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Standard: Deliver Accurately Dated Photos to Clients

Standard

Deliver Accurately Dated Photos to Clients

An accurately dated photo is one with a date and time in the EXIF DateTimeOriginal field that is believed to accurately represent the date and time the shutter was pressed on the camera.  

The EXIF DateTimeOriginal field is much more reliable indicator of that than any other field.

An organized digital photo collection can include photos without a date and time in the EXIF DateTimeOriginal field and/or photos with an EXIF DateTimeOriginal that is believed to be incorrect. Those photos must be delivered to the client in separate folders, and those folders must be clearly labelled, with names that include words like, “Undated” or “Incorrect Dates”.

Example:

Delivered Project Folder for Undated

An organized photo collection can be tested for photos without an EXIF DateTimeOriginal to determine if the Standard has been met. This can be done with applications including Directory Opus, Duplicate Cleaner (by DigitalVolcano), ACDSee Photo Studio, and Lightroom Classic with the ‘Any Filter’ plugin.

Photos without an Exif DateTimeOriginal that have been separated out and are stored in folders with labels like “Undated” or “Incorrect Dates” would be exempt from testing.

EXIF DateTimeOriginal is not the same as ‘Date Taken’, ‘Capture Date’, or Mylio’s ‘Date Created’ field. Those fields will display the EXIF DateTimeOriginal if a photo has one, but the EXIF DateTimeOriginal field must still be checked to verify a photo’s date.

While other metadata and file/system date fields, like Date Created and Date Modified, may display a date and time identical to a photo’s EXIF DateTimeOriginal, those dates can change if photos are moved, copied, edited, exported, or downloaded, and are therefore unreliable.

Because Professional Photo Organizers and Photo Managers gather their clients’ photos by moving, copying, exporting and downloading them, file/system dates become even less reliable.

All photo applications and cloud services prioritize the EXIF DateTimeOriginal field when determining which date to display, but almost all will display a date for every photo—even those without an EXIF DateTimeOriginal. That is the primary reason there is so much confusion about photo dates and photo date terminology like, ‘Capture Date’ and ‘Date Taken’.

Definitions
The Definitions page of this website includes more detailed information about photo date metadata terminology.

Visit the Definitions Page

There are standards for EXIF, IPTC and XMP date metadata. The names displayed for photo date metadata fields and how the metadata in those fields is read and written by different applications does vary but can be analyzed using applications that can sort and filter photos by EXIF, IPTC, and XMP date metadata fields.

Because standards exist for photo date metadata, this Standard is not a matter of opinion but is based on data science.

This Standard is realistic because there are applications for both Mac and PC that can display a photo’s EXIF DateTimeOriginal, sort photos by EXIF DateTimeOriginal, and identify duplicates based on EXIF DateTimeOriginal.

This Standard can be achieved efficiently when Best Practices are followed, but many applications make it prohibitively difficult or impossible to follow the Best Practices.

The operating system, applications, and methods used for organizing digital photos have a direct impact on a Professional Photo Organizer or Photo Manager’s ability to achieve this Standard.

The Best Practices for this Standard include important information about which applications help one achieve the Standard, and which make it difficult or impossible to achieve the Standard.

A Photo Organizer or Photo Manager who wants to be considered a Professional should use applications and methods that enable them to achieve this Standards efficiently.

Achieving this Standard is the only way to ensure your clients’ organized photos will be sorted correctly by date in any photo application or cloud photo service your client uses, and that the dates displayed will not change unless they are deliberately changed.

Typically, between 5% and 20% of photos in a client’s collections have no EXIF DateTimeOriginal, but because most applications will display a date for those photos, and because few applications can sort or filter photos by EXIF DateTimeOriginal, the problem is not widely recognized—even by professionals in this field.

The date displayed by photo applications and cloud photo storage services for photos without an EXIF DateTimeOriginal is usually the file/system Date Created, Date Modified, or EXIF Date Modified. The date in one or more of those fields can change when photos are moved, edited, exported, downloaded, or converted to another format, resulting in a change to the date displayed. 

