Metadata in digital photography. Important ExiF - how to view EXIF ​​directly in the browser. Online services for working with EXIF

Today we will answer such questions: what is EXIF ​​data and where can it be viewed. Why is this information needed and how useful are the hidden metadata added to images by the automation of a digital camera? - This and something else will be discussed in the text.

Every photographer knows that any frame has hidden information about itself. This data is, in essence, an image passport. It is hidden in an EXIF ​​file (English abbreviation - Exchangeable Image File Format) - in the metadata recording format, a kind of reduced copy of the file that comments on it, indicates authorship, describes the conditions for creation and much more, in fact, revealing its properties. The standard was developed by the Japanese company JEITA (Japan Electronic Industry Development Association) more than ten years ago. Initially, EXIF ​​was calculated so that printers accurately transmit colors from the original image when printing.

Today, a digital camera at the time of taking a picture automatically prescribes detailed information about the photo in an EXIF ​​file, which can be used both by the person himself and by various devices that work with images. The information includes the model name of the camera, camera settings at the time the shutter was released, image dimensions, shooting date, and more.

Why is EXIF ​​important for a photographer?

With the advent of digital cameras in a person’s life, a lot has changed: the availability of viewing the result, the costs and time for printing have decreased, it has become possible not to limit oneself in the number of frames without compromising the wallet, you can instantly share the resulting image and send it even to the ends of the world in seconds over the Internet, etc. But another significant difference between a film and digital image is that all information about the shooting parameters is written into the latter. And it is stored in the EXIF ​​file of each photograph. And now anyone can analyze the quality of images. EXIF data, such as aperture, shutter speed, focal length, ISO, white balance, flash, etc., are of particular importance when they are needed for educational purposes. For example, when shooting the same object under different exposure conditions, you can appreciate / see the difference.

Answering the above question, I want to summarize that the EXIF ​​of the image is needed in order to know under what conditions the image was created. And the photographer can use the data on it to analyze and improve his skills. For example, engaging in self-development to become a successful wedding photographer and professionally take pictures, you will want under what parameters this or that venerable photographer who posted his work on the Internet took the picture that interested you.

How can I view more information about a photo?

To do this is quite simple. In the Windows Vista operating system (both in XP and in Seven), you should right-click on the selected photo, in the window that appears, find "Properties", then open the "Details" tab. The process looks like this:

In general, web browsers, graphic editors, and specialized programs can read EXIF ​​information. So when buying a camera, you will surely find software created for a specific camera model, which will not only allow you to view images, but also open access to EXIF ​​data. However, I don't like working with such a product. And since the purchase of my first Canon EOS 10D digital SLR camera, I have never, with any serious intention, used the special software kindly provided by Canon.

However, the above two ways of viewing EXIF ​​information have a significant drawback. And it lies in the fact that it is impossible to conduct a comparative analysis of several images at the same time. In this case, EXIF ​​Pilot Pro (or EXIF ​​Pilot - the old version) - a product from the Two Pilots company, will help you. A fairly handy utility designed for analyzing, editing and creating shooting parameters. There is a version for Windows and Macintosh.

The program is easy to manage. On the left is a column of folders, in the center there is a list of images, on the right is a preview window, at the bottom of which is EXIF ​​data, they can be edited in batch mode. The advantages of the program include support for almost all graphic formats (JPEG, TIFF, PNG, DNG, NEF, PEF, CRW, JP2, CR2, MRW, ARW, SR2, ORF, RAF, PSD) and the ability to read various EXIF ​​information tags.

I will also mention another product - ACDSee PhotoManager, since many people use it in order to work with a large amount of images and somehow catalog them. This graphic editor allows you to perform a lot of image manipulation, but it is important for us to learn how to read EXIFs. Having opened the folder with photos in it and selecting a picture, right-click on it and click on "Properties". A new window "Properties - database" opens on the right. At the bottom, find the third tab called "EXIF" and get what you are looking for. In the same place, just below, you can always switch to the "Organization Panel" and the "Properties" panel. You will find that some fields of EXIF ​​information are different in color: some are white, others are grey. The latter cannot be edited, but the white ones can be changed by double-clicking on them.

