Loading JPG and HEIC Photos

Introduction 

JPG and HEIC photos will contain EXIF metadata which gives information about the time and date the photo was taken, the phone/camera model used to take it, and the technical settings such as focal length and ISO speed. It is important that each JPG/HEIC file loaded contains this original EXIF metadata (so that the file can be downloaded from the system at any time and the full metadata examined and/or printed to PDF for use as an exhibit). 

Procedure for loading JPG or HEIC photos

To load each JPG (or HEIC) photo, sign on to the document management system from the device on which you took the photo and load the JPG/HEIC by tapping the Add Documents button.

If you are not loading the photos from the original device on which they were taken but from another device, you need to check that each photo has intact EXIF date/time metadata as sometimes this can be lost when a JPG is copied from one device to another. So you should check each one for metadata.

If the EXIF date/time metadata is missing from a photo  see if you have or can obtain a copy of the JPG/HEIC with intact EXIF metadata and, if you can, load that instead of the current file. But if there really is no JPG/HEIC with intact EXIF metadata available to load, or if there is EXIF date/time metadata but you have reason to think that the EXIF date/time is not accurate, load the file but see here for what else to do about it. 

Once the JPG or HEIC has been loaded, and set (automatically or manually) to the correct date,  the next thing to do is finally to edit the Document Description column to prefix it with the word Photo.

You can also add a general description if that is helpful like this, leaving the original file name at the end:

It is important to ensure that the original filename is included at the end of the Document Description to uniquely identify the photo as there are likely to be more than one photo with the same date. If the original filename is not available (for example you only have a copy of a JPG which has been renamed without including the original filename) you should add the time the photo was taken (including seconds) to the document description so that that can be used for identification.

Some document management systems actually allow a time to instead be included as part of the date field:

  Document Date                            Document Description 

Image and Metadata print

If the date a particular photo was taken is important for your case it is good practice, at some stage in the litigation process, to take a PDF print of the JPG, showing both the image and key items of accompanying metadata, including the date/time the photo was taken, and load that as well. If there are a lot of photos to be loaded you don't necessarily need to take a PDF print of them all: it depends on what matters turn out to be disputed in the litigation. As a general rule it is good practice to create a PDF print for every photo which will be an exhibit in a witness statement and to exhibit the PDF print showing image and metadata rather than just exhibiting the image. 

Exhibit Mark

When you get to the stage in litigation where a statement is being prepared which will refer to a photo with an exhibit mark (e.g. a statement confirming where and when you took the photo or how it has come into your possession) you should add the exhibit mark to the start of the Document Description field e.g.:

The file can then be downloaded as a PDF and an exhibit mark label applied to the downloaded PDF which can then be printed and verified by the witness.

Disclaimer

This information page is designed to be used only by clients of John Antell who have entered into an agreement for the provision of legal services. The information in it is necessarily of a general nature and will not be applicable to every case: it is intended to be used only in conjunction with more specific advice to the individual client about the individual case. This information page should not be used by, or relied on, by anyone else.

The information on this page about specific computer techniques is provided for information purposes only. Every reasonable effort has been made to ensure that the information is accurate and up to date at the time it was written but no responsibility for its accuracy, or for any consequences of relying on it, is assumed by me. You should satisfy yourself, before using any of the techniques, software or services described, that the techniques are appropriate for your purposes and that the software or service is reliable.

This page was lasted updated in June 2025. Disclaimer