GPS Location in Lightroom changed to home location from camera recorded GPS location

[rogerjm]

I have a Canon 5D Mark IV, which records GPS location data, with altitude data correctly.  However, when I import the picture files with GPS data into Lightroom CC(same with LR 6), the GPS location in the file is changed to my home location.  I recently shot nearly 6500 pictures (jpg and raw) throughout Tanzania, and I checked the GPS location data while in the camera.  The GPS data changed with the location as I moved around the country.

When the files were imported into LR CC, the GPS data was recorded as my home location.  The Tanzania GPS location data was overwritten my home GPS location. 

Yesterday, i shot a picture on my iPhone at a local Costco 13 miles from my home.  I checked the iPhone GPS data and it correctly showed the location where the picture was taken.  However, when imported into LR CC, the GPS data was changed to my home location.

How can I prevent this change from happening?  I like being able to use the LR map function, but everything is recorded as being shot at my home, which, of course, is not accurate.  I know I can manually change things, but with thousands of pictures this can be very time consuming.

Thanks for all help on this problem.

[johnrellis]

Why don't you select a sample photo from your Canon that's never been imported into LR, taken somewhere not at home, upload it to dropbox or similar, and post the sharing link here.  We can then use that photo as a starting point to see what's going wrong.

[rogerjm]

Thank you for your reply and suggestion. I posted a picture to Google Photos as follows:

Shared album - Roger Milstein, Roger J. Milstein - Google Photos

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipNrwT-wyd8QPrCNOGvUCBZQEfQPX2-uIv95UQg9

I checked the picture and the GPS notation is shown as:

N 47 03 36 5

W 122 54 53 2

Altitude 3m

My home GPS notation is:

N 47 07 48 4

W 122 56 10 7

Altitude 95m

As mentioned in my original post, I find that when I import pictures into LR CC (or LR 6 previously), the GPS notation is changed to my home location, not the GPS where the picture was taken.  I just checked a file on my SD card from Tanzania and one of the files still shows as

S 3 45 50 5

E 35 57 54 2

Yet, when I check the same file inside LR, it shows as the GPS location that I show for my home location.

[Just Shoot Me]

404 error on your link.

[Jim Wilde]

Do you apply a metadata preset during import?

[rogerjm]

I do not apply a preset during import.  My copyright preset is installed with the import process, but there is not photo alteration presets used.   I will inset a keyword or two during import, but that is it.

[rogerjm]

I just imported the picture that is noted above into LR and once again the GPS information is transformed from the location where it was taken to my home location.

47°7'46" N 122°56'12" W

The original picture location is

N 47 3 36 5

W 122 54 53 2

I was meticulous about the import process and see nothing in the setting which would alter the GPS information from the original file.

Any ideas?

Thank you for your help.

[Jim Wilde]

rogerjm  wrote

I do not apply a preset during import.  My copyright preset is installed with the import process, but there is not photo alteration presets used.   I will inset a keyword or two during import, but that is it.

I didn't ask if you applied a develop preset, I asked if you applied a metadata preset (which is what your "copyright preset" actually is).

Try to import another image, without ANY preset being applied, then check what happens with the GPS data. Also, can you fix the broken link to the file so that we can download it to check.

[rogerjm]

Very Interesting.  I did as you asked and removed the metadata preset with my copyright information, and the GPS information for two pictures  - one locally and one from Tanzania - loaded correctly.  The GPS information in the Metadata section of Library is correct.

Is this a permanent fix?  Is there a way the copyright preset part of the import process and not have the GPS data corrupted?

I saw your request about the picture that I have loaded from Google Photos.  Do you still want to upload it to your end?

Thank you.

[Just Shoot Me]

The Metadata preset you made, and were applying, more than likely had some GPS data in it.

[Jim Wilde · Accepted solution]

No, there's no point now. The problem, as I suspected, is likely that your Copyright Preset has the GPS field checked (Camera Info>GPS) and with your home coordinates entered. Simply edit the preset to uncheck the GPS field so that it doesn't reset the GPS data in the catalog.

Metadata presets are a common means of creating catalog confusion in that it is easy to inadvertently apply (or erase) keywords and other data, including GPS, by not ensuring that only the fields that you want to set by the preset are checked.

[rogerjm]

Thanks for your input.  I have entered several pictures taken a different locations around my area and with the Metadata Preset unchecked at input, the GPS data is correctly logged in the Library Module and in the Map Module.  A big help.  Thank you.

I will check the back end of your suggestion concerning having the GPS field checked in the Copyright Preset.  I suspect that your suspicion is correct.

Again.  Thank you.

[Prof_Keith_Straughan]

I had exactly the same problem with 4000 images I imported from a trip to India. It showed no GPS at all. I did have a copyright preset applied. Do I nowness to go back and reimport all the images? If so, how? (I'm pretty new to LR Classic.) Do I delete from catalog and disk, then reimport?

Thank you.

[Jim Wilde]

If you haven't made any changes to those images yet in LR Classic, you should be able to select them all in Grid view and go to the Metadata menu and select "Read Metadata from File".....that will replace the incorrect GPS data that you inadvertently added via the metadata preset, with the correct GPS data in the file itself. That will correct the GPS data, but you would lose whatever other metadata that you applied with that preset. To fix that, after correcting the GPS data, AND after correcting your metadata preset to remove the unwanted check mark against the GPS field, then simply re-apply the metadata preset via the preset drop-down in the Metadata panel.

[Prof_Keith_Straughan]

All done. Thank you very much.