I need to upload some photos to a deposit protection company as part of a property dispute and I need to show the actual date on which the photos were taken.
At the moment each time I move the photos out of iPhoto, it puts today's date on them as when they were created and modified!
How can I make sure that the original date and time remain on the photo properties?
My friends who use PCs are not having this problem.
Thanks
MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2014)
If you need to export the photos with the capture date as the file creation date, export the unmodified original file and not the edited version.
Use "File Export", then select "Kind: Original".
just make sure that all metadata are saved with the pictures.
Explanation: in different cameras there are not always the same fields for the date and time shot: it can be "creation date", "date shot", "original date" and so on. So the metadata on a a picture are not always the same, that is why all metadata must be saved with the picture.
There are two kinds of metadata involved when you consider jpeg or other image file.
One is the file data. This is what the Finder shows. This tells you nothing about the contents of the file, just the File itself.
The problem with File metadata is that it can easily change as the file is moved from place to place or exported, e-mailed, uploaded etc.
Photographs have also got both Exif and IPTC metadata. The date and time that your camera snapped the Photograph is recorded in the Exif metadata. Regardless if what the file date says, this is the actual time recorded by the camera.
Photo applications like iPhoto, Aperture, Lightroom, Picasa, Photoshop etc get their date and time from the Exif metadata.
When you export from iPhoto to the Finder new file is created containing your Photo (and its Exif). The File date is - quite accurately - reported as the date of Export.
However, the Photo Date doesn't change.
The problem is that the Finder doesn't work with Exif.
So, your photo has the correct date, and so does the file, but they are different things. To sort on the Photo date you'll need to use a photo app.
Honestly, as both Exif and File date can be changed effortlessly, they are legally useless. Get the items certified by some legal authority.
Thanks everyone.
I already did export the original photo.
Terence - your answer really helps - there are in fact two kinds of meta data. I have just spent over 1 hour on the phone with Apple and the conclusion was: (paraphrased by me): "Sorry, we don't do that! It is not considered part of a normal consumer use. When you duplicate a photo, the date of duplication is recorded on its properties, not the original date on which it was took. We consider that keeping the meta data is only something a professional would need. You could look at 3rd party apps but we won't recommend any."
So I am back where I started. I asked them to capture this as a consumer need and complain on my behalf as I am very angry at having wasted an hour on the phone with Support to arrive back at square one.
My workaround:
I have decided to take a screenshot of the page in the Photos app showing the dates of the photos, and include that with my dispute file. I don't have time to go off and try and find someone to certify them. I am also trying out Picasa on a friend's recommendation but am not really sure how that would work!
As a general rule, I'd resist taking legal advice from the internet - after all, I don't even know what country you're in.
But if this date is important then remember that in 30 seconds I can change both the file date and the Exif date and if I can are you sure the other side can't?
Hi Terence,
Thanks for replying.
I'm not asking for legal advice - just advice on how to make sure that the adjudicators to whose website I will be uploading the photos can see the date on which the photos were taken.
I don't think that there is a risk that the adjudicator will change the dates on the file, but there is a risk that if they see today's date on a photo that I am claiming was taken on 31 October 2014, they will deem that evidence null and void. So I am including a screenshot of the photos in "Photos" which shows the date on which they were taken. Then they can't argue that I haven't provided them with some evidence.
I have downloaded Picasa and looked at the duplicated files through that. The meta data shows 31 October 2014! So this gives me hope that the meta data has not been lost in the duplicated files - it's just that when I look at the duplicated files using Apple software, that specific part of the meta data is no longer visible.
Thanks again.
You can always use a 3rd party image editor and type the date on the face of the image in one corner.
Some Image Editors That Support Text and Layers:
Photoshop Elements 14 for Mac - $79
GraphicConverter - $40
Affinity Photos- $50
FX Photo Studio - $30
Acorn - $50
Pixelmator - $60
Seashore - Free
GIMP for Mac - Free
You'll have to export the original file to the Desktop and edit it there.
Thank you Old Toad.
I think I will call them tomorrow and ask if the screenshot will suffice.
I've got 53 photos so if I need to do each one manually it will take a long time. I've downloaded the Datestamper app onto my iPhone and it can access my photos via iCloud, but is not accessing the relevant album! It is accessing the ones around it and not that one. I am feeling doomed!
keeping the actual date on photo
