Metadata - how to find out where a photo was taken? How to find out the GPS coordinates of a photo (the place where it was taken) on an iPhone. How to determine geolocation from a photo.

Hello, dear readers of the blog site. Until recently, search engines could only search by words. No, of course, there were such, but until a certain period they operated only with the words that the user entered in the search bar.

How does searching by uploaded images differ from regular search?

The search engine did not understand what exactly was shown in the photos that it returned in the results, but was only guided by the words that appeared in the text next to this image (on the pages of the sites where it found them) or that were written in its attributes. In fact, for the search engine, the picture was a “black box”, which he could judge only by indirect signs (its description).

As a result, the query “blue chicken” could show “pink elephants”. Of course, such errors in photo searches were corrected manually (so-called), but this was done only for the most frequently entered queries. And that's not the main thing.

The important thing is that it was impossible show the search engine an image of poor quality, so that he would find you the original in high resolution or show him a photo of a person (read), and he would tell you that this is such and such an artist, poet, musician or just a person described on at least one page on the Internet .

Sometimes a photo may be one of many in a series (photo report, photo instruction, different angles) and you may want to find all the other images from the same series to understand the essence. How to do this? What words should you type into the search bar? Here's another example. You saw a sofa in a photo and wanted to know where exactly the same one was sold and at what price.

A difficult task, or even unsolvable (to a first approximation), if the query is entered in words. Here you need to somehow upload the picture to the search engine and the latter must understand what exactly is depicted on it and try to give you answers to all the questions posed just above.

Until recently, image search could not do this, but now it can. Search by sample image(photos or any other image) are now supported by both Google and Yandex. Moreover, the latter learned to do this only quite recently, but nevertheless learned.

If you try to dive into the full depth of the principles of this action, then most of us are unlikely to find it interesting. In this regard, I really liked the explanation of the Yandex representative.

The picture is divided into small fragments, which can be called virtual words. Well, then the process follows the same logic as a regular search. The same set of visual words is searched, and the closer it is to the user's uploaded image, the higher it will appear in the search results.

How does Google photo search work?

Let's look at all this using the examples of Yandex and Google. Let's start with the largest search engine in the world. In order to get into the holy of holies, you can click on the “Pictures” button on the regular search page, or you can immediately:

Click on the camera icon located in the right area of the Google search bar. You are given two options to upload the desired picture or photo to the search- indicate its address (it can be copied by right-clicking on the photo and selecting the “copy image URL” option, or something similar in meaning) on the Internet or upload it from your computer.

In the example shown, I simply indicated the URL of the image that I found on the official Wikipedia website ().

In the search results I got this picture:

Google told me that the photo shows Albert Einstein in his youth, and also suggested that I look at the same image, but in a larger or smaller size. You can also look at similar pictures, and under them you can see the web pages where this graphic file takes place.

In the search bar, you can enter clarifying words, for example, if you want to find out about all the vicissitudes of this person’s fate, then enter the word “biography”. As a result, pages will be found on which the search found the picture you uploaded and on which there is a biography of the person depicted in it.

I mentioned two main ways to upload an image to Google search - provide a link to the graphic file or upload it from your computer. But there is also a third way to activate this action.

If you are V Google Chrome , then simply move your mouse to the picture or photograph on the page that interests you for one reason or another (for example, you want to find out whether your virtual friend posted a true photo on VKontakte or is it some kind of famous person imprinted).

As a result, a context menu will appear and you will need to select “Find this image in Google” from it. After this, you will find yourself in the already familiar Google image search window with all the collected information about your friend’s photo.

Search by image files in Yandex

Quite recently, the leader of the RuNet search market acquired a similar tool. New technology they called it "Computer Vision" and gave it the code name "Siberia". In this case, the picture is divided into visual words (areas of contrast changes, borders, etc.) and the entire database available in Yandex is searched for the presence this set visual words in other images.

And only then those in which these visual words are in the same order as in the original uploaded picture are selected. In practice, this action looks very similar to Google - in the right search area for photos from Yandex the camera icon is located, which you will need to click to download the graphic file.

Although, if you have the URL of the desired image, you can paste it directly into the graphical search bar and click on the “Find” button, as shown in the previous screenshot.

You can find out the URL address of an image on a web page by right-clicking on it and selecting the context menu item “Copy image address” or similar (in different browsers different names are used).

If you need to upload a picture to the search from your computer, then click on the camera icon.

The search results will look something like this:

As you can see, from them you can also quite easily understand that the photo shows the great Einstein, but on Google I somehow liked the design of the results more. It is possible that Yandex will still need to work on this. Those found can also be sorted by size and type.

In general, in most cases the services described should be enough for you, but it is possible that Tinay you will need it someday. Here, again, you are offered a choice of two ways to download a sample image - by entering the URL address or directly from your computer.

This service is well suited for searching for similar photos or individual components from which it was assembled. As you can see from the screenshot below, Tinay found the sources of the original images that made up the sample.

