How to Read Photo Metadata

Open the photo editing program you use to edit your digital pictures. Highlight one of the images in the browser and right click the image and select "Properties" from the drop down menu.

Observe the window that opens up. Depending on the program, you may have a further choice to select "Metadata" or the window may contain a long list of fields with values in them. Generally, starting at the top will be the "Properties" section that gives you information about the file such as the file name, size, date created, date modified and image type.

Scroll down to the next section that is usually the IPTC (International Press Telecommunications Council) fields. IPTC was created by major news agencies around the world as a standardized way to catalog images and information about them. These fields generally contain information about the photographer, the source of the pictures, copyright and contact information.

Move your cursor to the next field that contains data created by the camera, also referred to as EXIF (EXchangable Image File) data. This data is all created by the camera. It contains basic information such as the make and model of the camera, the type of lens used and whether the flash was used or not. It also contains more detailed information including exposure program, resolution both in width and in height, metering mode, white balance, shutter speed, aperture setting, ISO settings and if any exposure compensation was used. It can also include GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) information if the camera is set up to record that type of data. All of this information is useful for photographers and editors when they are working with the images after they have been shot.