Examples:
Directory Opus and File Explorer both display a ‘Date Taken’ for the photos in the screenshot below, even though none have an EXIF DateTimeOriginal:

Date Taken NO EDTO

For each of those same photos, Adobe Lightroom Classic displays a ‘Capture Date’:

Capture Date in LRC No EDTO

In Photo Mechanic a ‘Capture Date’ would be displayed for them. In Mylio, the ‘Date Created’ or ‘Timestamp’ field would show those dates.

People do many things with their photos that may result in a change to file/system Date Created and Date Modified, and the EXIF Modified Date, but changing the EXIF DateTimeOriginal requires deliberately editing the date metadata or using an application that copies a date from another field to the EXIF DateTimeOriginal field. (See the Best Practice ‘Downloading from Google Photos’)

The EXIF DateTimeOriginal can also be removed (stripped) from photos by, for example, sharing via text message or social media services, but it won’t be changed by those actions. 

Example:
This screenshot is from a real client’s collection. I use the term ‘Undated’ term for photos without an EXIF DateTimeOriginal:

Dated and Undated in Same Collection

This Standard was developed primarily for multi-Source digital collections, which involve gathering files from multiple Sources and consolidating those files onto a storage device.

This Standard should be applied to all photos a Professional Photo Organizer or Photo Manager copies, moves, downloads, or exports from a client’s Sources. 

This Standard also applies to projects involving adding date metadata to scanned photos. 

Delivering accurately dated photos to clients will help them complete related projects, like creating photo books, with greater ease.

For Legacy Collections, photo date accuracy is essential. If a photo chosen for a Legacy Collection has no EXIF DateTimeOriginal, the date metadata of duplicates of that photo (if any) should be examined in case a duplicate does have a date in that field.

Project Type Exceptions

Photo organizing is a term that encompasses many different types of projects, and this Standard may not be relevant for a digital project that only involves, for example, helping a client organize their Apple Photos Library.

Limitations

Some photos in clients’ collections may have inaccurate EXIF date metadata due to incorrect camera date/time settings.

Incorrectly dated photos can be very difficult to spot unless date information in folder names or filenames is different than the EXIF DateTimeOriginal displayed for the photos.

While it may be possible to identify all or most incorrectly dated photos by carefully viewing all photos and examining their date metadata, that would be a very time-consuming task, so is not included in the Standard. If a client does want that level of accuracy, that should be specified in the project’s scope.

Another indication that photos may be inaccurately dated is when a group (or folder) of photos share the date pattern YYYY-01-01, and the times often start at midnight.

Unless the photos depict New Year’s eve celebrations, the date is likely inaccurate.

Example
This screenshot is from a real client’s collection:

Incorrectly dated photos

File Format Exceptions

The following image file formats commonly found in clients’ collections do not support EXIF date metadata and should be delivered in separate folders:

  • BMP
  • GIF

The term ‘date information’ is used frequently in the Best Practices.

Date information in folder names or filenames may be very specific or very vague and may be
in the form of:

  • A Year, like 2003
  • A specific date, like 2012-07-13.
  • A seasonal reference, like ‘Spring Break’
  • A known date, like ‘Christmas Day 2005’
  • A date that varies a little bit year over year, like ‘First Day of School’.
  • A date you can determine by asking your client, like ‘Eric’s First Birthday’.
  • A date a that can be determine with a little bit of research, like ‘Canada Day’. (if you’re not Canadian!)

Best Practices

Following these Best Practices will enable Professional Photo Organizers and Photo Managers to achieve the Standard of delivering accurately dated photos to clients.

Best Practices are usually recommendations that help one achieve a Standard. In this case, following these Best Practices is the only way the Standard can be achieved efficiently.

Because organizing a digital photo collection involves many tasks that can affect photo date metadata, Best Practices are listed for those typical tasks. The tasks themselves are not Best Practices, so only follow Best Practices for tasks that need to be done for a client’s collection.

Many Best Practices involve ensuring date information is preserved. If that date information is not preserved, it may be possible to recover it or to get the information from the client, but preserving it is much more reliable and efficient.

