How to Describe AI Editing in a Photo's Digital Source Metadata
By ImgHeal · Updated
An old photograph and a newly generated image are not the same kind of source. Describe the actual editing process so a technical label does not erase the historical photograph behind the viewing copy.
Explore this topic: Organize a photo archive
Write down the operations actually performed
Start with the retained source and list the changes made to the delivered image. Separate ordinary pixel adjustments, automated cleanup, generative replacement, and creative additions where you know the distinction. Record uncertainty about the process rather than guessing from appearance alone. A restored face may look natural while containing generated features; a dramatic contrast change may use no generative content. Keep the product or editor notes available, but do not invent a model name, version, or processing claim that the service never supplied.
Choose a supported description rather than a fashionable label
IPTC distinguishes Digitised from a non-transparent medium (identifier print), Human-edited media (humanEdits), and Edited using Generative AI (compositeWithTrainedAlgorithmicMedia). A retained print scan and its generatively edited derivative can therefore need different source-type records. Created using Generative AI (trainedAlgorithmicMedia) is another choice, not a generic label for every edited scan. Use your editor's supported current value and keep a plain-language change note. Do not infer the appropriate label from an app name when you do not know which processing occurred.
Inspect what reaches the recipient
Check the exported copy with a metadata-aware viewer and compare any platform AI-information display with your own edit note. Some programs omit these fields, and a receiving site may not expose them to readers. Keep a visible statement where disclosure matters rather than depending entirely on embedded information. Preserve the unedited scan beside the restored version. Neither the presence nor absence of a technical AI label proves that the image's faces, text, or historical colors are faithful to the original.
Check before sharing this record
- Describe operations you can actually establish.
- Use the appropriate supported source-type value.
- Keep a readable edit note and unedited source.
Sources and further reading
- IPTC: Digital Source Type vocabularyCurrent labels and stable identifiers distinguish a print scan, non-generative edits, and generative AI editing.
- C2PA: Content Credentials explainerProvenance can document an image's history without proving that the depicted scene or descriptive claims are true.
Questions about this restoration task
Does an absent AI label prove that a photo was never generated or edited?
No. Metadata can be missing, changed, or removed. Compare the source and documented process rather than treating an empty field as proof of authenticity.
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