This article was written for novice users who just started to learn some methods of processing images on a computer. I tried to describe simple methods and tools for preparation photographs to be sent to photo stock agencies.

This is the set of software that I use for processing photos:
Adobe Photoshop – famous and powerful program for image processing
Adobe Bridge – image viewer and cataloguer
Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) - a plug-in for processing images in the RAW format
Imagenomic Noiseware Professional – excellent plug-in for noise reduction.

Usually, Adobe Bridge and ACR go along with Photoshop CS (Creative Suite). I use Photoshop CS3. The latest version is CS4, but for the time being I find the functionality of CS3 is enough for me.
Photoshop can be purchased at the store, downloaded as a trial 30-day version from the official site adobe.com or you can find an appropriate version in the torrent network. For noise reduction I use plug-in Noiseware that can be downloaded at the official site (choose Noiseware Professional Plug-in, there are detailed installation instructions) or by torrent.

For cataloging, sorting, selecting and viewing photos, I use a very good software Adobe Bridge. It can also add keywords and titles directly into the metadata of photos.

How to organize your collection of digital photos? I chose the following algorithm:
1. Create a folder (directory) for stock photography.
2. In this folder, create about 50 folders – each one for one day, or one batch of images that you will send to photo stocks. Call them 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 .. 50 (for next 50 batches you will create another folder).
3. In each folder create subfolders called «PSD» (for the intermediate results of image processing) and «JPG» (for the final results).
4. Then you should copy photos in RAW format into the folders 1, 2, 3, etc. so that there will not be a lot of repetitions in the series (not more than 2-3) and the subject of your images will be more diverse. For example you can choose: 2 skyscraper, 2 beaches, 2 objects, 2 backgrounds, etc. In total a typical batch can consist of about 15 to 25 photos in the RAW format in each folder. Why do I mention these numbers (15-25 images in each batch)? Because to get success at this business and continuous growth in revenues you will need to upload about 15 photos per day and the processing of such amount of images would not require too much time. In addition, the photo stock agencies like Dreamstime Stockxpert have some limitations on the number of daily uploaded pictures.

I can divide the whole way of image processing into 9 major stages:
1. Processing using Adobe Camera Raw.
2. Final corrections of brightness/contrast and saturation in Adobe Photoshop.
3. Noise reduction.
4. Correcting chromatic aberrations.
5. Rotate the image. (At this stage, you can also isolate the subject on white and remove unnecessary objects)
6. Resize and framing.
7. Adjusting image sharpness in Photoshop.
8. Converting current color profile to sRGB.
9. Saving the results of image processing. And 3 additional stages:
10. Removing unwanted objects from a photo.
11. Isolation on white background.
12. Adding data to the image’s File Info.

1. Processing using Adobe Camera Raw.
If your camera supports RAW, then it is strongly recommended to take photos in this format. If not - skip this section and think about buying a more serious camera in the future.
You can just open in Photoshop a RAW file (File->Open) or you can use Adobe Bridge and open it by double click on the thumbnail.

Double click on the selected RAW file and open your image in Adobe Camera Raw:

The most frequently used tools «loupe» (zoom) and «hand» (moving) are situated in the upper left corner of the toolbar. You can always find the image histogram in the upper left corner, which allows you to check the tonal distribution of your image, depending on the illumination (the darkest pixels are on the left and the brightest ones are on the right). In the bottom left corner you can see 8 tabs tools for adjusting different image processing parameters.
One of the most important tabs is called Basic:

