digital asset management - How do you maintain metadata across multiple images?

Situation:

A given image in my library may have up to 20 different version. Some of these are nondestructive (same master image, different sets of edits) Some of these are destructive (round trip through photoshop or NIK, or multiple resolutions for different devices.)

I export a bunch of images in various resolutions and croppings and adjustments to external files.

In looking at some of these external files, I realize that I'd really like to have titles in them. (Previously they were keyworded.)

I do NOT want to have to find each image in on my library add the title, re-export.

For files that have multiple exports, I do NOT want edit the master's metadata, find all the exported copies, reexport the new version with metadata.

Is there a way to:

• Have a master image


• From it derive multiple versions


• Remember the export parameters of all those multiple versions, including destination directory.


• Change metadata in master copy.



• Propagate that change to all derived images.

Here https://www.impulseadventure.com/photo/flow-catalog-versions.html is a good discussion of the various associated with versions.

Case in point in another question here: Using copied pictures for website

Workflow would have been

Master -> cropped and lower res for social media.

Latter file tagged "Facebook" or in a folder labeled facebook-business.

Find the image by scanning the facebook business folder, and the version tracker finds you the parent image.

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Comment:

What software have you found in the past? What are the "error prone steps" you're trying to avoid? – xiota 2 days ago

At present to do what I want I would need to:

• Keyword a master image.


• Export master image in various ways.


• Import derived image(s) back into catalog program


• Manually copy keywords from master or derivative image to the new image.


• Manually insure that copied image has same relevant exif data (Date created in particular) that the master does.


• Associate each derived image with master image somehow.


• Manually edit the usage field to say how it is derived.

I don't do this. Net result: It's often faster to take a new picture than to find an existing one in my catalog.

On several occasions I have 'lost' images. I have a derived image and cannot find the master image for it.