I have been analyzing how applications for both Mac and PC read and write photo date metadata since 2016. 

It all started when I was scanning my own family photos and saw that there was no ‘Date Taken’ displayed for them in Windows File Explorer—which was appropriate.

But after editing the photos, the ‘Date Taken’ field displayed the date and time I did the editing—which I felt was not appropriate! To understand why, I compared date metadata of an edited and unedited photo and discovered that an EXIF Modified Date had been added to the edited photo.

I have never since trusted the dates displayed for photos in any application.

Since so many digital photo organizing tasks can affect what date is displayed by an application, I analyze how every application I use handles date metadata. I also analyze how date metadata is handled by applications commonly used by other Professional Photo Organizers and Photo Managers.

To analyze how an application handles date metadata, I start with a batch of test photos and add EXIF date metadata to some of them. Then I take screenshot and record the dates displayed in each metadata field. After doing a task with an application using a copy of the test photos, I compare the dates.

Here’s an example: I uploaded the test photos to Google Photos. In Google photos, I added dates to some of the photos that had no EXIF date metadata. Then I used Google Takeout to download the test photos, made a copy, and extracted the copy to check the date metadata. Next, I used MetaData Fixer to add the metadata from the .JSON files to the photos. By comparing the date metadata of the original test photos to the date metadata after downloading and to the date metadata after using MetaData Fixer, I was able to determine what MetaData Fixer did to the photo date metadata.

To understand and analyze photo date metadata, one must use an application that can display many different EXIF, IPTC and XMP fields and sort photos by any of those fields.

The only applications I have found with those capabilities are Directory Opus and ExifToolGUI.

Definitions

Visit the Definitions page for definitions of metadata terminology and other terminology used on this website.

Definitions Page

List of Best Practices

For Delivering Accurately Dated Photos to Clients

Table of Contents

Copying Photos from Computers and Devices

Preserve all folder names and folder structure when copying files from computers and devices like external hard drives. That will preserve date information that may be in folder names anywhere in the folder path.

Copying folders and their sub folders may result in copying files other than photos, but it is the only method that will ensure that potentially helpful date information in folder names is preserved.

It is the responsibility of Professional Photo Organizers and Photo Managers to preserve the folder structure in case folder names include helpful date information that is important to your client.

If date information is written on devices or device cases (like CD cases), that date information should be included in the name of the folder you will copy the photos to.

Reminder: Typically, between 5% and 20% of photos in a client’s collections have no EXIF DateTimeOriginal.

I noticed that the dates of these photos (from a real client’s collection) were incorrect only because the folder structure had been preserved. The date range of 2009-2010 was supported by dates of other photos in the collection:

Wrongly Dated w Date in Folder Path

Using a device like “ThePhotoStick” or “PictureKeeper Pro”
Folder structure will be preserved, but photos and videos will almost definitely be missed. Archives won’t be copied, and they often contain photos and videos. PDFs won’t be copied, and collections I’ve organized have included scanned photos saved as PDFs. Photos in Hidden and System folders won’t be copied, and that’s where I often find unedited originals of badly compressed photos.  

Searching with Finder (Mac) or File Explorer (PC)
to find photos, then copying the photos that were found. Photos will be removed from their original folders. That makes it extremely difficult to achieve the Standard.

A client’s photos and videos may be stored in unusual and unexpected places. So, gathering files non-selectively by copying anything your client will allow you to copy is the only way to ensure you gather all your client’s photos and videos.

Then use an application like Directory Opus that can filter files by extension. You can select then move or delete files other than photos, videos, Archives (which may contain photos and videos) and PDFs (which can be scanned photos). It’s much faster than selectively gathering only photos and videos and preserving the folder structure.

Preserving date information in folder names also allows one to verify the accuracy of photo dates, and that information can be used to add or correct photo dates if the client wants that done.

Exporting From Apple Photos

Accuracy of photo dates can only be verified efficiently if photos are exported from Apple Photos.