White Balance: - the white balance. You can choose different presets or leave it as is (As Shot setting).
Temperature and Tint – You can manually correct current white balance (color temperature). For instance, I want to make the example image a little bit «warmer». To do this, set the color temperature to 4900K (only for this example). I don’t usually change Tint.
Exposure - Exposure tool. In this case I’ll set it to +25 to make the image brighter.
Recovery - is highlight recovery in the nearly overexposed highlights of a raw digital capture, which increases the dynamic range. If you set the mouse cursor over the slider Exposure, press Alt and click the left mouse button you will see overexposed zones in the photo. In this example Recovery is set to 10. I do not recommend to use this tool too much. I normally set Recovery about 10-20. Sometimes more (when I need to process strongly overexposed parts of a photo, for example sky).
Fill light - another very useful tool. It also increases the dynamic range of the image by bringing more brightness to the dark areas of the photograph. I set it to 15 in this example. I don’t recommend to overuse this tool because it can cause strong noise in the shadows. Usually I do not set Fill light more than 35.
Blacks – it makes dark areas of the photo even darker and enhances the contrast. Usually, I increase the contrast using the tool Contrast. In some cases this parameter can be very useful, for example - transparent water (on the tropical beaches or simply to emphasize air bubbles). I’ll set Blacks from default 5 to 3 for the example image because later I’ll use the Contrast tool.
Brightness – as you can guess this tool deals with brightness of the image. It can make a photo lighter or darker. I usually prefer to use the Exposure tool.
Contrast – the contrast of the image. I like to make bright and contrast photos for the stock agencies. Depending on the situation I choose the contrast setting from 35 to 100. In this case I’ll set it to 55.
Clarity – is a very useful tool. It allows you to make the photo visually clearer and more detailed. But I do not recommend you to use it too much. I usually set the value of Clarity tool less than 25. If you set a negative value, the image will obtain an effect of soft-focus.
Vibrance, and Saturation increase color saturation. But these instruments do it in different ways. I use the Vibrance, because it increases the saturation very selectively and carefully. I usually set values about +15 to +35. In this case, I will set Vibrance to 15 (so little because I will have to increase saturation of some colors).

In this section, you can flexibly adjust brightness and contrast of your photos. .
I don’t use this tab often, but sometimes I make experiments with different sliders and see the results. It can be useful to push the Saturation value to -100 and make a beautiful black and white version, then return the value of Saturation to 0.
In this case I do not touch anything here and turn to the next tab - Detail:

You can set parameters sharpness and remove noise. For doing this I prefer to use filters and plug-ins in Photoshop after processing RAW. Therefore I set the values of these tools to 0.

Next tab is HSL / Grayscale – a powerful tool for working with the color components.
There are three sub tabs .
Hue - changes the colors.

I usually change the sky hue to a bit more Purple, moving the slider Purples in value from +3 to +15 (in this example I set it to +15). Sometimes when an image contains grass I change Green hue to about +10.

Saturation - allows you to change the saturation componentwise.

I often use this tab to make the sky more bluish. In this case, I set the Oranges to +15 and the Blues to +75. Just do not forget that if you make the saturation level too high there will be visible noise.

Luminance – allows you change the brightness componentwise (make lighter or darker areas of different colors).

In this example, I want to make the church a bit like a shining object against a background of dark blue sky. Therefore I set Reds Oranges Yellow Blues to +15 +25 +100 -25 respectively. White (yellow) regions will become even lighter, and all the blue will be darker.

The next tab is very useful too – it’s Lens Corrections:

I usually correct chromatic aberration in this tab. Chromatic aberration is an artifact when you can see colored borders (usually blue and yellow or green and red) on the borders of contrasting objects. It comes from the dispersion of light in the lens. Here is an example that shows the church details before and after the chromatic aberration corrections. The scale is 300%. In this example, I set the slider Fix Red / Cyan Fringe to the value -30. Green and red aberration is easier to correct in Adobe Camera Raw than blue and yellow one.

On the same tab you can corrected Vignetting (darker edges). Experiment with the value if it is necessary (in this example I do not use this tool at all).

I’m finishing the processing of my example photograph in Adobe Camera Raw. You can either open the photos in Photoshop for further processing (use the button Open Image), or save your changes (click Done). In this case the original image in RAW format doesn’t change, all changes of the settings in Adobe Camera Raw are saved in an additional file in the same folder. If you want, you can always open the RAW file and continue to work. Or you can simply delete .xmp file and start the processing in ACR from scratch.
By the way, Adobe Camera Raw allows you to process batches of photos. For instance, if you press Ctrl in Adobe Bridge, choose some RAW files and then press Enter, they will open in ACR. Then in Adobe Camera Raw in the right corner you will see list of your RAW files. Press Ctrl and select photos which you want to edit (or use the combination Ctrl-A to select them all) - the settings will be changed for all selected files at once.

For comparison, there are images before processing in Adobe Camera Raw and after it:

Generally Photo Stock Agencies like bright, juicy, high contrast images that you can see every day on calendars, postcards or advertisements. Let your photos be even a little brighter and saturated than in real life.

2. Final corrections of brightness/contrast and saturation in Adobe Photoshop.
Sometimes even after the processing RAW files in Adobe Camera Raw you can want to change some parameters to make image even better. For example, improve image contrast or color saturation. By using layers and masks it is possible to change certain parts of the photo.

