EXIF and IPTC metadata contained within image files created by digital cameras,
a brief introduction

Following on from recent forum discussions about photography, some of you might find this interesting.
JPEG (.jpg) files, ie. the image files obtained from modern digital cameras, contain a lot of detailed information about the image itself and the camera settings that were used to capture the image.
This intrinsic information is known as EXIF ( EXchangeable Image File ) metadata.
As well as EXIF metadata, there is provision for inserting customised info known as IPTC ( International Press Telecommunications Council ) photo metadata.
The principal difference between EXIF and IPTC metadata is whilst EXIF metadata fields are inherently "filled in", with IPTC the fields are inherently blank and you key in the relevant details. Once written, these details also become part of the image file.
Some of this information can be very handy if you're compiling a catalogue or album.
Being a standardised format it's easy to arrange into a neat detail summary either manually ( see example at bottom of page ) or using a program like jalbum.
From a copyright protection point of view, EXIF and IPTC metadata are of limited usefulness by virtue of the fact that both can be modified by a simple copy / paste and lost or removed quite easily.

All the following stuff relates to using irfanview.
You can get the latest version here and the plug-ins here