Chinese search engine Taobao has the ability to search for products based on the photo you uploaded. As a result, you will not only receive the addresses of those online stores where you can buy it, but you will also be able to choose the most profitable offer for you.

True, to work with it you need to know Chinese. However, there are several sites that allow you to search for products by photo through the Taobao database, but at the same time they have a Russian-language interface and the search results are also translated into Russian.

The results of searching for a product by photo look like this:

Good luck to you! See you soon on the pages of the blog site

Why don't some photos have EXIF?

If a photo is taken with a film camera and then scanned, it cannot have EXIF data because it is assigned to the photo when the file is created by a digital camera.

Graphic editors (for example, Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom), with certain file saving settings, can delete EXIF data.

Also, some mobile phones do not leave EXIF data.

How can I find out the model of the camera that took the photo and see other photos taken with this camera?

On the photo viewing page, tap the More icon.

Select Show EXIF.

You will be taken to a page with photographs of other authors whose works were taken by this camera model and posted on Yandex.Photos.

How to find out where a photo was taken?

Each photo on Yandex.Photos can be linked to a map. If the photo is already linked to a map, to find out its location, click the On map link, which is located on the photo viewing page.

If the photo is not linked to the map, but you know where it was taken, you can offer the author of the photo your option for placement on the map. To do this, click the link Link to map under the photo.

You will be taken to a map page where you can enter the location of the photo. If the author agrees with your proposal, you will receive a message by mail.

Finding information on the Internet is not always an easy task. Especially if you have minimal data about what you need to find. An example of such a situation would be a search by image.

How to use Google Image Search:

Step #1: Open the Google Images page and click on the camera button. This button is located to the right of the search bar.

Step #2: After this, a small pop-up window should open. In the window that opens, indicate the link to the image and click on the “Search” button. If you want to upload a file from your computer, then click on the “Upload File” link.

Step No. 3. After you have provided a link or uploaded a picture from your computer, you will be redirected to a page with search results. Please note that the image you were looking for appeared in the search bar. Also, if necessary, you can refine your search by adding a text description of the picture.

Other services for searching by image

In addition to the search engine Google systems There are other services for searching by image. One of these services is the website. Here, as in the previous case, you can upload a picture from your computer or specify its address. After that, the tineye.com service will search by image and display the search results.

How to use image search in TinEye.com:

Step No. 1. Open the TinEye.com website, then upload the image file from your computer or provide a link.

Step #2: Once you upload an image or provide a link, you will be automatically taken to the search results page.

Search by image using a browser extension

There are also browser extensions that allow you to search by image much faster. So, for Google Chrome there is a Search by Image extension. You can download it from the link. This extension allows you to start searching by image in the Goolge search engine in just a couple of clicks.

The Search by Image extension works very simply. You need to open the context menu by right-clicking on any picture and selecting “Search Google with this image”. After this, a new tab with a search will open.

There is a similar extension for the tineye.com service. This extension is called “TinEye Reverse Image Search”. It also works exactly the same. After installation, an item appears in the context menu that allows you to search by image in the Tineye service with one click.

And one more thing, don't forget to check out our selection of the best.

In this material I will tell you how to search by photo on social networks, and what we will need for this. Imagine a situation: you have a photo of a person about whom you need to find everything available information. Social networks, which often contain accounts of the people we need, can provide invaluable assistance in the process of such a search. They may contain a variety of information about a person, including his photos and videos, interests, hobbies, favorite books and films, and other data useful to us. But how can you find such a page with just a photo?

What methods of searching for a person are available on the Internet?

You can search for the right person on social networks in various ways(by first and last name, place of residence, geotags, age, and other relevant descriptors). If you already have a photograph of him, then you can turn to the capabilities of special network tools that can provide significant assistance in our search.

Some of these resources (for example, the popular “FindFace”) are specially “tailored” for searching for people in a specific network (in the case of “FindFace” this is the Russian “VK”). Others, level search engines Google and Yandex allow you to search for identical and similar images on many sites (including social networks), displaying the wealth of results obtained.

In some cases, it is necessary to prepare the desired photo to search for it (for example, using a template graphic editor" "). It is necessary to get rid of the presence of other people in the photo (if any), as well as remove other unnecessary details that could interfere with the search service in its work.

Let's look at ways to search for a person by their face image on social networks.

“FindFace” - effective photo search using neural networks

In November 2015, the University of Washington organized the “The MegaFace Benchmark” competition, in which more than a hundred teams took part, including from Google and Facebook. The goal of the competition is to create the most effective face recognition algorithm, allowing you to accurately select a similar face among many analogues.

Despite strong competition, the competition was won by the Russian company N-Tech.Lab. Its algorithm, based on the work neural networks, provided the highest recognition accuracy among analogues - about 75% of all results obtained.

Later, this algorithm was embodied in the findface.ru service, which allows you to find the right person (or people similar to him) in social network"VKontakte".
At the same time, a mobile application of the same name is also available to Android OS users.