Before starting of any processing in Photoshop I duplicate the current layer. To do this, firstly I open Window-> Layers (F7), then Layer-> Dublicate Layer ... (or click the mouse right button on the layer in the Layers window and select the item Dublicate Layer).

In general, I recommend to duplicate layers often, and save intermediate results in the PSD format (every time with a new file name if your hard disk space allows it). Then you will not suffer if something happens with your Photoshop or computer. It will be easier to return to a couple of steps backward.

Firstly I use Auto Levels to slightly improve the white balance and overall contrast.
Choose the copied layer in the window Layers, then click Image -> Adjustments -> Auto Levels. The image may be slightly changed, sometimes too much. Therefore, if you want to imply only a part of the changes, adjust the transparency of the modified layer using the Opacity value from 30% to 70%:

Then combine layers into one layer: Layer -> Flatten Image. There is Merge, which is commonly used to combine several selected Layers without affecting the others and to keep transparency.

You can change contrast or brightness of the image in many different ways, but one of the most quick and simple is Image -> Adjustments -> Brightness / Contrast. Usually, I set it to +/-10.

If you choose Image -> Adjustments -> Hue / Saturation (Ctrl + U) you can slightly adjust the color saturation and luminance level.

3. Noise reduction.
I use DSLR cameras Canon 400D and sometimes Canon 40D for work in Photo Stock Agencies. They have quite good sensitivity, but even at ISO100 there is some noise in the sky or in dark shadows (at 100% scale). If you increase color sensitivity or overall contrast digital noise can be even more noticeable. I made my own comparison of several different software for noise reduction and chose one of the best for my purposes - Imagenomic Noiseware Professional. It is a powerful and efficient plug-in for Adobe Photoshop. You can read how to install Noiseware plug-un here.
Let us assume that the Noiseware plug-in is already successfully installed. I recommend to save the image to PSD format (File –> Save as) before using noise reduction software. Actually I save back-up *.PSD before using any kinds of filters. Then duplicate the layer (sometimes you may have to reduce noise in different areas with different settings) and go to Filter -- > Imagenomic -> Noiseware Professional ... the following window will open:

Usually I use the following presets (drop-down list Settings):

Landscape – it perfectly removes noise in the sky, but it can soften the details.
Full (stronger luma noise) - complete removal of all noise. It can be used for deep shadows, night sky and other areas without details because they will be blured.
Default– normal level of noise reduction that I use most often. It preserves details quite well, particularly if the settings Luminance and Color are less than 50.

In this example I will use the Landscape setting and the Default setting for two different layers (for the sky and the shadows on the church).
First, select Settings -> Default and set the Luminance level at 55. The larger this value, the better the noise will be removed, but the details will be lost too, so the picture will look more «plastic». Sharpening can also be set to the value of 6 (I don’t usually set more than to 5-7). Click OK.
Add a layer mask. Select the layer with just removed noise (Window->Layers) and select Layer -> Layer Mask. There are two possibilities - Reveal All and Hide All. Now I should tell you a few words about layers in Photoshop in general and about main principles of work with them.
Reveal All, creates white mask (shown as a white rectangle right of the layer’s picture), which fully opens the layer with this mask. It makes it completely visible, like transparent glass. It makes the overlying layer completely visible. If you use black brush on this mask the black areas will unveil previous layer (as if you make a hole on a layer overlying and through it you will see the underlying layer).
Hide All option on the contrary makes a black mask (which makes the overlying layer fully «transparent» and the layer that lies under it becomes absolutely visible). Using a white brush on the mask you can remove this transparency and return visibility to overlaying layer (on which you applied the Hide All mask).
Of course, you can change the transparency of the brush (Opacity) and color from white to black and thereby make the masked layer more or less transparent.

I’d like to show the process of using masks on a simple example. Let us imagine that I want to make the domes of the church Lighter (without affecting other parts of the image).
The original image and the window Layers:

Duplicate layer and increase Brightness / Contrast to make the brightness higher:

Then add a mask layer (Layer -> Layer Mask -> Hide All). It will hide this layer. You will see a small black rectangle that will appear in the window Layers just opposite the layer which you chose. You can use usual brush on it. If you choose white color and draw with a brush on the mask it will unveil the hidden by your mask layer. Thus, you can easily make the dome or a region in the sky lighter:

You can clearly see on the mask where I used white brush (on the right dome and some horizontal strokes). Similarly, you can work with the type of masks Reveal All. In that case you will need to work on a white mask with a dark brush (it will hide the layer).
So, let's continue to remove noise. I have already created a copy layer and removed noise using Noiseware with Default settings and Luminance level 55. Now, using the layer mask, I use noise reduction only in shadows of the church (the light areas don’t contain a lot of noise; I’m going to create a new layer for noise reduction on the sky because it requires different settings of Noiseware). To do this I add a mask to the layer where I have just removed noise - Layer -> Layer Mask -> Hide All, and with a white brush I will open the areas where I need to remove noise - only in the shadows in this case. As a result, the mask layer for noise reduction in shadows of the church will look like this:

Result of applying Noiseware Professional with Default settings (before and after, scale of 200%):

Now let us start to remove noise from the sky. Again, duplicate the original layer (with noise) and apply the Noiseware plug-in with the settings Landscape (choose from the drop-down list Settings). Add Hide All layer mask and use a white brush on the sky region. New layer with its mask will look like this:

Here is the result of noise reduction in the sky (Noiseware setting Landscape; before and after; 200%):

The noise reduction process is completed. Combine all layers into one by using Layer -> Flatten Image, and proceed to the next stage of processing photos.

4. Correcting chromatic aberrations.
Sometimes the ACR built-in tools can not completely eliminate the color fringes on the borders of contrasting objects. This is especially important for blue-yellow chromatic aberration (the green-red one can be corrected very well by standard ACR tool). When you increase color saturation, blue shadows become more saturated as well, so that blue hue in shadows should be removed.

First «fast» method:
1) Switch the color space into LAB: Image -> Mode -> Lab Solor
2) Use the Blur filter: Filter -> Blur -> Gaussian Blur with Radius 1-3 pixels in channels "a" and "b" (In the same window with the tab Layers you can find the tab Channels, then choose the first channel a, use the filter Blur to it , then do the same with b).
3) Switch back the color space to RGB: Image -> Mode -> RGB Color.

The second method is more laborious. It is desaturation of color fringes manually using layers and masks.
So, first duplicate the layer. In our example, there is no chromatic aberration (all are corrected at the stage of processing in RAW), so we should only remove excessive blue in the shadows. Select Eyedropper Tool, click Ctrl + U (or Image -> Adjustments -> Hue / Saturation, which is similar). In the window Hue / Saturation choose Edit: Blues (in other cases you can use Magentas, Yellows, etc.) click with the Eyedropper Tool on the area which you want to desaturate and lower Saturation, setting a value from -50 to -100. All the blues on the image will become pale blue or even gray.

Then, make a Hide All layer mask and with a white brush used only where necessary you can desaturate too bright areas. I passed on shadows. The most difficult in the operation - not to go over the neighboring areas where the desaturation is not needed (e.g., in the sky). You can use the «polygonal lasso» (Polygonal Lasso Tool - L). Carefully trace an area and then you can paint with a brush.

Then combine the layers - Flatten Image.

5. Rotate the image.
It is very simple. Go to Image -> Rotate Canvas -> Arbitrary ... and choose for how many degrees and in what direction you would like to turn your image. In this example, I used rotation to 0.1 degrees clockwise:

If you use the Measure Tool (in the group of tools where you can find Eyedropper Tool) just along any line that must be vertical or horizontal in the photo, and then go to the window Image -> Rotate Canvas -> Arbitrary you will see that the value and direction are calculated automatically.

6. Resize and framing.
Usually in the end of processing (before sharpening), I slightly reduce the resolution of the photo. I downsize photos from 10 MegaPixel (it is the original resolution of my camera - 3888x2592) to 8 MP (3600x2400) or 6 MP (3000x2000) or even 4 MP (2550x1700) - depending on the conditions and quality. The noise and all kinds of aberrations and artifacts are less visible on downsized photos. Therefore it is strongly recommended to send the exam photo resized to 4 MP.
On the one hand, for some photostock agencies like Fotolia resolution of images can be quite important (high resolution photographs are sold at higher price), but on the other hand – for one of the greatest agencies Shutterstock the higher image resolution doesn’t seem to have strong impact and doesn’t mean better sales. Small photos occupy less space and can be uploaded quickly. So sometimes it can be useful to slightly reduce resolution of your photos.

