Tag your photos for easy organizing

This photo could be tagged with "Nature," "Autumn," "Oregon hiking," or something more specific, like "Salmon River '09."

Add as many tags to a photo as you think are relevant or that could be helpful when searching images.

Tagging involves adding one or more keywords words or phrases (the "tag") to a photo so that it's easier to find when you're searching for an image in your photo library:

• If you were a nature enthusiast, you might create tags such as "Wildlife," "Oregon hiking," "Mt. Landscape," and "Plant life."
• More than one tag can be added to a photo or photos. For instance, a picture of a deer that you saw on a hike in Oregon could be tagged with both "Wildlife" and "Oregon hiking." The photo will then appear when you search for either tag.
• Keep in mind that tagging is not the same as naming your files with descriptive phrases or words. For instance, you may name a file "Paris_2008.jpg," but the tags for that image could include "Paris," "Vacation," "2008," and "Landmarks."
• Tagging is also valuable if you upload your pictures to photo-sharing sites such as Flickr. When friends, family, or anyone visiting the sites look for specific images, your photos will turn up in the results if your tags match their search words.

Once you’ve selected a person to tag, type their name in the box or select an existing tag from the list below.

Click on Add descriptive tags to enter a new tag, or, select an existing tag.

All your tags will be listed in the side bar on the gallery home screen.

In Windows Live Photo Gallery, there are two different types of tags:

• People tags—Tag groups or individuals to make it easier to find photos of friends and family and for others to identify the people in your pictures if you publish or share them online.
• Descriptive tags—Use descriptive tags to help describe what is happening in the photo. Descriptive tags could include: "Winter sledding," "County Fair," or "Hawaii '07."

Learn to add people tags

1. Double-click on a picture in your photo gallery and it will appear in a new viewing and editing window.
2. Click on Info in the toolbar at the top of the screen.
3. A side bar, or info pane, will appear on the right side of the screen with data about your photo.
4. Select Tag someone.
5. Click near the head of the person you want to tag, and drag your cursor to create a frame around their face.
6. Type your tag in the box or select a tag from the list of existing tags.

Learn to add descriptive tags

1. Double-click on a picture in your photo gallery and it will appear in a new viewing and editing window.
2. Click on Info in the toolbar at the top of the screen.
3. A side bar, or info pane, will appear on the right side of the screen with data about your photo.
4. Select Add descriptive tag, type your tag, and hit Enter.

Your tags will now be listed, along with any other tags, under People tags or Descriptive tags in the main info pane on the left side of your gallery home screen.

Click Add a new tag to create a tag for future use. Later, you can add that tag to multiple photos at one time.

When you drag a photo (or multiple photos) onto a tag, a faint trace of the photo(s) will move with your cursor, and a small box will appear confirming which tag has been applied.

Create a tag to assign later
You can create a tag without immediately adding it to a photo. (This is helpful for times when you may want to add a tag to a large group of photos to avoid tagging each one separately.)

1. In the info pane on the Windows Live Photo Gallery home screen, click Add new tag under the option People tags or Descriptive Tags.
2. Enter a name or description in the box.

Your tag will now be listed under People tags or Descriptive tags (depending on which one you chose) in the main info pane on the left side of your gallery home screen. Read on to learn how to add a tag you’ve created to one or more photos.

Add an existing tag to multiple photos:

1. Select one or more photos that you’d like to assign an existing tag:
2. Hold your cursor over a photo and click the small box that appears in the upper-left corner. A check mark will appear to indicate that the photo has been selected.
3. Drag the photo or photos you’ve selected onto the tag, whether it’s under People tags or Descriptive tags.

You can assign a tag to all of your selected photos just by dragging and dropping one of them onto a particular tag.

Click on Identity to add a tag or create a new tag for a person "found" within your photo.

After you've added a tag to a person, every time you scroll over their face, the tag with their name will appear.

When you first open a new photo in Windows Live Photo Gallery, it will automatically recognize people (indicated by a thin white frames appearing around their face) so that you can easily add a tag with their name.

This feature is especially helpful when you plan on sharing your photos online, on sites such as Facebook. It saves you the trouble of manually labeling the photos you plan to upload.

To identify and tag people in a new photo:

1. Click Info in the toolbar at the top of the screen.
2. Click People found in the info pane on the right side of the screen.
3. Click Identify to add a tag to a person. (The white frame will only appear around one recognized face at a time.)
4. If it's you in the photo, select the option, That's me!.

Enter a tag in the Find a photo box at the top of the screen and all photos with that tag will appear on the screen.

There are two ways to search for images in Windows Live Photo Gallery using tags:

• Click on an existing tag from People tags or Descriptive tags in the info pane on the left side of the home screen. Every photo with that tag will appear on the gallery screen.
• In the search box at the top of the screen, enter a tag. Every photo with that tag will appear on the gallery screen.

Add captions to your photos to further describe the people or events depicted within the image.

• Tell a story with tags
  Tag your photos using words or phrases that describe the people, events, places, and seasons within the image.
• Add multiple, specific tags
  Using only one, generic tag such as "College" won't be as helpful when searching your photos as having additional tags like "Winter Formal 2009".
• Add captions
  Creating captions for your photos, in addition to tags, can add to the story of the people or events in the picture.
• Review tags before sharing
  Remember that tags and captions are included with your photos when you publish them. Because of this, choose tags that you are comfortable sharing—or delete the tags before uploading your photos.