Exif Info And Shooting Data "Honesty"

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Exif Info And Shooting Data "Honesty"

(37 posts) (20 voices)

Started 2 years ago by NikoDoby
Latest reply from Yetibuddha
Related Topics:
1. Just a thought... virtual level EXIF info and its use
2. Will a manual focus Nikon AIS lens leave focal length info in the EXIF file?

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Shooting Data Honesty

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studio460

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Most of the time, I'm spot-metering, shooting in aperture-priority mode. But nearly 100% of the time, I have some amount of EV +/- correction also dialed in, overriding the automatically calculated shutter speed by some amount. The author goes on to say that, "Plenty of shutterbugs use Auto mode or Program mode . . . " Well, I would assume that excludes most photographers here, and likely nearly all professional photographers. So, given this statement, I would argue that his article is irrelevant to us.

I think more telling, would be an indication if Photoshop curves were applied or not.

Posted 2 years ago #
Paperman

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I can't believe there are some of you intentionally erasing/hiding EXIF & exposure info from your shots .

Sorry but who do you think you are ?? Everyone is sooo admiring your work and it is so unique that they will go and imitate your work ?? So what if they know how you did it ?Jesus guys , this ain't rocket science ! 10 million DSLRs sold every year / 300,000 photographers shooting stock . And you think everyone is blowing their brains out to figure how you took that shot ;-))

Why do you think photo magazines have been providing exposure this info - for the last 50 years or so - for each photo ?

If it disappears by itself while uploading or after touching - OK , sure don't bother trying to put it back . But if it's there and you intentionally erase it , that's a different story.

Just curious about what can be gained by hiding the EXIF . ( OK, they won't be able to steal it ! )

Can it be you're worried people might find a minor fuck up ( forgotten high ISO , a needlessly small aperture ,etc.. )in a real decent looking shot and your ego will not allow you take a critism ?? Or an all natural looking shot being figured out that it actually involves lots of fiddling & manipulation ( nothing wrong with that according to me )and you are way too cool to be seen doing that ?

Really , why do you do it ??

Posted 2 years ago #
aslightdelay

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@Paperman: I haven't seen anybody on this thread suggest that the EXIF should be hidden/supressed. I think what's at issue here is moreso what we gain by oversharing every last little detail. There are times when disclosure's a good thing (read the other thread on faux "wildlife" photography, for instance), but there's others when it's just plain pointless. I'm not going to enjoy a brownie any less because I didn't know what brand of butter you used!

Any good photographer shouldn't mind sharing their settings and technique, if for no other reason that they'd realize that anyone who's any good at all will be working on developing their own style versus just trying to ape someone else's. If seeing the settings on someone's photos gives me an idea of how it's done, great... but I didn't pick up a camera for the sake of taking photos that someone else's already taken, and in the same exact way they took them.

Getting back to the point of the original article: Think of a photo, any photo, that absolutely knocked your socks off. If it was done in full auto, would that ruin the experience for you? While I'd be the first to argue that using a DSLR in Auto all the time -- basically rendering it a really expensive P&S -- defeats the purpose of having the thing, I also think that if I was in a situation where I may have only one chance to get "that" shot, I'd probably leave a bit, or a lot, more up to the camera than to my own admittedly limited skills.

Posted 2 years ago #
Paperman

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Well, here is where I got the implications from - copied from above posts .There are obviously some deliberately hiding the EXIF :

" I don't like to list my settings because I don't want to make that distinction. I usually strip the exif data from all of my files too "

" I don't post EXIF data with my photos "

You also said " ....if you're going to have EXIF data that's that detailed, shouldn't you also show your entire Lightroom/Photoshop/GIMP workflow? ... " - in a way giving support to the idea.

Comimg to your last paragraph , I say it is exactly why some are ripping off the EXIF data . Either don't want to look too amateur or disclose most work was done in computer etc . What else do you think it can be ? ( since theft is not anything they've mentioned )

Posted 2 years ago #
aslightdelay

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You'd have to ask them that. :) I don't pretend to know anybody's motives but my own, and since, as I've mentioned, I have nothing against keeping the EXIF data, I'm probably the wrong guy to ask.

Posted 2 years ago #
heartyfisher

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In another forum I frequent we have had this discussion before. The best reason to remove all EXIF data is so that when your photo gets stolen you can prove that it is yours by the EXIF data on your copy and the other photos in the sequence that only you have.

Posted 2 years ago #
poster

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I don't hide my exif data. I have no problem providing how I shot something. Or what lightning setup I used. But most of the time I am too lazy to write out or show you a diagram of the lightning set up. Besides lighting can be pretty easy to figure out.

Posted 2 years ago #
Pierre

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If someone comes-out with a very innovative way to trick the otherwise perfect-photo-auto-mode and produces a picture that has every ones scratching their head, then hiding how it was done can be fun too. Just like magicians hiding how their tricks are done.

I like to think that this site is where the magicians share their tricks. I really appreciate the mentoring I am receiving here and what I am learning keeps me coming back. I am sharing my learning with friends and saw their interest for the art increase alot. We are challenging each others and I find this a very healthy and fun exercise

Beside, knowing the tricks doesn’t automatically makes us good magicians. We can still be wowed by a good performance.

Perhaps it would be fun to start a "guess how I made that" thread.

Posted 2 years ago #
msmoto

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Well, here is a thread which starts out a bit with controversy, but, I am asking a question:

WHAT CAN YOU LEARN FROM EXIF DATA?

So, now that i have yelled this out, I will say this. By reading this, i can see where I might improve my own shots. Many times the data reinforces my way of doing a shot. Often I see a tweak that maybe I need to apply. So, if anyone wants to say they learn anything......

Posted 8 months ago #
spraynpray

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Funny you should resurrect this thread msmoto, I was just looking at a photo on PAD and went to the guys Flickr site as directed to see more, but the Exif data was missing.... :(

Sometimes it is very helpful to learn others techniques from the data - for instance, I have seen macro shots done at f2.8 and f4 that have a larger than expected dof.

Posted 8 months ago #
starralazn

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it is possible, spraynpray, that a tilt shift lens was used, at least in regards to the 85mm nikkor or even the 45mm nikkor. those are capable of 1:2 reproduction, and for most cases its pretty close to macro.

that being said they're a rather rare breed of lens, people would rather get the 2.8 zooms in the equiv range... so maybe people are just not telling the truth : /

Posted 8 months ago #
Yetibuddha

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Learning from the exif data, particularly about the exposure information, is important at times. But sometimes, processing for some reason strips off this information. I don't know why. Two of my recent PAD submissions do not have most of the exif data. Not sure why. I did not process these any different from others. Perhaps some one out in the cloud knows why photoshop sometimes strips of exif info.

Posted 8 months ago #

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Exif Info And Shooting Data "Honesty"

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