Firstly, let me confess; I am a geek. Right, I said it.

So, to aid my ability to categories, search and catalogue my photos, I want to define a good taxonomy of keywords before starting to keyword my 4000 photo Aperture library. I have tried to keyword this before, and I have struggled to keep the scope and level consistent between photos for my mainly landscape based photo set.
What I am thinking is defining:

type ( landscape, portrait, wildlife) etc
event (if applicable) (e.g. holiday, birthday)
weather (if applicable ) (e.g. snowy, foggy, raining etc)
then decent hierarchy of landscape features e.g.
water> river > waterfall
or
hill > mountain > fell

and finally location
uk > england > cumbria > lake district > north west > haystacks

I don't want to start the key-wording before I have at least identifying the general types of classification I want to apply to the photos. This is where I have struggled before, i have started to keyword, and forgot for example to tag against weather, or event.

I am fine about identifying the actual keywords in the taxonomy obviously, but I would appreciate advise on the types of key-wording to apply.

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

As you, a landscape photographer and novice with key wording and using Aperture. Currently I am just taking photos and plan on developing a keyword scheme over the winter. Looking over your scheme, it looks fine to me. I will likely type up my keywords and reference a hard copy to make sure I am following my scheme. Sometimes a hard copy is easier to work with.

-Jeff

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

SawwhetOwl, the hard copy checklist is a really good idea. Been toying with keywording the last couple of weeks, and I think I will combine the hard copy idea, with another list of new schema types they I might idenfity during the keywording process. So, for example, say I had forgotten to tag weather conditions, then when I get to a particular photo that suggests I should, maybe a cloud inversion, then I won't tag that photo, instead, I will write a new catgort on the hard copy - weather. Then I will do a second pass of photos, and that should sort out the full list.

Maybe a little OTT, or OCD, but hey, I did declare my geek and proud of it persona!!!

Cheers

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

Sounds like a good plan. Now back to learning Aperture adjustments and working with RAW files

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

At the bottom of the 'browser' window you can set up groups of keywords, and there are some default groups there. Why not have a group for each of your keyword groupings, then you can just go to that group and click on the keywords you want to add. You will find that the list gets very long and unwieldy after a while. All keywords are added to the list.

Don't forget the 'stamp' function to add keywords to batches of images.

Gerry

Gerry Walden LRPS
+44 23 8046 3076
Web: www.gwpics.com
Blog: www.gerrywalden.wordpress.com