Apply keywords using the Lift & Stamp HUD

You can use the Lift and Stamp tools to quickly apply all or some of the keywords from one photo to other photos. Using the Lift and Stamp tools is an efficient way to apply keywords and other types of metadata, such as ratings, to large numbers of photos. The Lift and Stamp tools can also apply adjustments made to photos, such as cropping, straightening, exposure changes, and other adjustments. For more information about using the Lift and Stamp tools to apply adjustments, see Apply standard adjustments.

The Lift and Stamp tools have a corresponding HUD you can use to view and remove items you’ve lifted (copied) from one photo before you stamp (paste) them onto another photo.

Lift all the keywords from a photo and stamp them onto another photo or group of photos

Select a photo.
Select the Lift tool (or press O).
The Lift & Stamp HUD appears.
All the photo’s metadata, such as applied adjustments, rating, and keywords, appears in the Lift & Stamp HUD.
Deselect all checkboxes except for Keywords, or select items in the HUD and press Delete to remove them.
To apply the keywords from the Lift & Stamp HUD, do one of the following:
- Use the Stamp tool to select the photos to which you want to assign the keywords.
- Use the Selection tool to select a group of photos in the Browser, then click the Stamp Selected Images button in the Lift & Stamp HUD.

The keywords from the first photo are applied to all of the photos you stamped them on.

Stamp a reduced selection of keywords onto a photo

In many cases, you do not want to copy all keywords from one photo and paste them onto another. For this reason, you can select specific keywords that apply to the photo you want to stamp them on.

Select a photo.
Select the Lift tool (or press O).
The Lift & Stamp HUD appears.
In the Lift & Stamp HUD, deselect all image information checkboxes except for Keywords.
Click the Keywords disclosure triangle to reveal the keywords from the selected photo.
Remove any keywords you don’t want to stamp onto a photo or group of photos by selecting each unwanted keyword in the list and pressing the Delete key.
To apply the keywords from the Lift & Stamp HUD, do one of the following:
- Use the Stamp tool to select the photos to which you want to assign the keywords.
- Use the Selection tool to select a group of photos in the Browser, and then click the Stamp Selected Images button in the Lift & Stamp HUD.

The reduced selection of keywords is applied to the selected photo.

Quickly lift and stamp photo metadata and adjustments

You can quickly lift and stamp the keywords and all other metadata and adjustments from one photo to another using keyboard shortcuts.

Select a photo, then press Shift-Command-C to lift the metadata from the photo.
Select a photo or group of photos, then press Shift-Command-V to stamp the metadata onto the selected photos.

You can also lift RAW Fine Tuning parameter values from one RAW image and stamp them onto another. RAW Fine Tuning adjustments are included in lift and stamp operations by default. If you don’t want to lift and stamp RAW Fine Tuning adjustments, you must deselect them in the Lift & Stamp HUD. For more information about lifting and stamping adjustments, see Apply standard adjustments. For more information about the RAW Fine Tuning adjustments, see RAW Fine Tuning controls overview.

Figure. Lift & Stamp HUD showing the RAW Fine Tuning checkbox unselected.

Exclude everything but metadata from lift and stamp operations

You can use the Lift & Stamp HUD to lift and stamp metadata only.

Select the photo with the metadata or keywords you want to copy.
Choose Metadata > Lift Metadata.
The Lift & Stamp HUD appears, showing the metadata and keyword information only.
Select a photo or group of photos, then click the Stamp Selected Images button.
Only the selected metadata and keywords are applied to the photo selection.