EXIF and web browsers: EI, Opera, MF and Google Chrome.

As for Internet browsers, you should keep in mind:

Internet Explorer is not at all interested in the EXIF ​​display problem, throwing it into the trash. But in Yandex Photos there is still the opportunity to view the data.

Opera developers, on the contrary, are quite loyal to the needs of photographers. You just need to right-click on the image as usual and select its properties, and EXIF ​​will open.

In Mozilla Firefox, it is a little more complicated; here, if necessary, you need to install a plugin. This is done as follows: in the file line we are looking for "Tools" - "Add-ons" - "Search for add-ons". Then, there in the search bar we request EXIF ​​and click on "Add to Firefox". It will be either FxIF or Exif Viewer 1.55.

In Google Chrome, as well as in Firefox, you should additionally install a plug-in for displaying hidden information: Exponator. The tool allows you to independently configure the parameters that will display the data you need for the image. You can find the plugin here: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/npdclakkbcpndnjlnajapdlbdncpijdg?hl=ru

Cross-checking data is one of the most important aspects in the work of a media specialist. Our selection of simple online photo analysis services will help journalists and editors get more information about the image - the original source, location, name of the device on which the photo was taken, and so on.

One of the ways to verify the authenticity of an account in a social network is to analyze the photo content of the page. For example, an avatar.

You can find out if the image really belongs to this user or was taken from the Web, as follows.

1. Left-click on the photo and copy its address.

2. Open google image search and paste the link.

3. We get the result: the source of the photo, similar images, the date of shooting, and so on.

The tineye.com service works in a similar way, but the information here is collected in a more compact way. You can immediately see the date of publication of the image on various sites and even sort the results - “most modified”, upload date, image size.

Izitru.com analyzes the photos uploaded to the service. With it, you can find out if it is the original, which camera the image was taken with and where. The service provides information on the last two points only if the photo is uploaded directly from the camera, has not been processed before and has not been posted on the Internet.

When photographing on a camera or smartphone, additional data is recorded to the photo, such as the brand of the device, photo and equipment parameters, geographic data, and more. This is EXIF ​​data (Exchangeable Image File Format).

Metadata can be used by various software, Internet applications or other devices. This may be useful to the user.

Windows has a built-in tool that lets you view photo metadata. It is located in the properties of the image file, which can be accessed by right-clicking on it.

When the properties window opens, you need to switch to the "Details" tab, where you can read the EXIF ​​data.

Some data can be changed. To do this, click on the desired line and make edits. Then click "OK" to save.

And, of course, you can remove all metadata (by the way, removing reduces the size of the image, which can be useful). To do this, click on the link "Remove properties and personal information."

How to read EXIF ​​data online

By the way, in addition to working with meta, IMGonline can do a lot more useful things - resize images, convert, compress, apply effects, and more.

But back to the meta editor. So, you will see a "Choose file" button on this page. You need to click on it to download the image whose metadata you are interested in. Then you need to click "Edit".

You will see a list of received metadata. They can be modified and deleted.

How to read EXIF ​​data with a program

Install the program on your computer, run it. You will see a simple interface, where on the left in the "Folders" list you need to select the location of the photos. Their list will appear in the middle window, where you can select one or another file. And then, to see the metadata, you need to click on the "EXIF" button on the right, under the preview.

If you double-click on a particular property, you can edit it and save the modified file.

Hello everyone, the author of the blog site is in touch. When working with photos, from time to time you may come across information that photos have EXIF ​​- a set of data that a camera (or mobile phone) inserts into an image. Photo EXIF ​​data contains a variety of information about where (GPS coordinates) the photo was taken, when, with what parameters, etc. For social networks, EXIF ​​photo data is useful in that you can determine where the photo was taken from. For programs that work with photographs, some additional information from the EXIF ​​data of the photograph may be useful.

