By David Halgrimson
Ever wanted to keep track of where you took your images? If your camera does not have GPS tracking built in, all is not lost. There is an app for that.
There are many ways to add GPS data to your images. For cameras without built-in GPS tracking, there are devices you can purchase that will add GPS data to your images while you take them. For me, they are too expensive, and it means more equipment to carry. On the other hand, I always have my phone.
There are many apps that can be used on your phone for GPS tracking your photos. The one I use is Geotag Photos Pro 2. It is inexpensive and easy to use. It also comes with software for adding the GPS data to your image metadata in post processing. However, if you use Lightroom, the extra software is not needed as the GPS data file can be loaded into Lightroom and used in the Map module.
You can continue to use the phone as Geotag Photos Pro 2 records your GPS data in the background. The only thing you must do is make sure the date and time in your camera match the date and time on your phone.
The trip log is exported as a .gpx file through phone options such as email, Airdrop, Dropbox etc.
Below is the opening screen. From here you can create a trip log, start a trip log, see trip log details, see a history of previous trip logs, set the logging interval and go to settings.
This screen is used to create a new trip. I usually name the trip with location and date.
This screen is for setting the time interval, which would be set based on how often you move from one location to another. If you are moving around a lot then a short interval works best; if staying put for a longer time then a longer interval can be used.
This is the Settings screen. I won’t go into these.
This is the history of previous trip logs. Here you can see trip details, edit the name, share or delete a trip log.
This is the view of a trip log on a map on the phone.
Once the trip is completed and the images have been downloaded into Lightroom and the trip log has been exported to your computer, you can open the Map module in Lightroom. Then follow these steps:
- First select all the images to be added to the map
- Click on Tracking Logs
- Select Load Tracking log
- Find the tracking log on the computer and load it
- Select Auto Tag # Selected Photos
- Orange boxes with numbers will display on the map indicating where the images were taken
- If one image is selected, a box will turn yellow indicating the location for the image
- If more than one image is selected, more than one box, depending on location will turn yellow
David Halgrimson is a Photo Guide with Arizona Highways PhotoScapes.
