default. There are many reasons why you would want to keep the exact location secret, for example, if you are publishing wildlife photos of rare species. You would want to remove the exact location of there regular place to protect them. But you want to share the locations, you can enable it in the preferences.

  • by Landis,

    Landis Landis Aug 6, 2016 11:05 PM in response to léonie
    Level 2 (267 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Aug 6, 2016 11:05 PM in response to léonie

    It sure wasn't checked. I didn't change anything so I assume that it wasn't on by default but I've fixed that now. I realize why I might want to hide that data, but I didn't want to in this case. Thanks for your very helpful pointer.

  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Aug 6, 2016 11:06 PM in response to Landis
    Level 10 (105,599 points)
    iLife
    Aug 6, 2016 11:06 PM in response to Landis

    You're welcome