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Comprehensive Guide to Metadata Management with ExifTool

Learn how to expertly remove, edit, and manipulate metadata in images and videos with ExifTool, from basic removal to advanced modifications.

Remove Metadata

Remove all metadata from an image

exiftool -all= image.jpg

Remove specific metadata tags (e.g., DateTimeOriginal and GPSLatitude) from an image

exiftool -GPSLatitude= -DateTimeOriginal= image.jpg

Remove all metadata except for the date and time tags from an image

exiftool -alldates image.jpg

Remove all EXIF metadata from a directory of images

exiftool -all= directory/

Remove IPTC metadata from a file

exiftool -IPTC:all= file.jpg

Remove XMP metadata from a file

exiftool -XMP:all= file.jpg

exiftool -Make= -Model= image.jpg

Remove GPS metadata from an image

exiftool -GPS:all= image.jpg

Remove specific IPTC tags (e.g., Caption and Keywords) from an image

exiftool -IPTC:Caption= -IPTC:Keywords= image.jpg

Remove specific XMP tags (e.g., XMP:Creator and XMP:Subject) from an image

exiftool -XMP:XMP:Creator= -XMP:XMP:Subject= image.jpg

Remove all metadata from a video file

exiftool -all= video.mp4

Remove specific QuickTime tags (e.g., QuickTime:CreationDate and QuickTime:Artist) from a video

exiftool -QuickTime:CreationDate= -QuickTime:Artist= video.mp4

exiftool -ExposureTime= -FNumber= image.jpg

Remove ICC profile metadata from an image

exiftool -icc_profile:all= image.jpg

Remove specific Photoshop tags (e.g., Photoshop:AuthorsPosition and Photoshop:Credit) from an image

exiftool -Photoshop:AuthorsPosition= -Photoshop:Credit= image.jpg

Remove specific XMP-GPS tags from an image

exiftool -XMP-GPS:all= image.jpg

Remove specific IPTC-Location tags from an image

exiftool -IPTC-Location:all= image.jpg

Remove specific XMP-MP tags from a video file

exiftool -XMP-MP:all= video.mp4

Remove specific MPEG tags from a video

exiftool -MPEG:all= video.mp4

Remove specific JFIF tags from an image

exiftool -JFIF:all= image.jpg

Manipulate Dates

Update the DateTimeOriginal of an image to a specific date and time

exiftool -DateTimeOriginal="2022:01:15 10:30:00" image.jpg

Shift the DateTimeOriginal of an image by a specific time offset (e.g., 1 hour forward)

exiftool "-DateTimeOriginal+=0:1:0 0" image.jpg

Set the CreateDate, ModifyDate, and DateTimeOriginal of an image to the current date and time

exiftool "-CreateDate<now" "-ModifyDate<now" "-DateTimeOriginal<now" image.jpg

Adjust the DateTimeOriginal of an image by a specific time difference (e.g., 2 hours earlier)

exiftool "-DateTimeOriginal-=0:2:0 0" image.jpg

Set the GPSDateStamp and GPSTimeStamp of an image to a specific date and time

exiftool -GPSDateStamp="2022:01:15" -GPSTimeStamp="10:30:00" image.jpg

Set the FileModifyDate of a file to a specific date and time

exiftool -FileModifyDate="2022:01:15 10:30:00" file.txt

Adjust the ModifyDate of a file by a specific time offset (e.g., 30 minutes forward)

exiftool "-ModifyDate+=0:0:30" file.txt

Set the MediaCreateDate and MediaModifyDate of a video file to the current date and time

exiftool "-MediaCreateDate<now" "-MediaModifyDate<now" video.mp4

Update the DateTimeOriginal of multiple images in a directory to a specific date and time

exiftool -DateTimeOriginal="2022:01:15 10:30:00" directory/

Set the DateCreated and DateModified of a file to a specific date and time

exiftool -DateCreated="2022:01:15 10:30:00" -DateModified="2022:01:15 10:30:00" file.txt

