Photoshop CS6: Batch Processing Copyright Metadata for Multiple Images and Photos

s In this tutorial I will be showing you how to use Photoshop CS6′s batch processing and actions to add copyright metadata to all the images in a folder. We will set up the process first then after that we will be able to in one batch command add our copyright metadata to the entire folder without having to edit each image individually. It is important that we add our copyright details to our images to protect our intellectual property rights. However adding them individually can be very tedious. This process will save us a lot of time down the track.

For this exercise I will be using Photoshop CS6 but most versions have this capability and are all pretty simple if not exactly the same.

This process has been tested and works also on Adobe Photoshop CS4, CS5, CS5.5 as well as CS6. The process remains unchanged across all these versions of Photoshop.

Creating Actions

We will be starting off by creating actions. These are simple automations of commonly used processes. Rather than going through the process each time we wish to perform a set of actions we are going to set up Photoshop CS6 to automate the process for us.

To help our batch processing we are going to create an action that opens the metadata for a photo, adds the necessary copyright metadata to that photo, saves and closes the image. You can adjust the setting to suit your needs but the process itself will be the same for everyone.

Lets start by opening a photo to add metadata to. Make sure you open an image BEFORE you start to record your macro. Batch processing will open the nessesary files and perform the action. If you begin recording before you open the file Photoshop will open the file you recorded and apply the actions only to that particular file.

Now that you have a file open we are ready to begin recording our action.

1. Begin by opening up your actions palette. This can be accessed through windows -> actions or by pressing ctr-F9.
2. When creating actions they will always appear inside a folder on this window. As we don’t want our new action appearing inside any of the default actions we need to create a new folder by pressing the new folder button. Now give the folder a name.
3. To create a new action we now need to hit the new action button. We will then be prompted to name our action so we can find it again latter when we need it. I will call mine Copyright Information. Once you have given your action a name ensure that under set you have selected the folder you just created. Then we are ready to hit Record.
4. Select File -> File Info.
5. On the default page that opens you will see Author up near the top. Type in your name.
6. Lower down on the page you will find Copyright notice place your copyright notice in there. If you have a URL dedicated to your Copyright notice place the URL in under Copyright Info URL.
7. Change Copyright Status to Copyrighted.
8. Now click on the tab title IPTC.
9. Add your email, website and any other details you wish to add.
10. click OK.
11. Now save the image. When prompted for the save setting do not change anything. Just hit OK.
12. Now close the image. If you don’t by the time you get to the end of a batch process you will have a lot of images open and probably a very slow computer.
13. Hit stop on your actions palette to stop the recording.

Your action is now recorded ready to go.

This process will handle only JPEGs. For other file types re-record the same actions and remember not to change the save settings. This is because for each file extension the file save window is different. So an action needs to be recorded for each type. When running your batches make sure you only have one file type in each batch.

If Photoshop CS6 encounters another file type it will prompt you for the save settings. So if you like you could run the one action on all and just hit save when prompted for each image. The metadata would be added regardless it’s just the save methods that varies.

BATCH PROCESSING MULTIPLE IMAGES READY FOR THE WEB.

So now we are ready to batch process our images.

1. Chose File >> Automate >> Batch
2. Select the action you just recorded at the top of the dialog box that appears.
3. Select your source folder where all the images you wish to process are currently held.
4. If you wish your images to always go to the folder or folders in which you created in your action do not select a destinations folder. This is vital if you expanded on the actions to include multiple types of images in multiple folders. If you are saving everything to one one folder by all means select a destinations folder.
5. Once you have all your setting as you want them hit OK.
6. Photoshop will go through the entire folder (and sub-folders if you selected that option.) and optimise all the images in there ready for deployment to the web.

Hope you all find this tutorial helpful and see you again next time.