Many applications and methods for exporting from Apple Photos cause a problem for photos without an EXIF DateTimeOriginal: Either the file/system Date Created or Date Modified will be copied to the EXIF DateTimeOriginal field upon export!

If that happens, not only will the new EXIF DateTimeOriginal be unreliable, but duplicate removal will be less accurate and less efficient.

To prevent that problem, use an application or method that does not copy another date to the EXIF DateTimeOriginal field upon export.

Reminder: Typically, between 5% and 20% of photos in a client’s collections have no EXIF DateTimeOriginal.

  • Apple Photos – Export Unmodified Originals
  • CYME Avalanche – Export to Watched Folders
  • CopyTrans Cloudly
  • PowerPhotos 3 – with the Date field unchecked:
Power Photos Date Field Not Checked

These applications and methods will copy either the file/system Date Created or Date Modified to the EXIF DateTimeOriginal field upon export—if the photos do not have an EXIF DateTimeOriginal.

  • Apple Photos – Export
  • CYME Avalanche – Export to Lightroom Classic
  • PhotosTakeout – Any option or combination of options

PowerPhotos 3 has the most comprehensive options for exporting from Apple Photos and allows for preservation of Album names, which are converted to folder names. Smart Albums can also be exported.

Ask your client if they have added dates to photos within Apple Photos, as those dates may be lost unless you can isolate the photos to which dates were added.

Downloading from Google Photos

Recommended Method: Google Takeout

If Google Takeout is used to download photos from Google Photos, the photos will download with all the EXIF, IPTC, and XMP metadata they had when they were uploaded. Album names, that may include date information, will be converted to folder names.

.JSON files included in the Archive(s) downloaded store metadata—including dates—added within Google Photos.

Mylio and MetaData Fixer are applications that claim to add the metadata from the .JSON files to the photos. There are risks to using either of those applications.

If MetaData Fixer is used to add the metadata from .JSON files to the photos, any photos that were uploaded to Google Photos without an EXIF DateTimeOriginal will have the date the system/file Created Date or the date of download copied to the EXIF DateTimeOriginal field and other date metadata fields!

The dates of photos that did have an EXIF DateTimeOriginal when they were uploaded to Google Photos will be unaffected.

EDTO Added by Metadata Fixer

If Google Takeout .zip files are imported to Mylio by following the instructions in the Mylio manual, any photos that were uploaded to Google Photos without an EXIF DateTimeOriginal will be displayed in Mylio by the date they were downloaded using Google Takeout. That download date will be displayed as the Date Created in Mylio.

If the metadata is then saved to those files using that Mylio feature, the date they were downloaded will be copied to the EXIF DateTimeOriginal field and all other date metadata fields!

EDTO Added by Metadata Mylio

Ask your client if they have added dates to photos within Google Photos, as those dates are stored in the .JSON files, and so may be lost unless you can isolate the photos to which dates were added.

The Method I Use
I created two versions of an ExifTool command for Directory Opus that adds metadata from the .JSON files to the photos. 

One version of my command will not add or change a photo’s EXIF DateTimeOriginal, and the other version will. I use the version that is best suited for each client’s project.

Verifying Photo Date Metadata

The EXIF DateTimeOriginal field is by far the most reliable indicator of when a camera’s shutter was pressed, and so is the only field you should be concerned with.

Reminder: Typically, between 5% and 20% of photos in a client’s collections have no EXIF DateTimeOriginal.

The following applications allow one to view EXIF DateTimeOriginal in a column and sort photos by EXIF DateTimeOriginal:

  • ACDSee Photo Studio
  • Directory Opus*
  • Duplicate Cleaner (by DigitalVolcano)
  • Exiftool GUI
  • Exif Pilot
  • NeoFinder (EXIF DateTimeOriginal is called  ‘Exif Capture Date’)
  • XNView MP (EXIF DateTimeOriginal is called ‘EXIF Date Taken’)

*Directory Opus cannot display EXIF metadata for HEIC files.

Note: In 2021, I convinced the developers of Duplicate Cleaner to add EXIF DateTimeOriginal and subseconds. In 2023, I convinced the developers of Directory Opus to add EXIF DateTimeOriginal as a column—without the need for a Plugin. 

