How to find out which settings you actually use

Your photographs record how they were taken. Reading that back across hundreds of them tells you what to buy — and what not to.

Every photograph carries EXIF metadata: focal length, aperture, shutter speed, ISO, lens and body. Individually it is trivia; across a whole library it is evidence about how you actually shoot, as opposed to how you believe you do.

Step-by-step

1. Add a batch of photographs. They are read locally.
2. Read the distributions of focal length, aperture and ISO.
3. Draw conclusions about what you actually use.

What the distributions tell you

Focal length. The most useful. A zoom whose use clusters at both extremes suggests two primes would serve you better. A cluster at one end suggests the zoom range is wrong for you. Photographers regularly discover they use a 24–70 almost entirely at 24 and 70.

Aperture. If you bought a fast lens and shoot everything at f/8, you paid for something you do not use. If everything is wide open, a faster lens might genuinely help.

ISO. A distribution pinned to the maximum means you are short of light, and that is a case for a faster lens or better high-ISO performance rather than more megapixels.

Use it before buying

This is the honest answer to most gear questions. "Should I buy a 35 mm?" is answerable from your own library: if a substantial share of your keepers are near 35 mm, yes. If almost none are, the lens will sit in a drawer.

Analyse keepers, not everything

Run the analysis over photographs you actually kept and liked. Including everything you ever shot measures your habits; including only the successes measures what works — and those are different questions.

Frequently asked questions

Are my photos uploaded?

No. The metadata is read in your browser and the images never leave your device.

Which focal lengths should I look at?

The distribution across images you kept and liked. Clusters indicate the lenses worth owning; a flat spread suggests a zoom genuinely suits how you work.

Does EXIF include location?

Frequently, if the camera or phone recorded it. That is worth knowing before sharing photographs, and the metadata remover on this site will strip it.