
EXIFs store metadata - or data about your photos’ image data - so that you can group them based on certain criteria, like GPS location, time and date, or even specific camera settings. The EXIF file format makes storing and retrieving your photos as easy as possible. They’re useful in a variety of scenarios, including:

Whether you’re a professional or a hobbyist, EXIFs are great documentation tools for photographers. Like TIFFs, EXIFs store image metadata, but their purpose is related to storage and cataloging ease instead of the image editing and manipulation capabilities of TIFFs. Almost 30 years later, today’s EXIFs hold a range of image or video metadata - including photo and audio data.ĮXIFs borrow much of their file structure from TIFF files. Over the following decade, more versions were released with additional data features. Created by the Japan Electronic Industries Development Association (JEIDA), this file format initially stored basic metadata (that is, data about other data - in this case, image data) such as date and time information, plus a small thumbnail to view the image in a folder structure. You might also encounter audio data like decibel range, bitrate, or mono/stereo information for any video footage in an EXIF file. But some people prefer to remove the EXIF file before loading their personal images to a website to protect any personal information, like their GPS location.

If you see a photo on a website that you want to find out more about, you can often access EXIF data if the website is using the original photograph file. It’s useful for photographers to learn how to read and understand the EXIF format to make cataloging your images easier. This makes it easier to filter photos on your storage device by particular image characteristics. An EXIF file holds all the information about the image itself - such as the exposure level, where you took the photo, and any settings you used.

Almost all digital cameras create these data files each time you snap a new picture.

EXIF (Exchangeable Image File Format) files store important data about photographs.