You can view the EXIF DateTimeOriginal field for one photo at a time only with these applications: 

Adobe Lightroom Classic
‘Capture Date’ is not the same as EXIF DateTimeOriginal. Customize the Metadata Pane to view the EXIF DateTimeOriginal field.

Adobe Bridge
‘Date Created’ is not the same as EXIF DateTimeOriginal. Customize the Metadata Panel to view the EXIF DateTimeOriginal field.

Mylio
‘Date Created’ and ‘Timestamp’ are not the same as EXIF
DateTimeOriginal. EXIF DateTimeOriginal will be displayed in the Metadata Pane if
a photo has one. 

Preview (Mac)
The Preview app will display an EXIF DateTimeOriginal in the Info panel if a photo has one. 

Graphic Converter (Mac)
EXIF DateTimeOriginal will be displayed in the ExifTool tab of the Metadata pane if a photo has one. 

digiKam
EXIF DateTimeOriginal is displayed as ‘Date and Time (original)’ for one photo at a time in the  Exif tab
of the Info panel.

IrfanView (PC)
EXIF DateTimeOriginal will be displayed in the Exif info section of the info panel. 

dupeGuru
dupeGuru displays that field for all photos displayed in the results of a duplicate search, but sorting results by EXIF DateTimeOriginal is not possible.

It is not possible to view the EXIF DateTimeOriginal field or to sort photos by EXIF DateTimeOriginal in:

File Explorer (PC)
‘Date Taken’ is not the same as EXIF DateTimeOriginal.
Photos with a ‘Date Taken’ do not always have an EXIF DateTimeOriginal.

Finder
Date Created is not the same as EXIF DateTimeOriginal and is not reliable. 

Photo Mechanic
All photos will display a ‘Capture Date’, even those with no EXIF DateTimeOriginal. EXIF DateTimeOriginal is not visible in the IPTC dialog.

CYME Peakto
Peakto will display a date in the EXIF DateTimeOriginal field even if a photo does not have a date in that field.

Excire Foto
‘Capture Date’ is not the same as EXIF DateTimeOriginal. A ‘Capture Date’ will be displayed for photos with a date in any EXIF field. 

Apple Photos
A date will be displayed in the info dialog for all photos. It does not indicate if a photo has an EXIF DateTimeOriginal.

Separating Out Photos with No EXIF DateTimeOriginal

While it’s helpful to sort photos by EXIF DateTimeOriginal, separating them out and keeping the folder structure intact makes it easier to meet the Standard. 

Reminder: Typically, between 5% and 20% of photos in a client’s collections have no EXIF DateTimeOriginal.

The screenshot below, of selected folders from a real client’s collection, shows folders of photos without an EXIF DateTimeOriginal after they were separated out with their folder names and folder structure preserved:

Undated w dates in folder names
  • Folder names very often include date information that can be used to add dates to photos—if that date information is determined to be accurate.
  • Working with photos without an EXIF DateTimeOriginal involves different tasks.

These applications can copy or move selected files and recreate the folder structure in the destination:

  • Directory Opus
    The option to copy or move files and recreate the folder structure in the destination requires knowledge of the application’s Preferences and features.
  • Duplicate Cleaner (by DigitalVolcano)
    This is not a documented feature of Duplicate Cleaner and requires advanced knowledge of the application to do this efficiently.

Note: Adobe Lightroom Classic, along with a plugin, can be used to create a Collection of photos with no EXIF DateTimeOriginal.

Separating Out Incorrectly Dated Photos

Incorrectly dated photos can be very difficult to spot unless date information in folder names or filenames is different than the EXIF DateTimeOriginal displayed for the photos.

If incorrectly dated photos are spotted, they should be separated out with the folder structure preserved.

To separate out incorrectly dated photos, use the same applications/methods as for separating out photos with no Exif DateTimeOriginal: Duplicate Cleaner (by DigitalVolcano) and Directory Opus.

