Picture descriptors

Xabi's book of tags

General

select one from each group

These tags are used to technically describe the picture itself and the surrounding variables at the time the picture was taken.

place

  • outdoors
  • indoors

subject

  • landscape
  • cityscape ≈ street photography
  • portrait

orientation

  • landscape
  • portrait
  • square

time

  • day
  • dawn
  • sunrise
  • morning
  • afternoon
  • evening
  • sunset
  • dusk
  • night

point of view

  • upside down
  • symmetry
  • silhouette / shadow(s)
  • reflection
  • outline

sight

  • [city] view
  • horizon
  • panorama

nature

  • getaway
  • get-together
  • everyday life

size

  • city [> 100,000]
  • town / village
  • hamlet [no church]

string

  • <street type>, <neighbourhood>, <city>, <county>, <nation>, …

Nature

select all that apply

These tags are used when the main subject of the picture is of natural origin.

geographic features

  • basin
  • beach
  • cave
  • cliff
  • coast
  • estuary
  • fjord
  • forest
  • glacier
  • hill
  • island
  • isle
  • lake
  • meadow
  • mountain
  • ocean
  • peak
  • pond
  • river
  • sandbank
  • sea
  • stream
  • valley / glenn
  • waterfall
  • wave(s)

fauna

  • animal
  • beetle
  • rosalia alpina, rosalia longicorn, alpine longhorn beetle
  • bird
  • cat
  • deer
  • dog
  • duck
  • flamingo
  • frog
  • gorilla
  • heron
  • marmot
  • otter
  • rabbit
  • seagull
  • [sea] shell
  • squirrel

flora

  • branch(es)
  • flower(s)
  • leaf / leaves
  • tree(s)

up above

  • above the clouds
  • blue sky
  • milky way
  • moon
  • sky
  • star-trail
  • stars
  • up in the air

texture

  • concrete
  • glass
  • metal
  • sand
  • stone
  • tarmac
  • water
  • wood

help or signals

  • cairn

Weather

select all that apply

These tags are used to describe the climatological conditions.
  • rain
  • wind
  • fog
  • wet
  • sleet
  • snow
  • clouds
  • rainy
  • windy
  • foggy
  • muddy
  • icy
  • crunchy
  • cloudy
  • sunny
  • autumnal
  • dry

season

  • spring
  • summer
  • autumn
  • winter

Human-made

select all that apply

These tags are used when the main subject of the picture is artificial, made by earthlings.

street type

  • [back] alley
  • avenue
  • bridge
  • corner
  • court
  • crescent
  • estate
  • gardens
  • gate
  • grove
  • junction
  • lane
  • mews
  • passage
  • path
  • place
  • road
  • roundabout
  • square
  • street
  • terrace
  • walk
  • way

storage

  • carpark
  • garage
  • shed

accommodation

  • apartments
  • b&b
  • barracks
  • bothy
  • guesthouse
  • hostel
  • hotel
  • house
  • hut
  • [royal] palace
  • skyscraper
  • terrace
  • villa(s)

education

  • kindergarten
  • nursery
  • [primary / secondary] school
  • college
  • university

leisure & culture

  • ballet
  • club
  • cultural centre
  • fair / festival
  • library
  • market
  • museum
  • music venue
  • opera [house]
  • sports centre
  • swimming pool
  • swing(s)
  • theatre
  • [big] wheel > ferris

sport

  • biking
  • cycling
  • hiking
  • paragliding
  • parkour
  • skateboarding
  • swimming

services

  • city hall
  • court of justice
  • fire station
  • hospital
  • police station
  • post office
  • power station
  • railway station
  • stock [exchange]

heritage

  • castle
  • fort
  • old town
  • tower
  • washing place

food & drink

  • bar
  • boozer
  • cafe / coffee shop
  • pub
  • restaurant

production

  • brewery
  • caterpillar
  • chemical plant
  • construction works
  • demolition
  • factory
  • farm [house]
  • [wind] mill
  • refinery
  • warehouse

