How to geotag photos from a GPS track
To geotag photos is to write the place each photo was taken into the photo file itself, as GPS latitude, longitude and altitude. Once a photo carries those coordinates, Apple Photos, Lightroom, Capture One and most other photo apps can show it on a map and find it by place.
The short answer: if your camera has no GPS, record a GPS track while you shoot (on your iPhone, or with a Garmin or other logger that saves GPX), then let an app match each photo's capture time against that track and write the position into the file. That is what EasyGeotag does, on Mac and iPad. The rest of this page explains how it works, what to check, and which guide to read next.
Three ways to geotag photos
- At the moment of capture. A camera with built-in GPS, or an iPhone with location turned on for the Camera app, writes the position as it takes the photo. Nothing to do afterwards, as long as the GPS had a fix.
- By hand, on a map. You pick a place and assign it to one photo or a batch. Fine for a handful of photos from one spot; slow and imprecise for a day of walking.
- From a GPS track, by time. Something records where you are while you shoot. Afterwards, each photo's capture time is looked up in the track and the position at that moment is written in. This is the only practical way to geotag hundreds of photos from a camera without GPS, each in its own correct place.
If you shoot with an iPhone only, the first method is usually enough; see how to geotag photos on iPhone. If you shoot with a dedicated camera, read on.
How track matching works
Every camera writes the shutter time into each photo's EXIF data. A GPS track is a list of points, each with a position and a timestamp. Put the two side by side and every photo has a place: the point in the track recorded at the moment the shutter fired.
Real photos rarely land exactly on a recorded point, so EasyGeotag interpolates between the two fixes either side of the photo. Thirty frames shot in ten seconds get thirty slightly different coordinates rather than one shared pin. Each photo also shows how far it sat from the nearest real GPS fix, so you can see which matches to trust before anything is written.
Step by step with EasyGeotag
- Get a track. Start a trip in EasyGeotag on your iPhone, lock the phone and shoot as normal. The trip is saved as a GPX file and reaches your Mac and iPad through your own iCloud account. Or skip the phone and use a GPX exported from a Garmin watch, handheld GPS, action camera or tracking app.
- Open the track and the photos. On Mac or iPad, open the trip (or choose Open GPX File…) and the folder of photos. You can drag either straight onto the window.
- Check the clock settings. The matching controls hold the camera clock offset, the match window and the photo timezone. If the camera clock was right, the defaults are usually correct.
- Review the matches. Every photo appears on the map along the track, with its distance from the nearest fix. Drag any photo that did not match onto the map to place it by hand.
- Write. Select the photos and press Geotag. A confirmation sheet says how many files will change and how. Files modified in place are copied to a backup folder first, and Restore Originals puts them back.
What gets written into the file
Latitude, longitude and altitude go into the standard EXIF GPS fields. The city, region and country go into the IPTC location fields as well, so you can search your library for a place name instead of a pair of numbers.
JPEG and HEIC are written in place through Apple's ImageIO, on Mac and iPad.
RAW files work differently: on Mac the coordinates are written into the file, and on iPad an XMP sidecar is saved beside the original. The formats and the steps are in how to geotag RAW photos (NEF, CR3, ARW, DNG).
Get the time right and the place follows
When a geotag comes out wrong, the GPS is rarely the problem. The clock is. How far off the photos are tells you which clock problem you have:
- Whole hours out: the timezone. GPS tracks are in UTC, and many cameras do not record which zone their clock was set to. EasyGeotag uses the timezone a camera embedded when there is one, and for the rest you can choose Automatic (from track) or a zone of your own.
- Exactly one hour out: daylight saving. Fix it with a one-hour camera clock offset.
- Seconds or minutes out: clock drift. Photograph your phone's clock once during the shoot, then use Set From a Photo… to set the offset to the second.
The match window (five minutes by default) decides how far in time a photo may be from a recorded point and still match. The full walkthrough is in why photos get geotagged in the wrong place.
Which guide next
- Shooting with a camera and carrying an iPhone: use your iPhone as a GPS logger for your camera.
- Working on a Mac: how to geotag photos on a Mac.
- Already have a track from a watch or logger: geotag photos from a GPX file.
- Living in Lightroom Classic: geotag photos in Lightroom with a GPX tracklog.
- Camera app's Bluetooth location keeps dropping: camera not getting location from your phone.
- Moving on from another app: Geotag Photos Pro alternative and HoudahGeo vs EasyGeotag.
What EasyGeotag costs
EasyGeotag is a free download, and one App Store listing covers iPhone, iPad and Mac. Recording trips on the iPhone is free and unlimited. Geotagging comes with five free photos per Apple Account on Mac and iPad, counted across your devices and reinstalls; after that, one $14.99 Bundle purchase covers iPhone, iPad and Mac, and works with Family Sharing. There is no subscription.
Questions
What does it mean to geotag a photo?
It means writing the location where the photo was taken into the photo file as GPS latitude, longitude and, usually, altitude. Photo apps read those fields to place the photo on a map and to let you search by place.
Can I geotag photos from a camera that has no GPS?
Yes. Record a GPS track while you shoot, on your iPhone or with a GPS logger that exports GPX, then match each photo's capture time against the track. EasyGeotag does the matching on Mac or iPad and writes the coordinates into the files.
Does EasyGeotag geotag photos on the iPhone itself?
No. The iPhone records the track; geotagging happens on Mac or iPad, where there is room to judge each match and real access to a folder of original files.
Which photo formats can EasyGeotag write to?
JPEG and HEIC on Mac and iPad. RAW files such as NEF, CR3, ARW, RAF and DNG are written in place on Mac with the bundled ExifTool; on iPad, RAW files get an XMP sidecar instead.
Why are my geotagged photos in the wrong place?
Almost always because of the camera clock: a wrong timezone shifts photos by whole hours, daylight saving by one hour, and clock drift by seconds or minutes. Set the photo timezone and a camera clock offset, then geotag again.
Can I undo a geotag?
Yes. Files modified in place are copied to a backup folder first when backups are on, which is the default, and Restore Originals puts them back.
How much does EasyGeotag cost?
It is a free download. Recording on iPhone is free and unlimited, and geotagging comes with five free photos per Apple Account on Mac and iPad. One $14.99 Bundle purchase then covers iPhone, iPad and Mac, with Family Sharing.
Free download for iPhone, iPad and Mac. Recording on iPhone is free and unlimited, with five free photos per Apple Account on Mac and iPad. Requires macOS 15, iPadOS 18 or iOS 18.