I was recently contacted by the Founder of PhotoTag.ai*, a software that “Automatically generate image tags, titles, and descriptions using cutting-edge AI” and requested to carry out a detailed review of their service.

Therefore, I’ve tested 10 of my own images from different genres and gave each a rating out of 10 on how well I concluded that the software performed on tagging. Read below as I share the results. Let’s get started!

*Affiliate Link

Tagging content is what I absolutely hate the most in this business

Now, AI is all the hype now and I even wrote about on last post at how I’m a conservative and skeptical person when it comes to new technology, but in any case I thought I should give PhotoTag.ai, a try anyway and blog about it here!

After all, I love shooting and editing but absolutely hate keywording (I’m sure you feel the same way), so if I can find a service that does it for me at a high level then I’ll use it religiously and I’m sure you would as well. So without further ado, here’s my experiment and result.

Trial of 10 images from different genres

I’ve divided this experiment with 15 images, consisting of:

• 3 Travel images of specific places
• 1 graphic
• 1 illustration (composite)
• 1 animal
• 1 still life
• 1 editorial
• 1 sport-related
• 1 wall-hanger

Below the image I’ll include the Title/Description/Keywords (max 25 keywords) as selected by PhotoTag.ai and give my own rating/analysis.

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1. Emotional raindrops

Title: Defocused splashes on glass with car lights background

Description: Photo of a Raindrop Symphony: A Rainy Close-Up of a Water-Streaked Window

Keywords: raindrop, symphony, rainy, closeup,waterstreaked,window,rain,covered,droplet, glass,wet,weather,condensation, moisture, blurred,reflection,storm,mist,water,gray,pattern, abstract, texture, view, urban

Brutally Honest Rating: 8/10

The AI did a good job on this graphic type of background concept, although I would have liked if it had picked up on the fog lights/headlights from the vehicles on the keywords (although it did mention on the title), but it’s easy enough to add later.

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2. Surfboards at Ipanema Beach

Title: A Vibrant Display of Surfboards on the Sandy Shores of Ipanema Beach in Rio de Janeiro

Description: A row of surfboards sitting on top of a sandy beach

Keywords:surfboards,sandy beach,Ipanema Beach,Rio de Janeiro,Brazil,row,vibrant display,shoreline,ocean,waves,coastal,colorful,beach culture,water sports,outdoor,leisure,vacation,tourism,tropical,destination,South America,coastal town,beachfront,relaxation,summer

Brutally Honest Rating: 7/10

At first the algorithm wasn’t picking up on geolocation tags, so I got in touch with the programmer and he kindly told me that you can add geolocation info on the upload window under “Custom Context or Keywords”. I tried again with this fresh insight and the results were much better (also added this info to below images where the location was important).

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3. IDF Soldiers in Tel Aviv, Israel

Title: A Serene Walk Along the Ocean Promenade with IDF Soldiers in Tel Aviv

Description: A group of people walking down a sidewalk next to the ocean

Keywords:group,people,walking,sidewalk,ocean,IDF,soldiers,marching,Tel Aviv,serene,promenade,coastal,scenery,beach,summer,sunny,leisure,urban,city,coastline,blue,sky,waves,horizon

Brutally Honest Rating: 5/10

With the extra input it was easy to add some key geolocation words, although it failed to pick up on important keywords such as “uniform” and “carrying “automatic weapons” or their approximate ages which are what buyers search for when they want to license these types of images. Nevertheless, a good starting point.

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4. Top-down wooden boat in idyllic beach

Title: Top down boat moored on beach

Description: Photo of a Serene Coastal Scene: Boat on a Sandy Beach With Crystal Clear Waters

Keywords:beach,boat,aerial,view,serene,coastal,scene,sandy,crystal,clear,waters,ocean,waves,shoreline,vacation,summer,relaxation,getaway,travel,destination,tranquil,picturesque,nature,coastline,landscape

Brutally Honest Rating: 8/10

Finally, an excellent result, although I would have like to have seen some more technical keywords such as “top down”, “birds eye view” but anyway the above is a good starting point and I can add more specific stuff later on.

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5. Goldfish in aquarium

Title: Photo of a Majestic Goldfish in a Serene Aquarium Setting

Description: A goldfish swimming in an aquarium filled with water

Keywords:goldfish,swimming,aquarium,water,serene,peaceful,aquatic,pet,fins,scales, underwater,beauty,vibrant,colorful,graceful,tranquility,glass,bubbles,reflection,aquatic plants,calm,relaxing,exotic

Brutally Honest Rating: 9/10

An excellent result. Missing “bubbles” and “algae” but easy enough to add later.

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6. Mannequin with purple lipstick

Title: Photo of a Stylish Mannequin in a Black Dress and Bold Purple Lipstick

Description: A mannequin wearing a black dress and purple lipstick

Keywords: mannequin,black dress,purple lipstick,fashion,style,mannequin display,clothing,mannequin model,mannequin styling,dress form,fashion display,mannequin fashion,mannequin design,fashion mannequin,stylish mannequin,mannequin showcase,mannequin collection,mannequin presentation,mannequin exhibition,mannequin accessories,mannequin makeup,mannequin beauty,mannequin trend,mannequin style

Brutally Honest Rating: 9/10

Great results. I would have liked to have seen the word “purple” somewhere in the keywords though although it’s on the Title & Description so those still count towards buyers finding the images.

