Editorial Metadata Guide
Stock photo agencies like Adobe Stock, Shutterstock, and Getty Images have strict formatting requirements for editorial content. MetaPhotoAI includes specialized features to help you meet these standards automatically.
What is Editorial Content?#
Editorial images and videos are used to illustrate news, current events, or topics of public interest. Unlike commercial content, they can include visible brand names, trademarks, and recognizable people without a model or property release.
However, they must follow a specific caption format:
[City, State/Country], [Month Day, Year] - [Description of the scene]
Note
Example: "New York, NY, USA - January 15, 2025 - Crowds gather in Times Square for the annual New Year's celebration."
Marking Media as Editorial#
By default, MetaPhotoAI operates in "Commercial" mode, which excludes brand names from AI-generated metadata. To enable editorial features:
Select your media
Select the images or videos in the bottom film strip.
Right-click for context menu
Right-click on the selection.
Enable editorial mode
Choose Editorial → Mark as editorial.
Verify the badge
A yellow "EDITORIAL" badge will appear on the selected media, signaling the AI to include brand names and specific details in its analysis.
Tip
To revert, right-click and select Editorial → Remove editorial status.
Configuring Default Location#
Since editorial captions require location data, you should configure your default location settings:
Open Settings
Go to Settings (gear icon) → Location.
Enter your location
Enter your default City, State/Province, and Country.
GPS priority
MetaPhotoAI will prioritize GPS data if it exists in the file's metadata. If not, it will use these default values to construct the caption.
Generating and Formatting Editorial Captions#
Step 1: Generate Metadata#
Once media is marked as editorial, click "Generate Metadata." The AI will now include relevant brand names (e.g., "Haier logo") in the title and description.
Step 2: Format Description#
If you have a description that isn't in the required format, you can quickly convert it:
Access formatting
Right-click within the Description field.
Apply formatting
Select Editorial → Format as Editorial.
Review result
The app will automatically prepend the location and date to your description, ensuring it's ready for submission to stock agencies.
Key Differences: Editorial vs Commercial#
| Aspect | Commercial | Editorial |
|---|---|---|
| Brand names | Excluded | Included |
| Location/date | Optional | Required |
| Model releases | Required | Not required |
| Caption format | Flexible | Strict format |
Warning
Always verify your editorial captions meet agency requirements before submitting. Each agency may have slightly different formatting rules.
Next Steps#
- Configure location metadata for automatic caption formatting
- Learn about metadata templates to save time
- Upload to stock agencies directly from MetaPhotoAI