Adding GPS geodata with Lightroom and HoudahGeo

As your library of images grows, it becomes increasingly important to be able to place specific images. EXIF data can remind you of the date and time that the image was taken (if your camera is set up accurately) and will even remind you of the camera, lens, focal length, shutter speed, aperture, ISO and a host of other information relevant to a specific image.

However, if like me, your memory for places occasionally becomes a little hazy and you can’t remember whether that picture of a street vendor was shot in Prague or Paris, Budapest or Berlin, there is a solution that will enable you to pinpoint the exact location a particular photo was taken. At its best, it will pinpoint images to an accuracy of just a few feet, perfect for accurate captioning later on.

What follows is a description of the workflow that I use to add GPS geodata to my images. There are other methods available and one or two cameras already include GPS systems as standard. Unfortunately, the software I use is only currently available for Mac but if you know of a PC alternative then please leave a note in the comments.

Garmin eTrex Vista Cx

GPS Device

For this tutorial I have returned to a series of images that I shot in Budapest in 2007. They were all taken with a Canon EOS 1Ds MKII.

I was also carrying a Garmin eTrex Vista Cx GPS device although any GPS device that stores track information would serve equally as well. I chose this particular device as it has a colour screen and it’s possible to upload maps and routes into it.

It has a host of other features that are really useful for photographers, including specific sunrise and sunset times for your location and the ability to re-trace a route (useful for finding your way back to your hotel when you’ve been concentrating on photography and lost your bearings).

I’ve used it in remote locations in both the northern and southern hemisphere and, so far, it’s never let me down. It’s waterproof, which has been a bonus when I’ve been walking through torrential rain in the Lake District and monsoon weather in Thailand.

It occasionally struggles to pick up satellite reception in dense woods or cities with high buildings and rarely works indoors or undercover. I’ve used the road routing option when driving but it’s no replacement for a fully-featured in-car Sat Nav. In Europe and the USA, where there are detailed maps available, it’s fabulous at giving walking directions especially in cities.

There are plenty of other similar devices available and for the purposes of geotagging your images, most basic models will do just fine.

Lightroom: Location Metadata Panel

Lightroom

If you open up images in Lightroom’s Library Module you will notice a section in the right-hand panel entitled Metadata. At the top of this section there’s a drop-down arrow which allows you to select what type of metadata you wish to view. One of the options is Location. When you view the Location panel you will notice that there’s no field for GPS data. You can’t enter Geodata directly into Lightroom, it has to be done through a third-party application or plug-in. And until you’ve added the geodata the field remains hidden.

My workflow would see me add location information; ISO Country Code, Country, State/Province, City and specific location pretty early on. Indeed, most of that information is added when the files are ingested to Lightroom through the import dialogue. I’ll also populate the Caption and Heading fields at this point.

IMPORTANT: Before making any further changes to metadata in a third-party application I will force Lightroom to update the actual files with the metadata I’ve added (Menu: Metadata/Save Metadata to file).

Once I have all the basic metadata added I will then add the geodata stored on my GPS device.

HoudahGeo

HoudahGeo

It’s billed as “One-stop Geocoding for Mac” and that pretty much sums up the HoudahGeo application. It costs just €25 and can be downloaded from www.houdahgeo.com.

When you first open the application the window will be empty. The first step is to add the files you want to tag, either by dragging and dropping from the Finder or by using the import icons.

Initially, image files will be red and the Latitude, Longtitude and Altitude columns will be blank. To import corresponding geodata, I just plug my GPS device into a USB port and click on the Import GPS data icon. A window appears which will allows me to synchronise any time difference between my camera and my GPS. I try to remember to make sure that they are both set for the same time anyway but there’s always a difference of a few seconds and it’s worth making a note of the discrepancy as locations can change quite rapidly if you’re shooting from a vehicle. Currently my GPS is just ten seconds behind my camera. Not a lot but I still sync the times at this stage.

And then the magic happens. HoudahGeo imports my GPS track data and adds the location information to the corresponding files, based on the recorded time. Job done.

If you don’t seem able to import GPS data directly from the device then you can upload a GPX file from the device using Garmin’s own software and import this to HoudahGeo. It will work in the same way as importing directly from the device.

I then just export the new data to the EXIF fields of the files, return to Lightroom and re-introduce the new information to the files
(Metadata/Read metadata from file).

Google Earth and Google Maps

As if by magic, a new GPS field will appear in Lightroom, showing the Latitude, Longtitude and Altitude as recorded by your GPS device. If your GPS had good reception at the time the photo was taken, this data will be accurate to within a few feet.

Google Maps

You will also notice a small arrow to the right of this field. Clicking on it will open up a browser window and link to a Google map, marking the specific location where the photo was taken.

In this example, the photo shows the Budapest Parliament building and the map identifies the fact that I was standing in the centre of the bridge just north of the Parliament Building when I took the photo.

It is worth remembering that, once embedded, the geodata stays with the original RAW file. Consequently, any derivative files can also contain this information, which is invaluable for picture libraries and other clients as they seek to verify the location of specific images. It is also really useful for captioning as you can quickly switch off the Google Map satellite image and reveal the map information. I can very quickly determine the name of the bridge I was standing on (Magrit Bridge) and the names and locations of surrounding roads and landmarks.

Google Earth

But the fun doesn’t stop there. Back in HoudahGeo it is possible to export the location information and image thumbnails into the Google Earth application. Clicking on the corresponding icon allows you to creat a KMZ or KML file which is automatically imported into Google Earth.

Thumbnail versions of all the images you have been working on appear in Google Earth at their proper locations. Clicking on a thumbnail opens a larger image and displays the geodata.

This method allows you to quickly and easily create a visual library of your images. You can see exactly where specific images were taken and even follow the route you took on a certain day. By saving the files to your Google Earth library you can look back and enjoy a visual diary of your photographic activities.

What if I don’t have GPS data?

Even without a GPS device it is possible to geocode your image files with HoudahGeo. Select an image from the list and click the “Geocode with Google Earth” icon. Google Earth will open, showing a target icon in the centre of the screen. Simply navigate to the location where the photo was taken and hit the “Geocode” button. The geocode will be returned into HoudahGeo.

Flickr

It is also possible to export images directly to your Flickr account via HoudahGeo and although this is not something I am overly familiar with, I understand that Flickr not only recognises the geodata but will build a map based upon the locations of your image files.

Summary

HoudahGeo will work directly with RAW, DNG and PSD files and integrates directly with iPhoto and Aperture as well as Lightroom.

There are also some excellent screencast tutorials if you are looking for further instruction.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this tutorial, HoudahGeo is Mac only at present so if you know of a reliable PC alternative please leave details in the comments for this page.

Download

Download this tutorial as a PDF file :