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7. Graphic close up image of man holding a bloody knife

Title: Photo of a Determined Individual Wielding a Sharp Blade With Intent

Description: A person holding a knife in their hand

Keywords:person,holding,knife,hand,determined,sharp,blade,intent,dangerous,weapon, cutting,slicing,utensil,kitchen,chef,cooking,culinary,tool,metal,handle,grip,edge,stainless steel,sharpness

Brutally Honest Rating: 7/10

Pretty good but didn’t pick up on the blood which is fundamental to the concept.  

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8. Israel x Palestine on fire

Title: A Symbolic Clash: Flags of Israel and Palestine Engulfed in Flames

Description: A picture of the flag of israel and the israeli flag

Keywords:flag,israel,israeli,palestinian,fire,clash,symbolic,flames,engulfed,conflict,political,national,identity,protest,burning,controversy,tension,Middle East,nation,patriotism,dispute,emblem,unrest,division,struggle

Brutally Honest Rating: 7/10

At first without any inputs on the “custom field”, the AI didn’t even pick up on the fire and the Palestinian flag. But after it did a pretty good job…I particularly liked the title.

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9. View of St. Paul’s Cathedral and Millennial Bridge on the Thames River, London

Title: A Captivating Glimpse of London’s Iconic Cityscape at Dusk

Description: A black and white photo of the city of london

Keywords:black,white,photo,city,London,St Paul’s Cathedral,Thames River,iconic,cityscape,dusk,captivating,glimpse

Brutally Honest Rating: 5/10

With the extra input mentioning “St. Paul’s Cathedral and River Thames”, it did a better job than without but the keywords were quite basic. I suppose there was too much going on and it got confused leaning towards more basic keywords.

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10. Eiffel Tower, Paris

Title: Photo of the Majestic Eiffel Tower: Iconic Landmark Overlooking Paris

Description: The eiffel tower towering over the city of paris

Keywords: Eiffel Tower, city, paris, landmark, iconic, majestic, towering, architecture, steel, iron, structure, skyline, view, tourist, attraction, France, European, capital, cityscape, romantic, symbol, height, observation, deck, engineering, Gustave Eiffel, panoramic

Brutally Honest Rating: 6/10

I put in zero inputs here and it did a pretty good job overall although it failed to mention the all-important Haussmann style of architecture on the buildings in the foreground. There were also some irrelevant keywords included, such as “observation” and “deck”. Plus the it was a low perspective view of the tower and wasn’t overlooking Paris.

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Overall verdict

The average rating from the 10 images above is 7, which is a decent enough score. The AI did a great job for more simple, still-life type concepts but a poor job when it had anything to do with geolocations, but as mentioned if you give it a little input before uploading it goes a long ways.

Therefore, if your niche is within still-life / product-related type of shoots then this software may assist you as a great starting point which you can then add more specific keywords, thus saving you time. I haven’t tested it on any AI-generated content so if anybody does, please comment below!

PhotoTag will save you time!

The key point here is that this software will save you time so you can focus on more fun things like shooting, so I do highly recommend it. I will start to use it in conjunction with Stocksubmitter and Xpiks to add any missing keywords.

Some feedback from the Founder on my trial

I shared my findings with the Founder of PhotoTag.ai prior to publishing this review and he responded:

“I would definitely agree for now the algorithms perform best on still life. If the generated title or description is incorrect, as a last resort, you can manually make adjustments and click “regenerate keywords” to create new keywords based on the updated information.

We’re constantly working to improve the accuracy and detail of the generated metadata.”

They’re also working on developing AI-keywording for videos in this fast-paced industry. Looking forward to testing that out! In addition to a tab on currently trending keywords, which is super up to date:

Pricing

As for pricing, it’s super affordable on the basic package if you want to just try it out (50 images a month) and if you really love it then you can upgrade to pro which (up to 100 images a month).

Special Offer, with the Promo Code: NEW30 new members will receive 30% off PhotoTag.ai for the first three months.

See below the detailed pricing breakdown and different packages.

Hope you’ve found this practical review interesting & useful and until next time.

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About Alex

I’m an eccentric guy, currently based in Lisbon, Portugal, on a quest to visit all corners of the world and capture stock images & footage. I’ve devoted eight years to making it as a travel photographer / videographer and freelance writer. I hope to inspire others by showing an unique insight into a fascinating business model.

Most recently I’ve gone all in on submitting book cover images to Arcangel Images. Oh and also recently purchased a DJI Mavic 2s drone and taking full advantage and perhaps a Mavic 3 soon.

I’m proud to have written a book about my adventures which includes tips on making it as a stock travel photographer – Brutally Honest Guide to Microstock Photography