Timestamping photos: the RAW file and the export, step by step
Why a photographer should timestamp both the RAW file and the edited export, how to name and group them, and what a public timestamp does and does not show. Informational content.
A photo usually exists in at least two forms: the RAW file straight from the camera, and the edited export you publish or send to a client. They are different files with different fingerprints, so they are worth timestamping separately.
Why both files
- The RAW file is the closest thing to the moment of capture. It is the version that changes least over time.
- The export is what other people actually see. If it is copied, cropped or reposted, this is the file you will want to compare against.
A fingerprint matches only one exact sequence of bytes. Re-exporting the same edit with a different quality setting produces a new file and a new fingerprint.
Step by step
- Finish the shoot and copy the RAW files to your archive before any editing.
- Name the files clearly: date, place or job, frame number. The name is not part of the fingerprint, but it will help you find the file years later.
- Timestamp the RAW files you care about at DAS Proof: the fingerprint is calculated in your browser, and only the fingerprint is recorded.
- Edit and export. Keep the export settings in your notes.
- Timestamp the export the same way, before you publish it.
- Store the receipt with the files: the transaction reference next to the RAW and the export, in the same folder.
What to keep unchanged
Never overwrite a timestamped file. If you re-edit, save the result as a new file and timestamp that too. The old fingerprint still points to the old file, and only to that file.
What the record shows
The fingerprint is calculated with a hash function from the Secure Hash Standard (FIPS 180-4, NIST). The record is written into the XRP Ledger, whose validated ledger history cannot be changed (xrpl.org: Ledgers).
DAS Proof writes a file's fingerprint (SHA-256) into a public XRP Ledger transaction; the file itself never leaves your device. The timestamp shows the file existed in exactly this form no later than a given moment — it does not establish authorship or ownership. Anyone can verify it, free: dataanalyticsystem.com/proof/verify
Related: What is a hash: a file fingerprint in 5 minutes · DAS Proof: a timestamp on the XRP Ledger · DAS Proof
Informational content. Not legal advice.
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This article is a companion piece to the book.
RIPPLE — the book
An Unofficial Documentary Study of Ripple and the XRP Ledger
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