commercial

  • bazaar
  • department store
  • grocery [shop]
  • market
  • shop
  • shopping centre
  • supermarket

business

  • bakery
  • bank
  • gambling hall
  • launderette
  • office

food

  • food
  • drink
  • snack
  • -------
  • breakfast
  • dinner [12-2 p.m.]
  • tea [5-6 p.m., different courses]
  • supper [9 p.m. onwards ≈ snack]
  • -------
  • street food
  • food truck

drink

  • beer
  • champagne
  • [hot] chocolate
  • coffee
  • juice
  • milk
  • milkshake
  • soft / fizzy drink
  • tea
  • wine

private property

  • balcony
  • bathroom
  • brick, bricks
  • ceiling
  • chimney
  • conservatory / greenhouse
  • decorations
  • doorway
  • entrance
  • escalators
  • facade
  • fence / railing / wall
  • patio
  • portal
  • roof
  • [bed]room
  • [hall]way
  • [shop] window

public property

  • ad
  • bench
  • cemetery
  • clock
  • [skate] court
  • field
  • flowerpot
  • [community, vegetable] garden
  • heath
  • litter bin
  • memorial
  • park
  • running track
  • sign
  • skatepark
  • skyline
  • statue
  • steps
  • street art
  • streetlight
  • [public] toilet
  • tombstone
  • wall
  • woods

water

  • canal
  • dock
  • harbour
  • lighthouse
  • marina
  • pier
  • quay
  • waterfront
  • wharf

worship

  • abbey
  • cathedral
  • chapel
  • church
  • monastery

transportation

  • bicycle / bike
  • cycle path
  • -------
  • bus, ~ stop, ~ depot
  • car
  • double decker
  • lane
  • lorry
  • [elevated] motorway ≈ flyover
  • (bin wagon) refuse lorry
  • tow [truck]
  • traffic
  • traffic light
  • van
  • -------
  • car[riage]
  • dlr
  • engine
  • platform
  • railway
  • […] station
  • tracks
  • train
  • tram
  • underground
  • -------
  • barge
  • boat
  • cruise
  • ferry
  • ship
  • -------
  • airplane / plane
  • airport
  • control tower
  • finger
  • runway / taxyway
  • wing
  • -------
  • cable-car
  • -------
  • ambulance
  • fire engine
  • police car

Nations

european nations

Not all there are, just the ones I've visited.

celts

  • alba
  • breizh
  • cymru
  • éire

euskal herria

    germans

    • norge
    • schweiz

    latins

    • aragón
    • asturies
    • españa
    • france
    • friûl
    • galiza
    • italia
    • ladinia
    • occitània
    • països catalans
    • wallonie

    slavs

    • hrvatska

    westerns

    • deutschland
    • england
    • frysian
    • nederland
    • vlaanderen

    categories for albums

    select one from each group

    I used these on Koken, in Basque. Here also translated to English.
    • hiria
    • tournee
    • mendia
    • -------
    • udaberria
    • uda
    • udazkena
    • negua
    • -------
    • solo
    • -------
    • lagunak
    • -------
    • ihesaldia
    • topaketa
    • eguneroko bizitza
    • -------
    • <nazioa>
    • city
    • tournee
    • mountain
    • -------
    • spring
    • summer
    • autumn
    • winter
    • -------
    • solo
    • -------
    • group
    • -------
    • getaway
    • get-together
    • everyday life
    • -------
    • <nation>

    about

    I purchased my first DSLR camera in 2008. It was a Sony α350 that I used until 2015, when one of the lenses disassembled itself. I realised that in order to keep my pictures organised I needed to step up my game and went from utilising folders and subfolders to managing my pictures with Aperture.

    Even so, I didn't use tags much other than for people until 2014. That year I took several pictures a day and started tagging them so that I could find the photo that I was looking for among the thousands of files stored in my hard drives with ease.

    This list is the result of that tedious process — a list of words that I have used over the years to tag thousands of photographs.


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