Geotagging Your iPhoto Library with iPhone
iPhone 4 features an incredible five megapixel camera, and with HDR support, 720p HD video and an endless array of photography enhancing apps it’s easy to see why it has surpassed many DSLRs to become the most popular camera on Flickr. While apps such as Camera+ and TiltShift Generator are capable of mimicking the depth of field and focus techniques achieved by true glass lenses, iPhone 4 is not the perfect choice for all occasions. Though great for capturing a night out or an in-the-moment photo, the iPhone’s camera is still not to the level where it can replace a true DSLR or even a higher megapixel semi-pro point and shoot.
One aspect of the phone which may compel users to reach for it over their standard camera is its built-in geotagging capabilities. Though many new digital cameras also include this ability, photographers with older cameras are stuck with having to manually tag their photos should they want to add location data, which in iPhoto at least can be a serious pain.
Thankfully, there’s a way to easily add location data to all of your photos as long as you’ve taken at least one shot on location with your iPhone. First, however, it’s important to double check you’ve given Camera—or your photography app of choice—permission to use your location. To double check, simply visit Settings > Location Services and verify that the switch next to Camera is toggled on.
Once you’ve enabled location services, GPS coordinates will automatically be added to photos taken on your phone and preserved when imported to iPhoto. This data is plotted in the ‘Places’ category in the app’s sidebar, and provides users with an excellent visual aid of their travels and the photos taken during them.
To apply geo data to all photos taken in a given place—iPhone and otherwise—simply right click a photo known to have been taken using an iPhone and select copy. Next, browse for any photos taken on a non-geotag enabled camera and select them by either dragging a box around them or a combination of Shift and Command clicks. Once all of the photos from the same location as the original iPhone image are selected, right click again and select “Paste Location.” After completing this step, all images from a given location will adopt the data recorded in the original geotagged iPhone photo.
While this technique doesn’t yield results as accurate as using an iPhone or geotag enabled camera exclusively, it is an easy way to map your photos in Places both for fun and for easier organization.