Photo Geotagging

GPS metadata in photos lets a DAM map every shoot, tells Lightroom to fetch local weather for that day, and powers location search in Self-Hosted Photos & Media. Most modern phones and many cameras (Nikon Z8/Z9, Canon R5/R3 via phone-link, Fuji X-T5, Olympus / OM-1) record GPS automatically; otherwise you log a track on your phone and merge it with photos by timestamp. For broader EXIF / IPTC see Photo EXIF & Metadata; for stripping GPS before publishing see the same page.

GUI geotaggers (free)

• ★ GeoSetter — free Win, ExifTool under the hood. Map view (Google / OSM tiles), drag photos to coords, batch-merge GPX tracks by timestamp, write back to EXIF + sidecar. Default Windows free pick, decade-plus track record. Author has resumed updates after a long pause.
• digiKam — see Photo DAM & Management; has a built-in geotag editor with map view + GPX import.
• Geotag (Free Mac, Java) — long-running free tool; clunky UI; works.
• darktable map view — included; drag-photo-to-pin or load GPX.
• RawTherapee — has GPS metadata fields; less of a geotag-focused workflow.

GUI geotaggers (paid)

• ★ HoudahGeo — paid macOS; clean UI for GPX merge + manual placement; integrates with Apple Photos and Lightroom.
• Lightroom Classic Map module — included with subscription; drag-photo-to-pin, GPX import, reverse-geocode to city / country names.
• Photo Mechanic — paid; supports geotagging in its metadata templates.

CLI / scriptable

• ★ ExifTool with -geotag — exiftool -geotag track.gpx -geosync=00:00:00 *.jpg. The canonical scriptable path; merges a GPX track into photos by timestamp. Handles -globalTimeShift for camera-clock errors.
• gpsbabel — GPL CLI; converts between 100+ GPS track formats (GPX, KML, FIT, TCX, NMEA). Often a preprocessor before ExifTool.
• gphoto2 --capture-image-and-download + GPX merge — for tethered shoots in remote locations.

Phone-as-GPS-logger (free)

• ★ GPS Logger for Android — GPL OSS; configurable interval + accuracy; outputs GPX. The default Android free logger.
• GPSLogger II — newer fork; same idea.
• Open GPX Tracker (iOS) — MIT OSS; outputs GPX.
• myTracks (iOS) — free, ad-supported; clean UI.
• Garmin Connect / Wahoo / Strava export — paid devices, GPX export from existing rides / hikes.

Phone-as-GPS-logger (paid)

• Geotag Photos Pro 2 — paid iOS / Android; auto-syncs to a desktop companion.
• Photo & Picture Resizer — wrong app; mentioned to keep you alert.
• Solocator — paid iOS; geotagged photos with bearing + tilt overlay (real-estate / construction use).

Camera-side options

• ★ Phone-tethered Bluetooth GPS — Nikon SnapBridge, Canon Camera Connect, Sony Imaging Edge Mobile, Fujifilm XApp. Free with the camera; phone supplies GPS over BLE.
• Hot-shoe GPS units — Nikon GP-1A, Canon GP-E2, Sony GPS-CS3KA. Mostly legacy; modern phones replaced them.
• Built-in GPS — Nikon Z8 / Z9, OM-1, Olympus OM-D E-M1X, some Leicas.
• Cellular-connected cameras — Sony A9 III, Nikon Z9 firmware updates, Sony FX3 / FR7 video bodies.

Workflow patterns

• ★ Set the camera clock to phone time before each shoot — eliminates timestamp drift. Rugged: shoot a frame of your phone's clock at the start of the day.
• Log a continuous GPX during the day — even when you didn't think you'd geotag, it's nice to have.
• Merge in batch in the evening — exiftool -geotag track.gpx ./shoot/ then check a few photos in a map view.
• Reverse-geocode to text fields — Lightroom / digiKam can fill IPTC City, State, Country fields from coordinates.
• Strip GPS before publishing — exiftool -gps:all= on the export folder. See Photo EXIF & Metadata.

What's changing in 2024–2026

• Phone-tethered GPS now ubiquitous — every major camera maker has a working Bluetooth GPS app; quality of these apps has caught up.
• Apple Watch as GPX logger — third-party apps (HealthFit, RunGap) export Apple-Watch-recorded tracks as GPX.
• Vehicle dashcam GPX export — useful for road-trip auto-geotagging.
• Privacy push-back — many publishers now strip GPS by default; check before posting raws.

Pick this if…

• Default scriptable / free: ExifTool + a phone GPX logger.
• Default Windows free GUI: GeoSetter.
• macOS, paid, polished: HoudahGeo.
• Already in Lightroom: Lightroom Map module.
• OSS Linux: digiKam or darktable map view.
• Modern camera: the vendor's phone app (SnapBridge / Camera Connect / Imaging Edge Mobile).