GPS location imported from iPhone has wrong hemisphere

[lancelot21]

In LR Classic 9.1, the Map module has the wrong hemisphere (E versus W) for the GPS location. So instead of showing the location as northern California, it shows it in China.

I exported iPhone photos from the Photos app on a Mac (export unmodified original; checked Export IPTC as XMP). When I look at the file itself in Preview, it shows the following (correct) coordinates (northern California):

Latitude: 40° 26’ 32.508” N
Longitude: 123° 59’ 20.04” W

I imported the photo into Lightroom, and it shows the following GPS coordinates (China).

40°26'32.508" 123°59'20.039"

If I manually add N and W to the GPS coordinates, then it shows the correct location.

I don't know what to do to correct this before I start editing/modifying thousands of photos!

[millerrdee1]

The solution is actually simpler than what you have tried. The problem is the way MacOS Photos creates the XMP file. If you export originals and turn off the export IPTC as XMP option then the coordinates flow into Lightroom correctly. 

[crbnred]

Not in case you have thousands of RAW files geotagged in Photos and want to move them to Lightroom... Then your only option is to export originals with XMP....

[johnrellis]

I corrected (and re-tested) the Exiftool command line in my previous post:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic/gps-location-imported-from-iphone-has-wrong-hemisph...

[johnrellis]

"If you export originals and turn off the export IPTC as XMP option then the coordinates flow into Lightroom correctly."

That only works if the originals contain correct GPS coordinates. If you've added or changed the coordinates within Photos, then you need to turn on the option Export IPTC As XMP to get those coordinates.

[Use the blue reply button under the first post to ensure replies sort properly.]

[Char Davies]

The Apple Photos app has two Export options - one strips off the N W S E from the coordinates, the other options does Not. 

File > Export > Export x Photos...  does NOT strip off the N W S E 

File > Export > Export Unmodified Original for x Photos...   strips off the the directional indicators Do NOT use this export option if you wish to import useful GPS coordinates into Lightroom (or elsewhere).

Cheers!

[Daniel35376520olbg]

As of Feb 10th, 2024, the same problem persists. Just don't check the 'Export IPTC as XMP' . The embedded GPS data is fine, the XMP file is defective.

[dbampa]

I've just discovered the same issue. What irks me is that while NeoFinder (a DAM on the Mac) and also ON1 RAW can both read the xmp file correctly Lightroom can't (both Desktop and Classic). The issue has been known for a number of years now and I don't understand why Adobe doesn't show any interest in addressing it. As for a work around, if you wish to keep both the keywords and gps data, and have ON1, before opening the files in LR, open them in ON1 and select 'Embed metadata' under the Photos tab. Once embedded in the file gps info shows correctly in LR along with any keywords. 

[johnrellis]

It's a bug in Apple Photos (see above). You should complain to Apple. 

[dbampa]

Since other apps don’t have a problem getting the gps locations correct I don’t regard it an Apple ‘bug’.

[johnrellis]

The Exif 2.31 metadata for XMP industry standard (pages 19 and 27) specifies how to encode GPS locations in XMP metadata. See here for an example of the correct encoding (used by Mac Photos 4) and the incorrect encoding used by later versions:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-discussions/gps-location-imported-from-iphone-has-w...

Mac Photos is generating XMP metadata that doesn't conform to the industry standard. Most developers call that a "bug", but you can call it whatever you'd like.

It's not reasonable to expect Adobe to change LR to handle buggy output from a Mac app -- there are standards for a reason.  It's more reasonable to ask ask Adobe to file a bug report with Apple, since Apple is much more likely to respond to Adobe than a mere user.

[dbampa]

Yes I understand all about the standard. The question is why is it a problem with Adobe when it’s not for other apps?

[johnrellis]

"The question is why is it a problem with Adobe when it’s not for other apps?"

It's very likely that the developers of Neofinder and On1, like the Apple developers, incorrectly assumed that the EXIF GPS tags mapped one-to-one to the XMP GPS fields. E.g. that EXIF:GPSLatitude and EXIF:GPSLatitudeRef would be correctly represented in XMP metadata as XMP:GPSLatitude and XMP:GPSLatitudeRef.