The “findface” service will allow you to quickly find the right person on VK

How to use Fifindface search

How does this service work? To work with it, first of all you need to have a page on VK (if you don’t have one, create one). Then do the following:

Go to findface.ru;
Click on the red “Find identical” button;
Allow the service to access your account by clicking on “Allow”;
Upload the photo you need to search and wait for the search procedure to complete;
Review your results.

Free service options are limited a certain number searches on social networks (usually several dozen). For unlimited possibilities, you will have to pay the developers.

https://youtu.be/do9cdiD9e8E

“Google Images” – with the ability to find a person by photo

The capabilities of the popular international search engine “Google” allow you to search by image online, including searching by photo of a person on social networks. In this case, the search engine displays both identical and similar results, with information on the found image (including the probable first and last name of the person in the photo).

To work with the service from Google, do the following:

"Yandex.Pictures" - will find anyone on a social network based on a face picture

Image search on social networks from the Yandex service is organized in a manner similar to Google. To search, go to “Yandex.Pictures” or use to launch the service, click on the camera image on the right, upload the desired picture to the resource (or provide a link to it on the Internet). Review your results.

You can also use a special Yandex tool that searches for people on social networks. Follow this link https://yandex.ru/people, enter the first and last name of the desired person in the search bar, click on “Find”, and view the result (usually a photo, a link to a social profile, short information).

To search, go to “Yandex.Images” and click on the camera icon on the right

Alternative resources for searching people by image

Among other services that search for images in social media. networks, I would also note the following resources:

Conclusion

Search by photo on social media networks will help you perform the services I listed above. Among the services mentioned, I recommend paying special attention to the findface.ru service - its recognition efficiency is at a fairly high level, allowing you to quickly find the pages of the people you need on VK.

Let's look at how to find a photo on the Internet using a photo.

Thanks to a few simple search techniques, you can always find the item of interest in the picture, the site or forum where it is posted.

The function of analyzing similar or identical images can be useful in completely different situations.

Cases when you may need it:

Fighting fakes. If a user suspects that the person writing to him on a social network is not who he claims to be, he can easily check several images from his page. If some of them have already been uploaded to other sites, banks or forums, with a 99% probability we can say that the interlocutor’s page is fake. This is why sometimes it can save you from scammers and other attackers;
Search for an unknown object. On the Internet you can often see articles or collections with images of interesting interior items, clothing and other categories. You can find the name of a previously unknown thing using;
Checking your photos. With it, users can try to find several of their images. This way you can identify fakes on your page. As practice shows, scammers often simply copy pictures of social network users and use them as their own on Avito or OLX in order to deceive potential buyers;
Names of famous people. This function is useful if you need to recognize an actor or singer.

Analysis of primary sources

Since the original source of the image is indexed by the system before the pages with the copied one, you can find it in a few clicks in Google and Yandex. In the results, you should pay attention not to the “Similar Photos” category, but to the “Mentions on the Internet” section.

Thanks to page ranking in Google, you can easily find the real source of any picture, regardless of the social network or forum on which it is located.

Despite the huge number of banks and search engines for graphic content, we recommend choosing standard Google and Yandex for mentions. These systems implement the most accurate algorithms known today. In addition, they search for graphics not only in their own database, but also check all sites indexed in the system.

To use Google for this, just go to the site and follow a few simple steps:

In the field, select the camera icon and provide a direct link to it or select it from the memory of your device;
Click on "Search";

The Google search result will show similar photos, mentions on other sites and forums (here you can find the original source). If it depicted a public person, in 99% of cases he will recognize the correct first and last name, and will also offer to read short information;

To narrow the scope, you can set additional parameters. To do this, in the displayed results, click on the “Tools” button. It is located at the top of the page, immediately below the text line.

Then select the period of mention of the picture on other sites and the preferred option (only similar images or a certain size of the graphic object).

The system from Yandex works similarly:

Go to the page and click on the camera sign next to the text field;
Drag and drop a picture for it or upload a file from your computer;
Click on "Find".

The updated Yandex algorithm offers the user several options for what is shown in the desired picture.

Also, you will be able to access all possible extensions of the object. Like Google, users have the opportunity to look at sites where the image appears.

Search for an item by photo

On the World Wide Web we often come across images of interesting gadgets and objects, however, it is not always possible to remember the name of the object. To quickly find out the name of the item on it, just use the systems described above from Google or Yandex.

The image below shows a clear example of searching for an item using just one picture. Google immediately identified the topic to which the object belonged and found an online store where you can buy such a product. The exact name of the item is also indicated on the results page.

If you find an unknown item not in the form digital image, and in real life, you can simply photograph it and then analyze the image. When making it, try to choose a neutral background. This will make it easier for the system to identify the item.

RevIMG

RevIMG is a third-party resource that differs from standard search engines. This site also allows you to upload an image for it, however, the user can set the theme himself and crop it so that only the element of interest remains on it. This function will be useful when working with collages.