I have a photo collection of over 30,000 photos that I’ve worked hard to update … but unfortunately all that date is in the Apple “Photos” system. Is there any batch or automated way to copy and paste these values into MetaImage and thereby update the correct metadata into the JPEG files? Thanks for your help! BillC
Hello,
I believe the only viable solution is to export all the photos with modified dates, as you already started making the change in Photos. Photos will download the files which are not stored locally, and it will update EXIF:DateTimeOriginal and EXIF:CreateDate tags. Once you have the files on your disk, outside of the Photos app, you can make use of MetaImage. The final step would be to remove the images from Photos and then import the updated ones.
This is the only practical solution because Photos only applies metadata modifications within its private database.
If I were in your shoes, I would consider leaving the modifications in the database while still storing my files in Photos. However, I understand that relying solely on database records can be frustrating.
MetaImage can automate the process explained above through the ‘Open from Photos’ option. However, dealing with such a large number of files, around 30,000, can be quite cumbersome due to sandboxing and security processes. It may be more efficient to handle the steps manually.
Best regards
Terrific! Thanks so much for your help! I was not aware that Apple Photos would populate the Metadata when it exported a file. Now I can do what I need to do! Really appreciate your assistance!