Another audio-post with full-written text
Some things *I* learned about photography - Pt.26Â
46. The value of EXIFs and my presumptuousness
I already wrote about EXIF-data in a previous post (link) in which I tried to explain, how looking at EXIFâs helped me to improve my knowledge about analyzing pictures and the look of them.
In short: By looking at the EXIF data of a picture, you can find out, which camera settings were used in a certain shot and so maybe find out, why a picture has a certain look. I also emphasized, how the âwrongâ settings didnât give me the look I wanted in a certain picture and how I would do things differently today (I completely missed the point, that Iâd even process the picture very differently today)
Iâm heading in a different direction in this post. I made a habit of looking at the EXIF data of every picture I really like and I learned two things:
In many cases the provided EXIFâs where quite a surprise for me, because they were completely different than I expected. I often wonder why certain settings were used and with my âknow-it-allâ attitude that I sometimes fall back in (Iâm working on it. Promised!) I shook my had not only once. "Come on! Why did you use that aperture?", "You could have cranked up ISO much higher in that shot!", "Why the heck did you use such a fast shutter speed?" What I did, was exactly what I judge others for: I implied that other photographers donât do things for a reason. I mean, I was not there. I donât know, what the circumstances were, how the light was, if they used a tripod or not, etcâŚ
So by realizing that and also realizing that this all had to do with pictures I liked, I learned a second thing:
With settings, itâs exactly the same as with all ârulesâ in all artforms:
Following the rules is a good starting point. Follow the rules when they give you the results you want. Follow the rules if you are unsure or follow the rules if you donât have the time to play around.
But forget about the rules and go crazy to really make pictures that stand out. Great pictures are not dependant on following rules.
So, actually realizing that all, freed a lot and maybe - some day - Iâll be able to shut my head off and go further in âexperimental photographyâ without thinking too much.
Iâm working on it. Promised!