In this example, the overall quality of the RAW photo is average (it was shot in a bright sunny day, but with the kit lens 18-55 which is not the best at all). Let us suppose that I’m going to prepare this photo for the exam at Shutterstock, so I will resize it to 4 megapixel (2550x1700).
To change the resolution I use a tool Image -> Image Size ..., or Crop (Crop Tool). The first simply reduces the resolution, the second can also choose a different crop.
In this case, I choose the Crop Tool to be able cut off the edges after rotating the image and slightly more profitable crop. Sets the output resolution of Width: «1700 px» and Height «2550 px» in the two fields on top, then choose the size that you need (use mouse) and finally press the Enter button:

7. Adjusting image sharpness in Photoshop.
I use filter Hight Pass to increase the sharpness.
First, duplicate the layer. Then open the window filter Filter -> Other -> High Pass. I usually use the Radius setting from 0.5 to 1.5 pixels (the most often 0.5, rarely 0.7 or other values). In this case I apply the filter with radius 0.7 px. The whole image will become gray.

In the Layers drop-down list, choose Hard Light, Soft Light or Overlay. You can experiment different settings. I usually use Soft Light. If you need higher and «harder» sharpness you can use the Hard Light setting.

In this case, choose Soft Light. Then increase the contrast in the Image -> Adjustments -> Brightness / Contrast (usually from15 to 70) and it will increase the sharpness. In this example I select Contrast 55.
You should increase Sharpness only in areas of the photo where it is needed (areas of focus, the light, with clear boundaries).
Add a mask layer: Layer -> Layer Mask -> Hide All and use a white brush on the areas where you need to improve the clarity of the image.
Combine the layers: Layer -> Flatten Image or Merge Visible.
The result will look like this (left before, right – after the processing):

8. Converting current color profile to sRGB.

You should set the current color profile to sRGB because if you don’t do this the colors of your image can be displayed incorrectly in some web browsers. If you save the photos, for example, Adobe RGB, it will look faded.

Choose Edit -> Convert File, open the following window:

If the Source Space is not «sRGB IEC61966-2.1», then find this name in the drop-down list Destination Space, choose it and click OK.

9. Saving the results of image processing.
You can save your photo by selecting menu File -> Save As ... PSD file (choose Format: Photoshop (*. PSD; *. PDD)), in order to be able to return to processing in case of rejection (refusal). PSD format is saved without loosing quality due to compression and it saves also information about layers, masks, etc., so you can always continue work with your image. When you finish all processing you should save also to JPEG format (JPEG is sent to photostock agencies) - File -> Save As ... Format: JPEG (*. JPG; *. JPEG; *. JPE). You should choose the highest image quality (12) in the window «JPEG Options»:

Well, let’s compare the final result and the raw file:

The picture became brighter and when it is viewed at 100% virtually there is no visible noise and sharpness is better as well.

What else might be useful?

10. Removing unwanted objects from a photo.

Sometimes your photos can contain unwanted objects - advertisements, logos, people without a model release, dust or dirt stains, etc. They can and should clean up in Photoshop. The most important is to do it quite accurately.
I do this in two ways: simply with a brush or so called «cloning out».
You can use Brush Tool when you need to paint out small objects on a homogeneous background. For this I use a brush with the Opacity around 80%. I choose color sample by Eyedropper Tool with the Sample Size: about 5 by 5 Average (the color of the field will be averaged from the area 5x5 pixels around the point where you click).
Let’s look at the second method. It is about cloning (copy) of the small area of a background without the unwanted object and putting (paste) it on the object. Then blur the edges.
I n the example we have a beautiful sea, but with an unwanted guest. The task is to remove him from the photo.

This method is well suited for homogeneous backgrounds - water surface, grass, earth, sky, walls .

. Here is another impressive example of the use of such technology:

11. Isolation on white background.
Stock photography agencies usually sell so called isolated objects, which means objects shot on white background, so that designers could easily use them in their compositions, quickly separating the object from the background. Let us consider the classic example of the isolation on a white background.
Previously, I photographed an apple on a white background (it is on white paper):

You can notice that the background is not white but light gray. In addition, it is not homogeneous. This can be checked by putting the mouse cursor over the image. You will see in the window Info (Window -> Info, or F8) value of R, G, B channels. You can use also Eyedropper Tool – just click on any part of the background and then click on the color box below the toolbar. The color components R G B must have values of 255, 255, 255 - that means absolutely white background. In this case, they range from 230 to 245. The background should become lighter.
There are a lot of different methods for doing this. You can use levels (Levels), or even at the stage of processing RAW in Adobe Camera Raw you can work with the tab Tone Curve, or manually isolate the object using magic wand (Magic Wand Tool (W)). I prefer another method, which allows you to make the background absolutely white quickly and clearly. I use the Replace Color tool.
Let’s start from duplicating the layer. Then open the window Image-> Adjustments-> Replace Color. It click Eyedropper on any area of the background (but not on the shadow!) Set Lightness to 100, and move the Fuzziness slider until all background begins look white, without dark areas. In this example, I set the value of Fuzziness 100 (exactly in the middle):

