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Photo Title or Headline: Which Metadata Field Should You Fill?

By ImgHeal · Updated

Two boxes labeled Title and Headline can make a simple photo record feel unnecessarily complicated. Decide what each value needs to do before repeating a long caption into both fields.

Explore this topic: Organize a photo archive

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Choose an identifier and a human heading

Start with two examples on paper. One might be a short reference such as the family photo ID used in your inventory. The other might be a readable heading describing a confirmed occasion or location. Neither needs to contain the entire research history. Avoid a confident person's name when the sitter is still disputed. The title displayed by a website may also be its own field, so note which application or file property you are actually changing.

Use the metadata definitions consistently

IPTC distinguishes the Title field from the content-oriented Headline field. Check how your editor labels or maps these properties rather than assuming its visible window title describes the embedded field. Put the fuller caption in Description, where context and uncertainty have room. If your archive already uses an accession code as its short title, preserve that convention. Do not rename original files just to force their filenames to match a heading intended for public display.

Test the destination's preferred label

Send a sample copy to the intended gallery or open it in another viewer. See which value appears as its heading, if either does. A missing heading does not mean the file was lost or the metadata is corrupt. Supply a visible page caption when necessary and keep the source ID in the accompanying record. After restoration, reuse the established identifier while distinguishing the edited version, so a nicer heading does not sever its relationship to the untouched scan.

Check before sharing this record

  • Decide which value identifies the item.
  • Keep the full caption in a descriptive field.
  • Check what the receiving gallery actually displays.

Sources and further reading

Questions about this restoration task

Should Title and Headline always contain different text?

They can coincide in a simple collection. The useful decision is to give each field a consistent purpose and avoid assuming that every application displays or preserves them in the same way.

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