EXIFIPTCXMP

EXIFIPTCXMP is a colloquial term used to describe the combined use and interoperability of three metadata formats commonly embedded in image files: EXIF, IPTC, and XMP. While not a formal standard by itself, the phrase signals a workflow in which camera-generated data, descriptive information, and extensible metadata are stored together to improve cataloging, searchability, and rights management.

EXIF (Exchangeable Image File Format) stores technical details about how an image was captured. Typical EXIF data includes camera model, exposure time, aperture, shutter speed, ISO sensitivity, focal length, white balance, and the date and time of capture. Many images also include GPS coordinates if location tagging was enabled.

IPTC (Information Interchange Model) metadata, historically used by photo agencies, provides descriptive and rights-related information. Common IPTC fields cover by-line or creator, caption/description, keywords, attribution, copyright notice, credit, and location data such as city and country. IPTC data is designed to travel with the image and support non-technical descriptive information.

XMP (Extensible Metadata Platform) is an extensible framework developed by Adobe that stores metadata in a standardized, machine-readable form using RDF/XML. XMP can carry existing EXIF and IPTC information and can embed metadata within the file (in JPEG, TIFF, or PDF) or be stored in sidecar .xmp files for formats like RAW. XMP also supports additional schemas such as Dublin Core and IPTC Core, enabling flexible, schema-driven metadata handling.

In practice, images are often accompanied by all three: EXIF for camera data, IPTC for descriptive/rights data, and XMP as a central, extensible container that can unify and persist metadata across tools and workflows. Tools like ExifTool, Lightroom, and Adobe Bridge commonly read and write these streams.