Use Directory Opus or Duplicate Cleaner (by DigitalVolcano) to filter for photos with -01-01 in the EXIF DateTimeOriginal field. After checking to see if any of the photos depict New Year’s celebrations, move incorrectly dated photos to an ‘Incorrectly Dated’ folder.

Identifying and Removing Duplicate Photos

If duplicate photos are removed using an application that cannot compare or mark duplicates based on their EXIF DateTimeOriginal—or lack of one—some photos without an EXIF DateTimeOriginal will be kept, and their duplicates with an EXIF DateTimeOriginal will be discarded.

Reminder: Typically, between 5% and 20% of photos in a client’s collections have no EXIF DateTimeOriginal.

Duplicate Cleaner (by DigitalVolcano)
It is the only duplicate removal application with the option to group and/or mark duplicates for removal based on EXIF DateTimeOriginal.

dupeGuru
If a duplicate group includes a photo without an EXIF DateTimeOriginal, that photo will be automatically marked for removal if the file size is smaller.

PhotoSweeper 
PhotoSweeper cannot identify or mark duplicates based on EXIF DateTimeOriginal. PhotoSweeper compares the ‘Capture Date’. If a photo has no EXIF DateTimeOriginal, PhotoSweeper will use the photo’s file/system Date Created or EXIF Modified Date as the ‘Capture Date’.

Mylio
If there are photos in Mylio that have an EXIF DateTimeOriginal and copies of those photos that have been stripped of their date metadata, the Photo DeDupe tool will not find those duplicates—even if they have the same filename and file size. With the Photo DeClutter tool, there is no combination of settings that will find all the duplicates. And there is no way to auto-mark the duplicates based on EXIF date metadata!

Teekesselchen (Plugin for Lightroom Classic)
No combination of Marks and Rules will find duplicates if one has an EXIF DateTimeOriginal and the other does not.

Cisdem Duplicate Finder
Cisdem does not consider EXIF metadata at all! It looks only at file/system Date Created and Date Modified. As a result, duplicates may be inaccurately and incompletely removed.

Awesome Duplicate Photo Finder, Duplicate Photos Fixer Pro, and many other similar-looking applications that appear under so many different names in search results that it’s hard to tell which is which! 
None will reliably auto-mark a photo without an EXIF DateTimeOriginal keep a photo with an EXIF DateTimeOriginal.

Wait until duplicates have been removed before adding or correcting photo dates. After photos without an EXIF DateTimeOriginal have been de-duped against photos with an EXIF DateTimeOriginal, and against incorrectly dated photos, there will likely be significantly fewer photos that need a date added or corrected.

If photos without an EXIF DateTimeOriginal have been separated out, duplicate removal can be done more accurately, thoroughly, and efficiently.

Separating them out also allows for photos without an EXIF DateTimeOriginal to be compared with photos that have one:

Dated vs Undated External Only

Adding Dates to Photos and Correcting Dates

This Best Practice applies only if a client wants dates added to photos with no EXIF DateTimeOriginal and/or wants incorrect dates to be corrected based on available information.

If a date can be determined for photos without an EXIF DateTimeOriginal based on information in file or folder names, and/or with the client’s input, date metadata can be added to those photos and included with the ‘dated’ photos delivered.

When adding date metadata to scanned photos or to photos without an EXIF DateTimeOriginal, it’s important to use an application that does it properly.

These applications add a date to the EXIF DateTimeOriginal field and at least one other EXIF, IPTC, or XMP date field. That’s important because some applications and cloud photo services will only accept the date in the EXIF DateTimeOriginal field if that same date and time is in at least one other date metadata field.

  • Adobe Bridge
  • Adobe Lightroom Classic
  • Directory Opus
  • Mylio
  • File Explorer (PC) – Only the date can be added or changed, not the time.

If a photo has no EXIF date metadata, none will be added by Photo Mechanic. A date will be added to the IPTC and XMP Date Created fields only. While those dates will be recognized by many applications, it’s too risky to have a date in only those fields.

Applications that rename photos by date and/or move photos into dated folders prioritize EXIF date metadata.

