Rant

[PacNWMike]

[RANT] Why do people strip exif on a photography forum??[/RANT]

 

[Deleted member 20897]

They may not realize that they are doing it. The way they save or process the file might be stripping the EXIF.

They may be trying to get rid of personal information, some cameras/programs allow you to add in copyright info, name, address and hey may not want that out there. While it is possible to only mask out that data, they may inadvertently be killing all the EXIF data.

Some people are arse nuggets and think the way they shoot/post process contains some kind of "secret sauce" and they don't want others to copy it....so they start killing off the data trail.

Some are beta testers for different camera companies and may not want to let out what camera they are testing.

I'm sure there are other reasons, just the ones that came off the top of my head.

 

[bredman]

I've posted a fair few images here. When they were posted you could click through them to Flickr and access all the info. Now i'm back after a few months (of trauma) this is no longer possible, at least on the dozen or so i've checked -- there is one however that quite randomly still works that way!

I assume the platform change has left a few glitches.

 

[TNcasual]

I use Flickr. It appears that how an image is uploaded to Flickr greatly affects what/how the exif data is included. With iPhoto the lens information may or may not be included. Uploading directly with the website seems to keep all data. Using the Flickr app, most everything is included. Yesterday, I processed in image in the VSCO app and uploaded it directly to Flickr from the app, and no exif transfered. If I save the image out of VCSO and then use the Flickr app to upload, it included all the exif.

Maybe someone else can make sense of it.

 

[tkbslc]

[RANT] Why do people strip exif on a photography forum??[/RANT]

I prefer people look at my images and not my gear.

Also, some EXIF data can contain personal information (Real name, GPS, etc)

 

[MadMarco]

Some people are arse nuggets

Yup

 

[davidzvi]

When I export from LR for clients I strip it out. If I'm exporting it for a forum type post it's 50/50 I remember the switch the export options.

 

[PacNWMike]

I prefer people look at my images and not my gear.

Yes, I generally just look at images but when one stands out for some reason I like to find out something about the "secret sauce".

And I must admit that I'm guilty of posting photos with stripped exif. PSElements resize for web is the chief culprit. However I doubt my sauce recipe is in much demand

 

[budeny]

My hosting Smugmug.com has a bug that strips some (but not all) EXIF info on the resized images (ISO, aperture, exposure compensation)

 

[flamingfish]

Can we have another option for "realizes that it happens, but is too clueless to figure out why?" When I upload directly to Flickr from inside Lightroom, the EXIF appears. When I export the files and then upload to Flickr, the EXIF goes away. I admit I haven't bothered to investigate my export settings to see if it's something that I set and then forgot, or some default that I can change.

 

[Deleted member 20897]

Yes, I generally just look at images but when one stands out for some reason I like to find out something about the "secret sauce".

And I must admit that I'm guilty of posting photos with stripped exif. PSElements resize for web is the chief culprit. However I doubt my sauce recipe is in much demand

"secret sauce" is for people that have very little confidence or too much ego in their photography ability that they think someone is going to steel their idea and run them out of business or something. I share everything I do. That other person still needsto go out there and do it!

That's not the case at all. I'm not sure if there are people here that remember the whole Dave Hill debacle - where there were plug in and programs and photoshop experts all trying to re-create the look he got. That lasted all but a few months and now no one really cares.

These things are fleeting and short lived. Think about the greatest photographs you've every seen since the camera obscura through today. I'd bet that the majority are great because of the subject matter and what it means to you, and very little having to do with what darkroom technique was used, which version of photoshop or if it was printed on Kodak, Fuji or Illford paper.

Don't ever sell yourself short. While you may not think that some things are worth a damn now...that is just one opinion. Ask the subject of hte image what they think. Photographers sometimes get way too caught up in the technical aspects of this thing we do and forget that there can be genuine emotions invested in creating the image, feelings roused by those who look at them or those that the subject represents.

I took a picture years ago with a Nikon D50 and Tamron 28-200mm lens. You could buy that whole kit now for probably $200. I would not put it up for any competitions, I wouldn't put it in my portfolio, hell...no ever sees it but myself and my family. It is one of the most valuable images we have. The subject? 4 matriarchal generations on my wife's side of the family. My wife's grandmother, mother, her and our daughter. It was the last image that they had taken together. Can't put a price on it, can't go back out and re-create it. It's worth more to my wife and mother in law than all the money I made since starting my photo business.

Never sell the images you make short.

 

[barry]

Exporting a 16-bit TIFF or PNG out of a RAW Processor to an editor will lose the EXIF. Happened to me on a image I posted a few days ago, but I did post the F#, shutter speed, ISO, and lens info.

Barry

 

[OzRay]

I think you'll find that it can happen when using certain plug-ins or actions. Though I don't really know why the EXIF is that important.

 

[m43happy]

Why does it matter if someone strips the exif? I always just say it's their own prerogative.

I prefer people look at my images and not my gear.

This. I've stripped the data when I've posted on other photography forums (where a lot of times people talk down on m4/3 b/c of the sensor size) so people are less concerned about the gear and pay more attention to the photo.

 

[coffeecat]

...Though I don't really know why the EXIF is that important.

Yeah - I sometimes sneak a look on Flickr to see what camera and/or lens was used, and then I hate myself for doing it, since it doesn't and shouldn't matter!

 

[agentlossing]

Flickr links are the way to go, that way I never have to worry about storage and it links directly to the image with all of the EXIF.

 

[PacNWMike]

"secret sauce"

The sauce I'm mostly interested in are the basics. Shutter speed, f-stop, ISO, lens, etc. Sometimes I'm surprised what a P&S can do for example. Or lens characteristics. One can learn a lot here. Don't really care what your kit looks like.

 

[StefanKruse]

As new to the game I always look for the sauce as well as the pots and pans. Same reason I follow groups that are dedicated to a certain lens or body, just to see what others are achieving with similar gear. I use that a lot for inspiration and to control GAS ,... it constantly reminds me that I still have so much to learn using the lenses and bosy I already have available.

 

[OzRay]

That's why I always try to remember to include the camera and lens used whenever I post a photo. In my view, aperture, shutter speed etc are irrelevant, as they are all situation dependent and can't be replicated. And if you use manual lenses, the EXIF shows nothing.

 

[tkbslc]

Yeah - I sometimes sneak a look on Flickr to see what camera and/or lens was used, and then I hate myself for doing it, since it doesn't and shouldn't matter!

I like it on Flickr because it lets me search for lens samples. It matters when I'm deciding if a lens is going to work for what I am interested in it for. So I might search for "Olympus 60mm outdoor portrait" or something.