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Image Metadata

What Am I Really Sharing?

Metadata

In photography, metadata is information your camera creates about the photos it takes. Metadata can include information about:

  • the location where a photo was taken
  • the camera that took the photo
  • the date the photo was taken
  • the camera settings that were used when the photo was taken
  • whether the flash was used
  • the ISO speed and aperture

The metadata for a photo will look different depending on the image's properties. Below are examples of metadata you might pull from an iPhone camera or from a DSLR camera. 

iPhone Camera Image

To see the metadata for an iPhone image that you have pulled onto your computer:

On a Mac:

  • open the image
  • click Tools > Show Inspector

On Windows:

  • right-click the file
  • select Properties > Details

Decorative: Image of rocks on a beach with sea turtlesDecorative: image of descriptive text for the photo including brightness value, color, date / time, etc.

Try it out! : Online photo

Image of cat

Try it out! Click the image to see this photo, from a free stock photo site. Try downloading the photo on to your computer (you can delete it later) and finding the metadata, or try looking for the metadata on a photo that you already have.