Kirsty Fairweather Photography

Photographic metadata offers a useful record of how an image was captured, even when the photograph itself is no longer on display. The details below describe a single image file and the camera settings used to make it.

The file

The image was recorded as a JPEG with dimensions of 4368 by 2912 pixels and an original file size of 3.38 MB. Its colour space was sRGB. The file was last modified on 10 September 2013 at 11:12.

Shooting conditions

The photograph was taken with a Canon EOS 5D at a focal length of 52 mm. The exposure was 1/125 second at f/20, with an ISO speed of 125 and an exposure bias of 0 EV. Both the exposure mode and exposure programme were set to manual. The flash was not fired, although it was in compulsory mode. The metering mode is recorded as unknown.

What the settings suggest

An aperture of f/20 is very small, which would produce a deep depth of field while limiting the amount of light reaching the sensor. The relatively slow shutter speed of 1/125 second and the low ISO of 125 would have helped compensate for that narrow aperture. A focal length of 52 mm sits close to the standard range, giving a field of view similar to that of the unaided eye.

The manual exposure settings indicate that the photographer chose the shutter speed and aperture directly rather than leaving either to the camera. The absence of flash, despite the compulsory flash mode setting, means the exposure relied on available light.