Here is the photo after the application of this tool:

You can see that the background has already become completely white. Now we need only to remove a couple of flaws and improve shape of the shadow.
The Replace Color tool could change the object itself (if you have not made a mask or selection before use it), so you can closely view the image, and if somewhere there is a bad effect, you can always return to the previous layer, using the mask. In our case, a part of the left side of the apple has been slightly changed:

In order to restore its former appearance add the mask layer Layer -> Layer Mask -> Reveal All, and with a black brush «erase» overexposed areas:

Combine the layers (Flatten Image). Now we have to make the shadow look better. Let's see what shape our shadow has:

It is not very accurate, I would say. I propose to make the edges a little softer and remove noise.
Duplicate the layer and apply filter Gaussian Blur (Filter-> Blurs-> Gaussian Blur) with the parameter about 25 in this case:

Now, add the mask Layer -> Layer Mask -> Hide All and with a white brush draw only on the shadows and on the outer edge of the shade (where you need to blur), trying not to go over the apple (you can limit yourself with the lasso selection). You can also duplicate the original layer (which is without blurring) and place it under the layer with blur. Apply Noiseware plug-in (Filter -> Imagenomic -> Noiseware Professional) with a maximum noise reduction setting: Full (stronger luma noise). Then add a Hide All mask and with a white brush walk on the area among the apple and shadow, where you can not use the Blur filter. There will be a clear sharp border and no noise. Result:

The process of isolation of an apple is finished. You can combine the layers Flatten Image.
Let us compare what was:

... And what we have now:

12. Adding data to the image’s File Info.
If the photo is ready we can add some useful information to the file info (so called IPTC metadata). It will be mostly the name of the photo, its description and keywords for search. The majority photo stock agencies will automatically take the information from the file, so you will not need to fill them manually. This process can be done in many programs. Usually I describe photos in Adobe Bridge. Just click right mouse button on the selected photo and choose File Info:

Document Title Document Title: a short title for your image. In this case, I will call this photo «St. Basil Cathedral».
Description: description. Some stock agencies (e.g. Shutterstock) use this filed as a photo’s title and the Document Title field is ignored. Some other agencies may require the length of the field (at least 5 words for Dreamstime or at least 7 words for Bigstockphoto). If you do not hurry, it is recommended to fill the 7 words. What's there to write? Use your imagination. This description should attract attention and provide additional information about your photo. For example, foreigners may not know that St. Basil's Cathedral - is one of the most famous sights of Moscow and it is located on Red Square. Therefore, description «Famous St. Basil Cathedral on Red Square in Moscow, Russia» or «St. Basil Cathedral, Moscow's most famous tourist attraction», could help attract more buyers, who are preparing sites or brochures for travel agencies.
Keywords: Keywords. They are very important because buyers can find your images searching them by keywords. Keywords must be in English, average number is about 10-50 (more is better). I usually choose exactly 50 words, because it is the limit on Shutterstock. What words can you use? All keywords that describe the object. Where can you take? First, you can simply find several similar images at any stock photography agency, copy their keywords and choose the most suitable. There are services that can help to select the best keywords. For example, the site of Yuri Arcurs: Easy-Keywording (description). Just enter one or more keywords in English describing your image best, then choose the most appropriate ones.
In this example I will use the following keywords:
architectural; architecture; background; basil; blue; brick; building; capital; cathedral; center; christian; christianity; church; city; color; colored; colorful; construction; cross; crucifix; culture; dome; european; famous; golden; historic; history; kremlin; landmark; monument; moscow; museum; national; old; orthodox; red; religion; russia; russian; saint; sky; soviet; square; symbol; tourism; traditional; travel; union; vacation; visit
For the exams I recommend to use only 10-12 the most appropriate words.

So, the completed form will be as follows:

When you change the IPTC file info through Adobe Bridge your photos do not lose quality, so you can use this function many times as you like. In Photoshop this window can be found in the menu File-> File Info.

The processing photo is completed. You can use ftp-client (e.g. Filezilla) for sending them to the stock photography agencies or use http-upload on the sites.