EXIFXMP

EXIFXMP is a term used to describe the integration of EXIF metadata within the XMP metadata model. It refers to the practice of representing commonly stored EXIF fields as XMP properties, enabling unified metadata across tools, platforms, and file formats.

EXIF metadata is traditionally stored in the image file’s EXIF section, while XMP provides an XML-based container used by many image editors, databases, and workflow systems. EXIFXMP bridges these two by mapping EXIF tags to corresponding XMP properties, often within an exif namespace. This mapping allows EXIF values to be read, updated, and preserved in a platform-agnostic way and can be stored either in the image file as an XMP block or in a separate XMP sidecar file.

Commonly mapped fields include camera make and model, date and time, exposure settings (ExposureTime, FNumber, ISO), focal length, white balance, and GPS data. The approach supports preserving original values while enabling additional XMP metadata, such as IPTC or Dublin Core, to coexist with the EXIF data.

Adoption and tools vary. Many image processing tools and libraries can read and write XMP, and software from photographers’ workflows—such as ExifTool and several Adobe applications—are capable of handling XMP alongside EXIF data. However, there is no single universally adopted standard named EXIFXMP, and implementations differ across software.

Considerations include privacy and compatibility. GPS data may raise privacy concerns when sharing files, and some applications may strip or alter metadata. Tag naming and format differences can also lead to partial data loss if mappings are not consistently applied.