Lightroom-copyright-metadata-presetI recommend adding copyright and contact information to your photos as you import them into Lightroom, so that when you share photos with the outside world, this data automatically tags along with them and people can get in touch with you if they come across your photos and want to use them. For photos already in Lightroom, it’s not too late — you can also add this information in the Library module.

In this video tutorial, I show you how to:

  • Create and update a copyright and contact information “metadata preset”
  • Apply your preset to photos as you import them
  • View copyright and contact information for your photos using the Metadata panel in the Library module
  • Apply your preset to any selected photos in the Library module.


Note that this copyright and contact information tags along with your photos in the file properties data — it is not written across your photos. To write information onto your photos themselves, use the Watermarking functionality in the Export dialog.

(For highest resolution viewing, after hitting Play, click on the sprocket wheel (Youtube Sprocket Wheel) in the bottom right and choose 720/HD.)

For those of you who prefer written instructions rather than watching a video, here’s an article from a couple years ago explaining how to create and apply a copyright metadata preset.

Once you export a copy of your photo, here’s how you can verify that the copyright information is there: on a PC in Windows Explorer / My Computer right-click on the photo and choose Properties. You’ll find the information on the Details tab. On a Mac, in Finder right-click on your photo and choose Get Info.

[sc:signup]

Related Post: Video Tutorial on Watermarking Photos