Example:

IPTC XMP Date Created Added with Photo Mechanic

If ‘Fuzzy Dates’ are added using Mylio, no date is added to the EXIF DateTimeOriginal field. In addition, ‘Fuzzy Dates’ are not recognized outside of Mylio if the photos are exported.  

Many Professional Photo Organizers and Photo Managers attempt to ‘fix’ dates of photos without an EXIF DateTimeOriginal by copying the file/system Created Date to the EXIF DateTimeOriginal field using an application like A Better Finder Attributes (for Mac only).

The risk is that the file/system Created Date may not represent when the shutter was pressed—especially after a client’s photos have been gathered by copying, moving, exporting, or downloading them from Sources.

Another way Pros ‘fix’ photo dates is to copy the EXIF DateTimeOriginal to the file/system Created Date so that the date the shutter was pressed is visible in Finder as the Date Created. That ‘fix’ is only temporary because that file/system Created Date may change as a result of different actions.

After photos without an EXIF DateTimeOriginal have been de-duped against photos with an EXIF DateTimeOriginal, and against incorrectly dated photos, there will likely be significantly fewer photos that need a date added or corrected.

While file/system Date Created and Date Modified should almost always be ignored, those dates can be useful as a starting point for verifying date information in folder names.

Accurately Sorting Photos Into Dated Folders

Only photos with an EXIF DateTimeOriginal will be accurately sorted into dated folders by any application available for this task.

Reminder: Typically, between 5% and 20% of photos in a client’s collections have no EXIF DateTimeOriginal.

To preserve any date information in folder names and filenames, photos should be sorted into dated folders only after all duplicate removal has been done, and dates have been added to photos with no EXIF DateTimeOriginal.

If photos are separated into dated folders in the early stages of a digital project, it will be impossible to achieve the Standard.

None! There is no application that will accurately sort photos into dated folders.

BUT: If photos without an EXIF DateTimeOriginal have been separated out, all photos with an EXIF DateTimeOriginal can be accurately sorted into dated folders by any application available for this task.

Lightroom Classic and Photo Mechanic will sort all photos into dated folders – even those with no EXIF DateTimeOriginal or other EXIF date metadata.

Big Mean Folder Machine and PhotoMove will sort photos that have an EXIF Modified Date or EXIF Create Date. That’s not good because those dates are added to photos when they are scanned, edited, or converted from another format, and do not represent the date the shutter was pressed on a camera.

Renaming Photos by Date

It is a common practice amongst Professional Photo Organizers and Photo Managers to rename photos with the date.

The only date that should be used for renaming by date is EXIF DateTimeOriginal.

Reminder: Typically, between 5% and 20% of photos in a client’s collections have no EXIF DateTimeOriginal.

Unfortunately, many applications will rename photos without an EXIF DateTimeOriginal, and so the dates added to those filenames will not represent the date the shutter was pressed. 

Separating out photos without an EXIF DateTimeOriginal makes this Best Practice easier to apply, because only photos that do have an EXIF DateTimeOriginal will be accurately renamed by date by any photo application with that feature.

  • Directory Opus (PC)
  • A Better Finder Rename 12 (Mac)

These applications are the only ones I’ve found that have the option to rename by EXIF DateTimeOriginal. Photos without an EXIF DateTimeOriginal will not be renamed.

  • Bulk Rename Utility (PC)
  • Lightroom Classic
  • Photo Mechanic
  • Adobe Bridge

Bulk Rename Utility will use EXIF Modified date or Exif Create date if there is no EXIF DateTimeOriginal.

The other applications will rename all photos by date—even those with no EXIF date metadata. If there is no EXIF DateTimeOriginal, photos will be renamed by another EXIF date (if there is one), and then by either the file Date Created or Date Modified.

BUT If photos without an EXIF DateTimeOriginal have been separated out, all photos with an EXIF DateTimeOriginal can be accurately renamed by date by any application that renames photos by date.

Photos with an EXIF DateTimeOriginal can be accurately renamed by ‘Capture Date’, ‘Date Taken’, ‘Shooting Date’ or whatever terminology your preferred renaming tool uses. 

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