Information from EXIF ​​data is not visible under normal conditions, you need a special tool that allows you to view the EXIF ​​data of a photo. Or, it could be a software package that is used to manipulate images. And if you don't have anything at hand, then you can try some of the services that will help you view EXIF ​​data online.

EXIF data - their purpose and features

EXIF is an abbreviation of words Exchangeable image file format. It has quite a few shortcomings and problems, but the most fundamental problem is that EXIF ​​data can be a serious problem for privacy. As mentioned above, EXIF ​​can store information about your location at the time the image was taken, and a number of other data that should not be known to unauthorized persons.

The EXIF ​​standard has been used since 1995 (the origins of the project date back to the 1980s). Over the course of the year, a data structure was made, adding more and more information as the capabilities of the equipment and the requirements of photographers grew.

EXIF stores a lot of data, the most popular are:

• camera model
• date and time of shooting (accurate to the second)
• focal length
• exposition
• exposure compensation
• aperture number
• white balance
• ISO sensitivity
• metering mode (matrix, center-weighted, spot)
• exposure program (automatic and manual shooting mode, such as landscape, portrait, macro, etc.)
• flash information
• permission
• GPS coordinates
• software used to process
• photo comment
• thumbnail displayed on the camera's LCD screen and in browsers, graphic files

The EXIF ​​standard is so detailed that the official technical documentation is almost 200 pages long. For those interested in more details on this topic, you can follow the link to the publication in PDF format: http://home.jeita.or.jp/tsc/std-pdf/CP3451C.pdf. This is not just a fun read, but an understanding of the important parameters that are used when shooting. And it would seem that it is so simple ...

Given the above, on the one hand, it is desirable to delete EXIF ​​data and, therefore, most social networks destroy EXIF ​​information for a reason (it would probably be more appropriate to say that it deletes from a photo, but the data received is undoubtedly stored very well and uses). EXIF information is missing from photos on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. But the information is stored in photos in Google+ (Google Photos). The amount of information in EXIF ​​depends on the capabilities of the camera, camera or mobile phone - location information can be turned off when taking pictures.

You need to know that EXIF ​​information was originally intended only for working with files, later, this standard spread to RAW, but other graphic formats (directly and initially) do not support it either. Some photo manipulation programs, especially those that are simple in nature and are only used to rotate, reduce (etc) a photo, corrupt the EXIF ​​data - it's up to you, if you want to keep the original EXIF ​​information about the photo, then you should do manipulations with copies of pictures.

On the other hand, information from EXIF ​​can be useful for photographers. A lover of taking pictures can always "peep" what camera parameters were used when creating a particular picture.

Programs for working with EXIF ​​information in photos

In fact, a program for working with EXIF ​​data and information from photos is a large amount. There are also simple ones that allow you to only view part of the information, without the possibility of editing. There are also programs for working with EXIF ​​that show a complete list of data with the ability to edit it. However, from a large number of such tools, two can be distinguished that allow you to view information in full and change metadata.

Opanda PowerExif program for editing and viewing EXIF ​​data in photos

Opanda PowerExif is a program that allows you to read and edit Exif information obtained from photographs and other graphic files. It is an invaluable tool for graphic designers or photographers, allowing them to control the amount of information they want to convey with the publication or distribution of a graphic file.

Immediately after turning on the Opanda PowerExif program, we have the opportunity to open a graphic file in which we need to view or edit metadata. With one click, we can limit the amount of information displayed to the person responsible for graphics editing, the data read from the camera's GPS receiver, or both. In addition to the make and model of the camera that the photo was taken with, Opanda PowerExif displays not only basic exposure information like shutter speed, aperture size and sensitivity, but also data that no other photo editor can see. Available, in particular, information from EXIF ​​about the name of the software with which the photo is copied from the camera to the computer, settings, quality improvements, or the model of the lens used for cameras with removable lenses.

