How can I tell whether a photo was taken in Manual or Auto mode?
Asked 12/3/2013
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My daughter and I used the same digital camera, and I may have switched it back to Auto for some shots. Her class requires that submitted photos be taken in Manual mode. Is there a way to check after the fact whether specific images were shot in Manual, Auto, Program, Aperture Priority, or Shutter Priority?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
12y ago
2 Answers
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For an image taken with a digital camera this information is stored and very easily accessible. What mode the camera was in such as Auto, Manual, Program, Aperture Priority, or Shutter Priority and more information can be found using the EXIF data that is stored along with the image. It is all included in the image file such as a .JPEG file in what we call metadata.
What exactly is stored in the EXIF data is outlined well already here:
The easiest way to view the EXIF data is actually an online tool: Jeffrey's Exif Viewer
Downloadable software is also available in many forms to view EXIF data if you are going to be doing it more often, such as EXIF Tool, or essentially any quality photo editing software.
Originally by user4892. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user4892
12y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes. On most digital cameras, the shooting mode is recorded in the image’s EXIF metadata. You can inspect the EXIF data for each photo to see whether it was taken in Manual, Auto, Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, and sometimes other settings such as metering and focus mode.
You can view EXIF data with many photo apps, including the camera maker’s software, Lightroom, IrfanView, or dedicated tools such as ExifTool or online EXIF viewers. Be aware that some programs don’t show every EXIF field, so if you don’t see the shooting mode in one app, try another.
As an extra clue, some cameras use shutter speeds or apertures in automatic/semi-automatic modes that aren’t selectable in full Manual, which can also reveal that a shot wasn’t taken manually.
This works only if the original file still has its metadata intact; some editing, exporting, or social media sharing can strip EXIF data.
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