How can users edit metadata in a bulk photo uploader app?

Question

I'm developing a photo uploader iPhone app for an image hosting site. Each image has two details of metadata:

1. Title/Filename (required, unique)
2. Description (required)
3. Categories (0 or more)

One of the requirements is having bulk upload. What would be a very easy way for a user, after choosing 9 files to upload, to edit the metadata? We're looking at doing something like this:

1. User chooses 9 files to upload
2. User is shown a list of photos with a thumbnail on the left
3. User selects on of the photos and is taken to a new screen with the three aforementioned fields. Slightly bigger size of the image is shown, as well.
4. User enters metadata and clicks done. Is taken back to the list of files. That photo entry is highlighted in the listing of photos to signal the metadata has been completely filled.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until complete.

This seems a little tedious for the user. Going to each individual image and back. I'm open to any ideas to improve the user interface for this. We also considered an Accordion type UI but I don't think that would work well.

We anticipate the typical use case will be 1 photo (70%), 2-8 photos (25%), and > 8 photos (5%).

Target: iOS 5, 6

Answer 1

Being an amateur photographer I've noticed that the good uploading tool is one that just quietly uploads my photos without forcing me to enter anything. It seems like it's not only because I have no idea of how to name or describe the photos sometimes, but because it's much easy to do on the web (especially for multiple photos). So I suggest to not make any of the fields required (you may use filenames instead by default), and let people decide whatever they want to enter title, for example, and edit everything else later.

So, I suggest some very simple interface, which will look something like the wireframe below:

.

The idea behind this is that tapping Edit icon (or maybe image itself) will shift photo to the up (partially covering the previous image), and reveal editable fields (you may add description and categories, of course).

You may also display edited photo titles (as far as description and tags) in some semi-transparent manner on the photos.

Answer 2

if 1 photo is the 70% situation, you can place photos vertically one by one.

1 and 2. I suppose the photo selection is almost like the first one, when user taps "done", all UI elements fade out except the photo user choose. the chosen photos will remain and fly to the left side as thumbnail.

3 and 4. Use float keyboard and scroll picker to enable description input and category selection.

Hope that helps