EXIF is very useful for reconstructing shooting conditions, but only up to the level your camera actually records.

Besides the basics, EXIF can sometimes help you learn:

• which focal lengths you use most often
• whether aperture choice affected depth of field or vignetting
• whether shutter speed was too fast/slow for motion or camera shake
• whether ISO explains visible noise
• focus mode, and on some cameras even focus point or focus distance
• exposure compensation, metering, white balance, self-timer, and other custom settings
• lens used and time between shots, which can help you study changing light

Its limits: EXIF is not universal or complete. Different cameras write different fields, and some details may only be present in JPEGs or maker-specific tags. If a setting isn’t recorded, you can’t recover it later.

For your example, the EXIF field “Exposure Program = Normal Program” does not clearly distinguish Program mode from a broader automatic mode. In standard EXIF, that tag does not tell you “Program vs Auto” reliably, though some cameras may add extra maker-specific scene/mode information.