How To Insert EXIF Data in Images with YACSS

Before you can embed EXIF data into images you need to create a saved configuration — a reusable set of metadata that you can apply to any image later. To create one, go to the Exif Data page in the sidebar and click Add New.

Clicking Add New opens the Add Project form, divided into several sections. Every field is optional except the Configuration Name, so you can fill in as much or as little as is relevant.

A name for this saved configuration so you can identify it later, for example "Smith Plumbing London" or "Jones Bakery Manchester." This name only appears inside YACSS and is not embedded into the image.

At the top right of the form there is a button labelled Fetch Company info from Google. Clicking this opens a small popup that lets you search for a business on Google and automatically fill in the location fields rather than entering them manually.

Inside the popup you can search in three ways using the radio buttons at the top:

Google Auto Suggest — Type the business name and select it from the autocomplete dropdown that appears. This is the easiest option for most businesses.

Google Place ID — If you already know the business's Google Place ID, paste it directly into the field.

Map URL — Paste the full Google Maps URL for the business.

Once you click Use Company Info the following fields are filled in automatically: Latitude, Longitude, Destination Latitude, Destination Longitude, Country Code, Country, State, City, Sublocation (address), Contact Address, Contact City, Contact State, and Contact Country. You can still edit any of these fields manually afterwards.

Latitude — The decimal latitude coordinate of the business location, for example 51.5074 for London. Filled automatically if you used the Google fetch button.

Longitude — The decimal longitude coordinate of the business location, for example -0.1278 for London.

Image Direction — The compass bearing the camera was pointing when the photo was taken, measured in degrees from 0 to 360. If you fill in both the Latitude/Longitude and the Destination Latitude/Longitude fields, the system will automatically calculate this value for you when you move focus away from the coordinate fields, so you usually do not need to fill this in manually.

Image Direction Ref — Whether the Image Direction value is measured relative to Geographic North (True North) or Magnetic North. When the value is calculated automatically by the system it defaults to Geographic North. In most cases Geographic North is the correct choice.

Dest. Latitude — The destination latitude, meaning the coordinates the image is pointing towards. For a business photo this is typically the same as the main Latitude. Filled automatically if you used the Google fetch button.

Dest. Longitude — The destination longitude.

The altitude in metres above sea level where the photo was taken. This is optional and can be left blank.

Country Code — The two-letter ISO country code, for example GB for United Kingdom or US for United States. Select from the dropdown. Filled automatically if you used the Google fetch button.

Country — The full country name. Select from the dropdown. Filled automatically.

State — The state, county, or region. Type it in manually or it is filled automatically.

City — The city or town name.

Sublocation — A more specific location detail such as a street address or neighbourhood name.

Artist — The name of the photographer or person responsible for the image. For business images this could be the business owner's name or the agency name.

Caption Writer — The name of the person who wrote the caption for the image.

Credit — Who the image should be credited to when published.

Source — The original source of the image.

URL — The website URL associated with the image, typically the business website.

Object Name — A short reference name or identifier for the image.

Headline — A short headline describing the image content.

Copyright — The copyright notice for the image, for example "© 2025 Smith Plumbing Ltd. All rights reserved."

Caption — A longer description of what the image shows.

Special Instructions — Any usage restrictions or special instructions for the image.

Category — A broad category for the image subject, for example "Services" or "Local Business."

Supplemental Categories — Additional categories, one per line.

Keywords — Relevant keywords for the image, one per line. These describe the image content and location — for a local business image you might include the business name, service type, and city name.

Contact — The name of the contact person for enquiries about the image. Contact Title — Their job title. Contact Address — The business street address. Contact City — The business city. Contact State — The business state or county. Contact Country — The business country selected from the dropdown. Contact Phone — The business phone number. Contact Email — The business email address. Contact URL — The business website URL.

Taken Date — The date and time the photo was taken. Use the date and time picker to set this.

Created Date — The date and time the image file was created or processed.

Release Date — The date the image is cleared for publication.

Taken Timezone / Created Timezone / Release Timezone — The timezone for each of the dates above. Select from the full timezone dropdown. This ensures the dates are stored with the correct timezone context.

Once you have filled in the fields, click the Create button at the bottom to save the configuration. It will appear in the Exif Data table with its configuration name and the date it was created.

The Exif Data table shows all your saved configurations with three action buttons per row.

✏ Edit button (green) — Opens the form pre-filled with all the existing values so you can change any field and save the updated version.

Clone button (blue, two overlapping pages icon) — Creates a copy of the configuration with all the same values. Useful when you want to create a similar configuration for a different location without filling everything in from scratch.

🗑 Delete button (red) — Permanently deletes the configuration after a confirmation prompt.

Once you have created one or more EXIF configurations you can apply them to images in two ways: through the AI Image Generator when generating new images, or by uploading your own existing images. Go to the Automated Image Generation page in the sidebar. If you do not have an OpenAI or Replicate API key set up, a banner will appear prompting you to add one in the API tab before you can proceed.

Choose which AI model to use for generating the image. The available options depend on which API keys you have set up. Under the OpenAI group you will see DALL-E. Under the Replicate group you will see a range of models from providers including Google, Black Forest Labs, Stability AI, Recraft, Ideogram, and Luma, each showing the cost per image next to its name so you can make an informed choice.

The aspect ratio of the generated image. The available ratios change depending on which model you selected, as different models support different dimensions. For example 1:1 produces a square image, 16:9 produces a wide landscape image, and 9:16 produces a tall portrait image. If you leave this as Not Set the model will use its default ratio.

The text prompt describing the image you want to generate. Be as specific and descriptive as possible. For example "A professional plumber working on pipes in a modern kitchen in London" will produce a more relevant result than just "plumber."

How many images to generate in one batch. Enter a number between 1 and 5.

The file format for the downloaded image. Choose between JPG, PNG, or WEBP depending on where you intend to use the image.

Tick this checkbox to embed EXIF metadata into the downloaded image. When ticked, a new area appears below to select your saved configuration.

A dropdown listing all your saved EXIF configurations. Select the one you want to embed into the generated images. Next to the dropdown there is an Edit button that opens the full EXIF data form pre-filled with the selected configuration so you can make adjustments before downloading if needed.

Click this to start the image generation. A loading indicator appears while the AI processes the request. The generated images appear in the Download Images panel below once ready.

If you want to apply EXIF data to your own existing images rather than generating new ones, use the file upload area here. Upload your images and they will appear in the Download Images panel with a download button.

Once images have been generated or uploaded they appear as thumbnails in the Download Images section below the form. Each image has a download button overlaid on it. Clicking the download button on any image opens a popup containing the full EXIF data form where you can review and edit all the metadata fields before the image is downloaded with the EXIF data embedded inside it.

The popup contains all the same fields as the configuration form — GPS coordinates, location details, source and description, categories and keywords, contact information, and dates. If you selected a configuration before generating, the system pre-fills all the fields from that configuration. You can make any last-minute changes here before clicking Save to download the image with the EXIF data written into the file.