You'll find the photography-related stuff after I unabashedly ask you to do one more thing during your busy day.

I'm not a politician, but I'm asking for your vote! 

And I promise, regardless of who wins, I won't question the outcome, ask for a re-vote, storm the offices of the Washington City Paper, or try to overthrow their management.

So click the green, square "Best of DC 2023" graphic and vote for the Sam D'Amico Photography Classes in the Washington City Paper's Best Art Class category. 

Thank you.

Hello , 

First, I wanted to give you a heads-up that an Introduction To Photography class starts this Sunday, June 4.  

Class sizes are kept to five people to ensure each participant has the needed attention so they know and understand what they're doing regarding camera operation and composition. 

I've also stocked the class cupboard with other classes for June, which you'll find at the bottom of this email. 

And now, onto today's topic, 'EXIF data".

And while it might not seem like the most exciting topic, It's important because it helps us understand the cause and effect of camera operation and composition.  

When we review our pictures on our digital camera or photo editing software on our computer, we can also check the EXIF data.

And if we're using film, we'll need something to record our "EXIF data" by hand, such as a pen and paper.

On a digital camera, the EXIF data sticks with our file (our picture) and should also be viewable in whatever photo editing software we use on our computer.

When using our camera, this is usually called "file Information" and can be viewed while reviewing our pictures on the LCD screen on the back of our cameras. 

The EXIF data shows us information about the creation of the photograph.

And, if we're learning photography, this information is helpful because it tells us the exposure mode, exposure settings, ISO, metering mode, white balance, and other information that went into creating the picture we've made. 

In other words, this information is the why. 

It's why the picture came out the way it did. 

Is our work too dark, too bright, too blurry, too noisy, etc? 

The reason why is in the EXIF data.  

This is a great tool when we're learning photography. 

When we look at our EXIF data and review our pictures, we’ll learn to be a better photographers because we’ll learn about what settings were used in creating the image.

Below you'll see the EXIF data attached to a picture I made.

Now, remember that this is ALL the data viewed in editing software. 

When viewing this information on the back of our camera, a lot less data may be viewable.

But that's ok. 

It's still in the file, and when viewing our pictures on the back of our camera, we're usually only interested in seeing the information involved in OUR role of creating the image. 

That would include but isn't limited to exposure mode, exposure settings, ISO, metering mode, and white balance.

Below is the EXIF data attached to one of the pictures I made. 

The highlighted areas are the stuff that I think are most helpful in learning photography. 

EXIF

These emails come with the intent of helping you be a better photographer. Here's an archive of them at the "Newsletter Hub." 

Ways To Learn Photography With Sam