EXIF- Is it important to you and why?

[iCe]

Wayne- If that's supposed to be a shot of a duck on a june bug then I think your settings were off

I would still find Adams' EXIF data to be a useful tool for comparing/contrasting/studying

As you noted- he did so much in post processing that I don't know if his "EXIF" would help much (I wonder if he kept notes? I think that I know someone that I could ask). It's kind a cool mind exercise though and for me it further supports the somewhat uselessness of EXIF. If I shoot an image and end up pushing it a stop or so in ACR and moving the black point up a little... maybe adding in some contrast.... slide the white balance a little toward warm or cool... etc then the viewer "thinks" that the EXIF is telling them how the image was shot and what it's really telling them is how the shot was screwed up

[LanceHaynie]

Originally Posted by iCe

the EXIF is telling them how the image was shot and what it's really telling them is how the shot was screwed up

+1

I rarely (maybe 5 times tops) look at EXIF data. If I want to mimic a shot I much prefer to use an example and then try to duplicate how I think it was done. I love using other photographers work as inspiration; but rarely am I interested in copying it exactly.

[Jake]

I like looking at the EXIF. But I don't look it so I can copy the shot, I just like to know more about the photo.

It would be nice if I could just look at a photo and say "oh, that sure is pretty" and move on. But no, I get all OCD and want to know as much as I can about it.
I'm very techie and love knowing what lens, camera and setting were used and all that fun stuff.
Of course it's not everything and in the end makes little difference, but it does give a glimpse at how the photo came together(or why a photo failed).

And like other have said, it makes giving a critique easier. Sure, if people posted all the info it wouldn't matter, but more often than not they don't.
I try to always leave the EXIF in my photos.

[venchka]

Originally Posted by iCe

Wayne- If that's supposed to be a shot of a duck on a june bug then I think your settings were off

Say what?

[studiocygnet]

Actually, I have found looking at the Exif info in Adobe Camera Raw is handy for processing reasons. For example, I did a portrait session a couple weeks ago that started about 4:30pm along the edge of a lake. I switched lenses several times, and kept bumping the ISO up as it got darker. Also used fill flash on some parts of the session, but not on others. So when it came time to do some batch processing and apply the same settings to multiple images, I could see exactly where I switched things up. Makes it easier to see where one batch ends and the next starts, and might possibly need an adjustment to the settings applied.