# How to Change the Date on a Photo (5 Methods)

> Five ways to change a photo's capture date: iPhone Photos, our web EXIF date editor, Adobe Lightroom, ExifTool command line, and a Python batch script. With pros, cons, and when to use each.

*Published: 2026-05-21* · *7 min read*

Canonical URL: https://timestampcamera.net/photo-guides/how-to-change-the-date-on-a-photo


**Quick answer:** The fastest way to change a photo's date is to drop the JPEG into a free browser-based EXIF date editor like our [Change Photo Date tool](/edit-photo-date), type the new date, and click Apply. iPhone users can adjust dates directly in Apple Photos (Image → Adjust Date and Time). Power users can use the open-source ExifTool command line for batch shifts and scripted fixes. Five methods compared below, ranked from easiest to most powerful.

If you've ever scanned an old print, fixed a camera with the wrong timezone,
or organised a project folder by date, you've needed to change a photo's
capture date. The metadata block inside the JPEG (EXIF) records when the
shutter fired, and most apps sort and search by that field. Here are the
five ways to change it, ranked from easiest to most powerful.

## Quick comparison

| Method | Time per photo | Cost | Batch | EXIF written to file? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone Photos | 10 sec | Free | No | No (library only) |
| **[Our web editor](/edit-photo-date)** | **3 sec** | **Free** | **Yes** | **Yes** |
| Adobe Lightroom | 5 sec | $10/mo | Yes | Yes (on export) |
| ExifTool CLI | 1 sec | Free | Yes | Yes |
| Python piexif | 0.1 sec | Free | Yes | Yes |

## Method 1: iPhone Photos app

The fastest way for one or two photos when you're already on your phone.

1. Open **Photos**, tap a photo to view it full-screen
2. Tap the **(i)** info icon (bottom of screen on iOS 16+, top-right earlier)
3. Tap **Adjust** next to the date
4. Pick a new date and time, tap **Done**

### Pros
- Built into iOS, no install
- Free
- Works for a single photo in seconds

### Cons
- **Doesn't change the EXIF on the source file.** The date only updates in
  Apple's library index. If you export the photo (AirDrop, Mail, save to
  Files), the original EXIF date is what travels with it.
- One photo at a time. No batch.

### When to use
For organising your own library when you don't plan to export. For sharing
a photo with the corrected date, use one of the methods below that actually
writes EXIF.

## Method 2: Our free web EXIF date editor

Built for exactly this case, browser-only, no install.

1. Open **[/edit-photo-date](/edit-photo-date)**
2. Drop one JPEG, or drop a folder for batch
3. Type the new date (Set mode) or pick a delta (Shift mode for timezone
   fixes)
4. Download the updated file (or a ZIP of all of them)

The browser uses [piexif.js](https://github.com/hMatoba/piexifjs) to write
DateTimeOriginal, DateTimeDigitized, and the IFD0 DateTime tag in sync. No
re-compression: pixel data stays byte-for-byte identical.

### Pros
- Free, no accounts, no daily caps
- No upload: the file never leaves your device
- Set mode (specific date) and Shift mode (offset) cover both common cases
- Batch a whole folder, get a single ZIP back
- Works on any device with a modern browser, including phones and Chromebooks

### Cons
- JPEG only. For PNG, WebP, or HEIC see the [EXIF Tag Reference](/photo-guides/exif-tag-reference) for format-specific notes.

### When to use
Default choice for one to a few hundred photos when you don't already have
Lightroom or comfort with the command line.

## Method 3: Adobe Lightroom Classic

If Lightroom is part of your workflow already, the built-in capture-time
editor is excellent for big batches.

1. Select photos in **Library**
2. Menu: **Metadata > Edit Capture Time**
3. Pick one of three modes:
   - **Adjust to a specified date and time** (apply same date to selection)
   - **Shift by set number of hours** (timezone or DST fix)
   - **Change to file creation date** (use OS file mtime)
4. Click **Change All**

Lightroom changes EXIF on export, not on the source RAW or JPEG until you
re-export. If you sync the catalogue to a cloud service, the new date
travels with the catalogue.

### Pros
- Handles 1000s of photos
- Shift mode is excellent for "all my photos from this trip are off by 5
  hours"
- Integrates with your existing catalogue, keywords, ratings

### Cons
- Requires Lightroom subscription ($10/month minimum, more for the photo
  bundle)
- Changes catalogue first, files only on export
- Steeper learning curve if you don't already use it

### When to use
Photographers and studios with a Lightroom workflow.

## Method 4: ExifTool (command line)

The gold standard for power users. Free, open-source, scriptable, handles
every metadata edge case.

