“Pin” your photos to the locations where they were taken with HoudahGeo
HoudahGeo is the ultimate photo geocoding and geotagging app for Mac — it attaches GPS coordinates and location names to your photos. It is not the type of the app you will use for your daily photography routine, but as soon as you come back from a hiking trip or an adventurous voyage, you will be likely to save the visualised map of your travel. (By the way, Houdah means a seat on the back of an elephant. Sounds inspiring, doesn’t it?) The geotagging is essential, if not necessary, for professionals who need to know and show where photos were taken, e.g. to locate new wildlife species.
Recently the application got a major update and now boasts new useful features that allow to:
- Save coordinates and location names of the favorite places
- Drag-and-drop images to locations on the built-in map for geocoding them
- Look up location names in English, German, Spanish and French (reverse geocoding)
- Upload photos and track logs to Dropbox, and view them in Google Earth and Google My Maps
- Download photos directly from your camera or memory card
Basically the geotagging with HoudahGeo involves in three steps:
upload photos > use the built-in map to assign locations > export the project for viewing in Google Earth or Google My Maps.
HoudahGeo supports several methods of geocoding — you can use a GPS track log, reference photos taken with iPhone or pick locations on the built-in map. If you are taking photos using a GPS enabled device, the image file metadata will automatically include geo location information, though I found it easy to manually put the image to the location on a very detailed map (can be zoomed):
Got stuck? Don’t hesitate to get all the necessary instructions, support, or useful tips:
Note, that connecting a camera, a memory card, or iPhone to a Mac usually triggers the launch of a photography related app like Apple Photos, iPhoto, Aperture, or Lightroom. Since Apple Photos lacks the interface for HoudahGeo, you might consider geotagging your photos before importing them into the Photos library.
To sum up, HoudahGeo is truly a one-stop photo geocoding and geotagging solution for OS X. The app is loaded with features, but you will not get lost. Very likely you get addicted to geotagging, and HoudahGeo will be a good companion.
HoudahGeo 5.0 requires OS X 10.10 or later. It is fully compatible with OS X 10.11 El Capitan thought the earlier versions of Mac OS X work with HoudahGeo 4.5
There’re the following user licenses to choose from:
- Single User License – One named user. Unlimited computers. – $39
- Family License for family members living in the same household – $59
- Site License for multiple simultaneous users – $39 per seatDon’t miss the opportunity to get a trial version first. In demo mode, HoudahGeo will export five images at a time.
DOWNLOAD – HoudahGeo – $39/ $59/ $39 per seat – Mac OS X
For more information, visit houdah.com
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