All Exif data from a photo can be removed using the built-in tool.

Exif Pilot program for viewing, editing and deleting EXIF ​​information

Exif Pilot is an EXIF/IPTC data editor for Windows. The application allows the user to copy, modify, add or delete tags responsible for storing various information about image files (camera settings and settings at the time of shooting, geographic location, date). The tool has a user-friendly, easy-to-use interface, which consists of several main parts: a menu, a directory structure explorer, a list of images in an open folder, a small preview window, and a metadata editing window.

The main features of the Pilot program:

• Work with popular graphic formats is supported (JPEG, TIFF, PNG, DNG, NEF, PEF, CRW, JP2, PSD, ORF, SRW, EXV, CR2, MRW, ARW, RAF, RW2, PGF)
• display standard file information (full path, name, location, extension, size, time)
• photo thumbnail preview
• editing EXIF ​​and IPTC information using the properties panel
• viewing XMP data
• export/import of information for Microsoft Excel, XML, CSV formats
• support for export templates
• access to the Windows Explorer context menu
• several configuration options (the ability to customize the sequence and content of individual categories, tags, automatic creation of EXIF ​​thumbnails if they are missing, enable/disable unknown and system tags)
• convenient to work with dates and geographic data
• built-in predefined values ​​of some tags

Exif Pilot supports the Russian-language interface and offers a little help.

Other tools for working with EXIF

To view EXIF ​​data and information, you can also use various online services or browser extensions.

Examples of online tools for viewing EXIF ​​data are Jeffrey's Image Metadata Viewer (regex.info/exif.cgi ) or View and remove Exif online (www.verexif.com/en/ ), but there are actually many more similar online services for viewing EXIF ​​information. Such online services work in such a way that you either need to upload the photo itself or provide a link to the image somewhere on the Internet.

For browsers, there are plug-ins / add-ons that allow, after installation, to view EXIF ​​information about the photo we are looking at in the browser. There are also a large number of them, and everyone can find a suitable tool.

• You should not rely only on the information received from EXIF ​​- do not forget about the "properties" of the document in Word, here you can also peep anything you like, including GPS coordinates. It is just a computer file and the EXIF ​​data can be changed at any time.
• Not every camera model supports all information. Someone allows you to save more, some less, professional cameras allow you to add notes or automatically upload any additional information and texts to photos.
• Exif data is often stored in the original image and can be removed during editing - it all depends on the image editor used.

Many manufacturers of cameras and video cameras offer their customers special programs that can also work with EXIF ​​information.

ShowExif is a small utility for viewing the metadata of digital images taken with professional cameras.

Usage

This software is hardly useful for your daily work with the camera. However, sometimes it can be no less useful than the popular image editors and image converters that you use almost every day. The need to view metadata, access to which the utility provides, may arise for various reasons. However, the most popular of them is getting acquainted with the "mileage" of the camera.

Capabilities

ShowExif does not require installation as it is portable. After downloading, you can run it and start using it right away. To view the number displayed in the shutter closing counter, first take a photo from the camera and download it to your computer.

To do this, use a RAW image format. After taking a picture, open it using the utility in the browser. After that, all the necessary information will be displayed on the screen. The "Total Number of Shutter Releases" item displayed on the left side of the table is what you need. Look at the number in the line opposite it - this is the mileage of your camera. All metadata can be copied, deleted and saved to disk. Additionally, you can "attach" to them first photo.

Key features

• displays EXIF ​​left by photographic equipment from the most popular manufacturers;
• allows you to copy, delete and save metadata to disk and clipboard;
• to view the mileage of the camera, a picture in RAW format is required;
• fully translated into Russian;
• does not require additional installation in the system, can be stored on a removable drive;
• available completely free of charge;
• performs a quick export of Thumbnails to disk;
• allows you to view the mileage not for all cameras, but only for those that have this counter;
• works on all versions of the Windows operating system.