### Install

```bash
# macOS (Homebrew)
brew install exiftool

# Debian / Ubuntu
sudo apt install libimage-exiftool-perl

# Windows
# Download the standalone .exe from exiftool.org
```

### Set one photo to a specific date

```bash
exiftool -DateTimeOriginal='2026:05:21 14:30:00' photo.jpg
```

### Shift every JPEG in a folder by +3 hours

```bash
exiftool -DateTimeOriginal+='0:0:0 3:0:0' *.jpg
```

### Sync all three EXIF date fields

```bash
exiftool \
  -DateTimeOriginal='2026:05:21 14:30:00' \
  -CreateDate='2026:05:21 14:30:00' \
  -ModifyDate='2026:05:21 14:30:00' \
  photo.jpg
```

### Recursive batch shift

```bash
exiftool -r -DateTimeOriginal-='0:0:0 5:0:0' /path/to/photos
```

(Subtracts 5 hours from every JPEG in the folder and its subfolders.)

### Pros
- Free, open-source, runs on every OS
- Handles every EXIF, IPTC, XMP, and maker-note tag
- Trivially scriptable
- Backs up originals by default (`photo.jpg_original`)

### Cons
- Terminal only, no GUI
- 100+ pages of documentation; the learning curve is real

### When to use
You're comfortable in a terminal and need to do this often or on a tight
schedule. ExifTool is what most photo metadata blog posts (including
this one) use under the hood.

## Method 5: Python + piexif (automated workflows)

Best when changing the date is one step in a larger pipeline: renaming
files based on the new date, exporting from a database, generating a
report.

```python
import piexif
from datetime import datetime

photo = "photo.jpg"
new_date = datetime(2026, 5, 21, 14, 30, 0)
formatted = new_date.strftime("%Y:%m:%d %H:%M:%S").encode("ascii")

exif_dict = piexif.load(photo)
exif_dict["Exif"][piexif.ExifIFD.DateTimeOriginal] = formatted
exif_dict["Exif"][piexif.ExifIFD.DateTimeDigitized] = formatted
exif_dict["0th"][piexif.ImageIFD.DateTime] = formatted

exif_bytes = piexif.dump(exif_dict)
piexif.insert(exif_bytes, photo)
```

### Batch shift example

```python
import piexif
from datetime import timedelta, datetime
import glob

offset = timedelta(hours=3)

for photo in glob.glob("/path/to/photos/*.jpg"):
    exif_dict = piexif.load(photo)
    raw = exif_dict["Exif"].get(piexif.ExifIFD.DateTimeOriginal)
    if not raw:
        continue
    dt = datetime.strptime(raw.decode(), "%Y:%m:%d %H:%M:%S")
    new = (dt + offset).strftime("%Y:%m:%d %H:%M:%S").encode("ascii")
    exif_dict["Exif"][piexif.ExifIFD.DateTimeOriginal] = new
    exif_dict["Exif"][piexif.ExifIFD.DateTimeDigitized] = new
    exif_dict["0th"][piexif.ImageIFD.DateTime] = new
    piexif.insert(piexif.dump(exif_dict), photo)
```

### Pros
- Most flexible; integrate into any workflow
- Free, well-documented (the same piexif we use in the browser)
- Easy to combine with other Python image libraries (Pillow, OpenCV)

### Cons
- Python required
- Writing the script takes time even if it's short
- No GUI

### When to use
You're processing photos at scale (hundreds of thousands), or the date
change is one step in a multi-step pipeline (rename, sort, upload to S3,
write a database row).

## Which method should you pick?

- **One photo, on your phone:** iPhone Photos (Method 1) if you'll only
  view it in Photos; our [web editor](/edit-photo-date) if you'll share or
  export.
- **A handful of photos on your laptop:** our
  [web editor](/edit-photo-date). Free, instant, no install.
- **A whole shoot (50-500 photos) with timezone issue:** our web editor
  in Shift mode, or Lightroom if you already have it.
- **Thousands of photos, regular workflow:** ExifTool (Method 4).
- **Automation, integration with other systems:** Python piexif (Method 5).

## A note on integrity

EXIF dates are easy to change by design. The format is meant to be
editable by photo software. If you need a tamper-evident timestamp (for
legal evidence, insurance, journalism), the EXIF date alone isn't enough.
See our piece on
[whether timestamp photos hold up as legal evidence](/photo-guides/are-timestamp-photos-legal-evidence)
for the chain-of-custody pieces that matter.

For the underlying tag definitions, our
[EXIF Tag Reference](/photo-guides/exif-tag-reference) covers
DateTimeOriginal, DateTimeDigitized, OffsetTime, and every other date
field in EXIF.

## Tools mentioned in this guide

- [Free web EXIF date editor](/edit-photo-date): browser-only, no upload.
- [Free EXIF editor](/exif-editor): edit any EXIF field, not just dates.
- [Free EXIF viewer](/exif-viewer): read the existing date before
  changing it.
- [EXIF tag reference](/photo-guides/exif-tag-reference): every EXIF
  date field, in depth.
- ExifTool: [exiftool.org](https://exiftool.org/)
- piexif (Python and JS): [github.com/hMatoba/piexifjs](https://github.com/hMatoba/piexifjs)
- Adobe Lightroom: [adobe.com/lightroom](https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop-lightroom-classic.html)