6
\$\begingroup\$

Is there any utility which will read a photo's date and time from its EXIF data and embed it into the corner of the photo?

Improve this question
\$\endgroup\$

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
11
\$\begingroup\$

If you are comfortable with command line tools from ImageMagick, you can do something like this:

convert orig_image.jpg -gravity NorthWest -annotate 0 "%[EXIF:DateTimeOriginal]"  new_image.jpg

You can run this to batch process all your images.

Details

ImageMagick has an array of command line tools to do different things with image. I'm using the convert tool here with annotate option to annotate a text on the converted image. There are whole bunch of other options that can be used to control font, color, shadow etc. Explaining all will be out of scope of the question, but you can take a look at this doc.

%[EXIF:DateTimeOriginal] is a shortcut for:

identify -format "%[EXIF:DateTime]" <image_filename>

You can do something like: identify -format "%[EXIF:*DATE*]" <image_filename> to see what all date related strings are stored in exif.

Improve this answer
\$\endgroup\$
3
  • \$\begingroup\$ What doe the timestamp actually look like? Is the font customizable? Color? Any shadow capabilities? Pretty cool command line, but it would be interesting to know more about how far its capabilities extend. \$\endgroup\$
    – jrista
    Nov 5, 2011 at 2:51
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Jon, i've edited my answer to add more details. I hope that answers all your question. \$\endgroup\$
    – Vikas
    Nov 5, 2011 at 9:10
  • \$\begingroup\$ Yeah, ImageMagick in itself is very powerful and provides comprehensive set of tools to power someone's final step of workflow. \$\endgroup\$
    – Vikas
    Nov 6, 2011 at 4:47
4
\$\begingroup\$

Please check out http://jambula.sourceforge.net/ to batch insert shooting date/time/comment on a jpeg image in different formats and languages. A special feature is that the date stamp is lossless. It is supported on Linux and Mac also.

Improve this answer
\$\endgroup\$
2
  • \$\begingroup\$ Would be a nice solution if it actually worked. Unfortunately it doesn't allow folders to be opened / selected in macOS 10.12.5 with the most recent release download from SF. \$\endgroup\$
    – ylluminate
    Jul 14, 2017 at 3:25
  • \$\begingroup\$ Works in 2020 in windows :) \$\endgroup\$
    – Saravanabalagi Ramachandran
    Jan 8, 2020 at 10:59
-1
\$\begingroup\$

Since some cameras allow you to do this directly in-camera, you should check the menus and/or your manual.

Improve this answer
\$\endgroup\$
5
  • 1
    \$\begingroup\$ I'm pretty sure none of my cameras (except a film P&S) has had this option, let alone for post processing (one might not want only the stamped version of images). Also, this could only work for JPEGs. \$\endgroup\$
    – Imre
    Nov 4, 2011 at 22:30
  • 1
    \$\begingroup\$ My Nikon D5000 has it, and what's more it has 3 different settings for it: Date and Time, Date, and Day Counter. My answer was meant as a supplement to the other more PP-specific answers. \$\endgroup\$
    – ElendilTheTall
    Nov 5, 2011 at 16:51
  • \$\begingroup\$ s/most/some/. I think Imre is right that most don't. \$\endgroup\$
    – mattdm
    Dec 17, 2011 at 3:37
  • \$\begingroup\$ You think or you know? \$\endgroup\$
    – ElendilTheTall
    Dec 17, 2011 at 12:53
  • \$\begingroup\$ I have the strong, justified belief. I have not done a survey. \$\endgroup\$
    – mattdm
    Dec 21, 2011 at 23:07

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.