Understanding ‘EXIF’ in Digital Photography is the topic in today’s post. We will be focusing on its definition and functionality.
Understanding ‘EXIF’ in digital photography is crucial for photographers meaning it cannot be ‘swept under the carpet’. EXIF in digital photography means: Exchangeable image file format. This is a standard that cites the formats for images, sound, and ancillary tags used by digital cameras, scanners and other systems handling image and sound files recorded by digital cameras.
Understanding ‘EXIF’ in digital photography is key to knowing its usefulness. Flashing back in time, during the film camera days, cameras printed the time and date on the photo. This was a good way to know when a photo was taken. The prominent challenge was the the probability of wrong dating. In addition, having date printed on your beautiful photo reduces its quality ! Thereby making the knowledge of EXIF in digital photography is crucial.
Functionality of EXIF
At each shot taken with a digital camera, date and time are recorded along with all other camera settings used to record the photo. This comprises the shutter speed, aperture setting, the flash used, ISO setting, the focal length etc. All these informations are saved with the photo and are referred to as the EXIF data. EXIF is actually a file format. As the image is copied to your computer, the EXIF data goes along with it as part of the image.
How and Where can I find EXIF Data?
- A lot of web photo applications like Flickr show the EXIF data alongside the photo.
- Most paint programs allow you to view the EXIF data (Photoshop shows you in the metadata window in Adobe Bridge).
- You can find the EXIF data Windows by right clicking on the image, choose Properties followed by the Summary tab.
Specialized and free programs like EXIF Reader for Windows or PhotoToolCM for Mac show you EXIF data and allow you to edit it.
EXIF – a Learning Tool
Flickr and some others display EXIF data alongside the photo. Taking a look at the camera shot data and the image can make you understand how different camera settings affect photo features.
Conclusively, understanding EXIF in digital photography helps photographers, doing photo review, know what the camera did, and what changes can be made to improve the photo quality.