Oh my! I can’t remember where I took that photo!

It’s a classic problem for the vacation traveler. After two weeks away, you begin to review your travel photos, a few days or weeks after returning home, and just can’t remember where you took many of them, and what the buildings and scenes in them are.

Have you had that problem?

While traveling, you can ensure you’ll be able to identify your photographs through easy to use, inexpensive, low-tech techniques, and some easy to use high-tech equipment. For those using online galleries which can display each photo’s location on a map, you can even use a combination of low-tech techniques with great software to enable those maps for you, without purchasing expensive equipment.

Here are a few great low-tech techniques any vacation photographer can use to ensure you’ll know where you took each photo while traveling.

Journal Identification

Writing a journal of one’s photographs is the “tried and true” method of keeping track of your photographic journey away from home. I still have my Moleskine pocket notebooks with a listing of the locations, times and critical details of my photographic treks. Key your information to your photo’s number.

Map Identification

I’ve always coupled my journal with map identification while traveling. When photographing in cities I still use map identification as part of my routine to track my images.

Mark your position on a map when you make your photographs with the number of each photo. By the time you’re done, you’ll have a series of breadcrumbs showing your path of travel and where you made your photographs.

Identifier Photos

This is the easiest method to use to locate your photos whenever possible. Intersperse photos of street signs, building or park signs, well known, easily identified landmarks, etc. among your “real” photos. I take photos like this, even when using my GPS to help identify my photos.

TIP: along with identifier photos, while traveling, collect brochures, pamphlets, cards, and other materials from places you are visiting. They will help you identify your photos.

The low-tech methods work, but if you’re willing to purchase GPS equipment which can be expensive, it can make identification even easier, plus it has the added benefit of automatically embedding the physical location information needed for online gallery photo location mapping.

Built-in Camera GPS

Just a few years ago, no cameras had built-in GPS’ and only expensive high-end DSLR cameras had the capability of attaching external GPS units to them. Then smartphones, like Apple’s iPhone, which has GPS capability integrated with its camera, started the GPS digital photo revolution.

Today, there are a few “Point and Shoot” digital cameras which have built-in GPS units. More are on the way, as are DSLRs with built-in GPS technology. By the end of the decade, I expect virtually all new cameras will have built-in GPS capability.

GPS ready Digital Cameras

Many cameras available today are GPS ready, able to accept an external GPS attachment, which will automatically embed the location information of every photograph made into their exif data.

Camera’s such as the Nikon D300 or Nikon D700 can use GPS units designed to be plugged into them.

Hot Shoe GPS location logging

For DSLRs not GPS capable, which have external flash hot shoes, there are GPS devices which can be placed in the hot shoes and automatically triggered to record the location information of each image you make, to be later inputted into their exif data by computer software which matches the GPS data with each photo.

GPS location logging

There are many “walk-around” GPS “data logger” units in which you can record your location each time you take a photo, simply by pushing a button on the GPS device. Each recorded entry is called a “waypoint.” Smartphones with built-in GPS devices can be used to log “waypoints” using logging apps.

Once collected, there are third party programs which can either automatically or manually import “waypoint” data into your photos’ exif data.

Use Mapping Software at home with your low-tech information and your GPS data

Once home, with your identifying information, Internet mapping software like Google Maps and Google Earth can help you identify your photos utilizing your information and your GPS data, if any. Your GPS information can be entered directly on to Google Earth maps, to show your location on the map when you made each photo. Often museums, government buildings and other important buildings, locales, and outdoor works of art, are named directly on the maps, plus you’ll often see photos of them attached to the maps.

Online Gallery Mapping

Some online galleries today, such as Smugmug, can produce a location map of the photos in each of your galleries. It’s a wonderful addition to travel photo galleries. You can show everyone where you were when you took your photos. To accomplish that, you must embed each photo’s GPS location information in the photos’ exif data. If you’ve used a GPS device you’re already set. If you’ve been using my low tech methods you need to enter the information. It’s easy to use one of my favorite programs to facilitate GPS data entry.

My favorite’s are Microsoft Pro Photo Tools version 2, (free), and Photo Mechanic version 4.6x, ($150) which is also my image browser and workflow accelerator. Each program lets you locate where you took your photos on a Goggle Maps type map, then will enter the location information into the photos’ exif data for you.

I hope you can use some of these ideas to end your frustration when trying to identify your travel photos. By the way, does anyone recognize where the ??? photo at the top of the column was taken. Make a guess and I’ll let you you know if you’re right.

Ned Levi is a long time professional photographer with a passion for wildlife and travel photography. You can view some of Ned’s travel and other photos at NSL Photography or get more travel photography advice at the NSL Photography Blog which was recently included in Photography Colleges’ “Top 100 Travel Photography Blogs.”