Manipulate and Edit Metadata

Set the ISO value of an image to a specific value

exiftool -ISO=200 image.jpg

Change the ExposureTime of a photo to a longer exposure

exiftool -ExposureTime=1/30 image.jpg

exiftool -Copyright="Copyright © 2022 Your Name" image.jpg

Set the Artist tag of an image to a specific value

exiftool -Artist="John Doe" image.jpg

Change the Make and Model tags of an image

exiftool -Make="Nikon" -Model="D850" image.jpg

Add keywords to the metadata of an image

exiftool -Keywords+="landscape" -Keywords+="nature" image.jpg

Set the GPS latitude and longitude of an image

exiftool -GPSLatitude=37.7749 -GPSLongitude=-122.4194 image.jpg

Rotate an image based on the Orientation tag

exiftool -Orientation#=1 image.jpg

Add a description to the XMP metadata of an image

exiftool -XMP:Description="A beautiful sunset over the mountains" image.jpg

Change the camera model in the metadata of an

exiftool -Model="Canon EOS 5D Mark IV" image.jpg

Add a title to the IPTC metadata of an image

exiftool -IPTC:Title="Sunflower Field" image.jpg

Adjust the exposure compensation value of an image

exiftool -ExposureCompensation=-0.5 image.jpg

Set the resolution unit and XResolution/YResolution values of an image

exiftool -ResolutionUnit=inches -XResolution=300 -YResolution=300 image.jpg

Change the author name in the XMP metadata of an image

exiftool -XMP:Creator="Jane Smith" image.jpg

Remove all metadata from files in folder1

exiftool -all= /path/to/folder1/*

Set all dates to January 1, 1990, for files in folder2

exiftool -AllDates="1990:01:01 00:00:00" /path/to/folder2/*

Remove all metadata from files in folder3 using a loop

for file in /path/to/folder3/*; do
    exiftool -all= "$file"
done

Set all dates to January 1, 1990, for files in folder4 using a loop

for file in /path/to/folder4/*; do
    exiftool -AllDates="1990:01:01 00:00:00" "$file"
done

Remove all metadata from JPEG files in folder5

exiftool -all= /path/to/folder5/*.jpg

Set all dates to January 1, 1990, for JPEG files in folder6

exiftool -AllDates="1990:01:01 00:00:00" /path/to/folder6/*.jpg

Remove all metadata from JPEG files in folder7 using a loop

for file in /path/to/folder7/*.jpg; do
    exiftool -all= "$file"
done

Example 8: Set all dates to January 1, 1990, for JPEG files in folder8 using a loop

for file in /path/to/folder8/*.jpg; do
    exiftool -AllDates="1990:01:01 00:00:00" "$file"
done

Remove all metadata from PNG files in folder9

exiftool -all= /path/to/folder9/*.png

Set all dates to January 1, 1990, for PNG files in folder10

exiftool -AllDates="1990:01:01 00:00:00" /path/to/folder10/*.png

Remove all metadata from PNG files in folder11 using a loop

for file in /path/to/folder11/*.png; do
    exiftool -all= "$file"
done

Set all dates to January 1, 1990, for PNG files in folder12 using a loop

for file in /path/to/folder12/*.png; do
    exiftool -AllDates="1990:01:01 00:00:00" "$file"
done

Remove all metadata from MOV files in folder13

exiftool -all= /path/to/folder13/*.mov

Set all dates to January 1, 1990, for MOV files in folder14

exiftool -AllDates="1990:01:01 00:00:00" /path/to/folder14/*.mov

Remove all metadata from MOV files in folder15 using a loop

for file in /path/to/folder15/*.mov; do
    exiftool -all= "$file"
done

Set all dates to January 1, 1990, for MOV files in folder16 using a loop

for file in /path/to/folder16/*.mov; do
    exiftool -AllDates="1990:01:01 00:00:00" "$file"
done

Remove all metadata from MP3 files in folder17

exiftool -all= /path/to/folder17/*.mp3

Set all dates to January 1, 1990, for MP3 files in folder18

exiftool -AllDates="1990:01:01 00:00:00" /path/to/folder18/*.mp3

Remove all metadata from MP3 files in folder19 using a loop

for file in /path/to/folder19/*.mp3; do
    exiftool -all= "$file"
done

Set all dates to January 1, 1990, for MP3 files in folder20 using a loop

for file in /path/to/folder20/*.mp3; do
    exiftool -AllDates="1990:01:01 00:00:00" "$file"
done