How to Add an Image Comment on Your Nikon D5600
Your Nikon D5600 lets you attach a text comment to every image you shoot, and it’s a feature most people overlook. Adding an image comment from your Nikon D5600 is a great way to tag photos with copyright info, short descriptions, or any note that helps you stay organized. The comment gets embedded in the image file’s metadata, so it travels with the photo wherever it goes.
Whether you’re a wedding photographer tagging hundreds of shots from a weekend event or a hobbyist who just wants to remember where a certain photo was taken, image comments save you real time. Instead of renaming files or relying on memory, the comment sits right inside the EXIF data and shows up in programs like Lightroom, Photo Mechanic, and even Windows File Explorer.
In 2026, with photographers shooting across multiple cameras and memory cards in a single session, having a quick identification tag built into each file is more practical than ever. Here’s how to set it up, step by step.
Step 1: Open the Setup Menu
Start by pressing the Menu button on the back of your Nikon D5600. It’s near the top-left corner and clearly labeled. Once the menu opens, navigate over to the Setup menu tab (the wrench icon). Scroll down until you find the “Image comment” option and select it.
The Setup menu is one of the longer menus on the D5600, so you may need to scroll past several pages. Look for items like “Time zone and date” and “Language” as landmarks. The Image comment option sits in the middle section of this menu.
Step 2: Enter Text Using the Touchscreen
If you have the touchscreen enabled, you can tap characters directly on the screen keyboard. This is the fastest way to type your comment. Make sure touch controls are turned on in the setup menu if tapping isn’t responding. You can enable this through Setup > Touch controls.
The touchscreen keyboard works just like a phone keyboard, though the smaller display means you’ll want to tap carefully. For copyright comments, most photographers type something like “(c) 2026 Your Name” or “Copyright Your Name.” Since you only get 36 characters, keep it tight.
Step 3: Enter Text Using the Multi Selector
Prefer buttons over touchscreen? No problem. Use the multi-selector (the directional pad on the back) to highlight characters on the on-screen keyboard. Press OK to select each one. Keep in mind that you’re limited to 36 characters total, so keep your comment short and to the point.
The multi-selector method is slower than the touchscreen, but it’s more precise if you’re wearing gloves or shooting in cold weather where the touchscreen might not register your taps. Some photographers also find it easier in bright sunlight when screen glare makes accurate tapping difficult.
Step 4: Switch Between Character Sets
Need uppercase letters, lowercase, numbers, or symbols? Look for the “Aa & #” option at the edge of the on-screen keyboard. Tapping or selecting it toggles between different character sets. There’s also a space bar right next to it for adding spaces between words.
This is where you’ll find the copyright symbol, parentheses, and other special characters. If you’re typing a copyright notice, switch to the symbol set to grab the “(c)” characters, then switch back to letters for your name.
Step 5: Move the Cursor in the Text Box
If you need to go back and fix a typo, use the arrow keys or spin the command dial to move the cursor left or right within your text. The command dial is quicker for jumping across several characters at once, so use that if you need to reposition the cursor quickly.
The cursor shows up as a small blinking line below the text you’ve typed so far. It’s subtle on the D5600’s screen, so look closely if you’re having trouble spotting it. Moving left positions you before a character, and pressing delete removes the character to the right of the cursor.
Step 6: Delete a Character
Position the cursor under the character you want to remove and hit the delete button. On the touchscreen, look for the delete icon at the bottom of the keyboard display. You can also use the physical delete button on the camera body if you find that easier.
If you need to start over entirely, it’s often faster to delete all characters and retype from scratch rather than fixing multiple typos one at a time. Hold the delete button or tap it repeatedly to clear the text field.
Step 7: Confirm Your Comment
When you’re happy with what you’ve typed, press the OK button to lock it in. This saves your comment text so it’s ready to attach to future photos. The OK button may show a magnifying glass icon, but pressing it here confirms and saves your text rather than zooming in.
After pressing OK, the camera returns you to the Image comment settings screen. You’ll see your saved comment text displayed at the top. Double-check it for typos before moving to the next step, because you don’t want a misspelled copyright notice stamped across hundreds of photos.
Step 8: Check the Attach Comment Box
This is the step people forget. After saving your comment, you need to check the “Attach comment” box to actually embed it in your images. If the box isn’t checked, the comment sits there saved but doesn’t get written to your photos. To stop attaching comments later, just uncheck the box. Press OK to exit the menu and you’re all set.
When Image Comments Are Most Useful
Image comments shine in situations where you need quick identification without opening editing software. If you shoot events, adding your business name as the comment makes it easy to identify your files when sharing memory cards or uploading to shared drives. Wedding photographers who shoot alongside a second photographer can use comments to mark whose camera produced each shot.
For street photography and travel work, you might use the comment to note the city or location. Something like “NYC June 2026” gives you instant context when you’re sorting through thousands of travel photos months later.
How to View Image Comments After Shooting
Once enabled, every photo you take will carry your comment in its EXIF data. To view the comment on the camera itself, play back a photo and press the info button to cycle through the display overlays. The detailed info screen shows the embedded comment near the bottom.
On your computer, any photo management tool that reads EXIF data will display the comment. In Lightroom, it shows up in the Metadata panel. In Photo Mechanic, check the IPTC section. Even right-clicking a file in Windows and selecting Properties will show the comment under the Details tab.
Quick Troubleshooting
If your comments aren’t showing up in photos, go back to the Image comment menu and confirm the “Attach comment” checkbox is checked. Also verify that you pressed OK to save the comment text before checking the box. These two actions are separate, and skipping either one means the comment won’t attach.
It’s a quick setup that pays off when you’re sorting through hundreds of images later or when you need to identify your work at a glance. Set it once and forget about it, or update the comment between shoots to tag different projects.
