Guides
Practical, no-nonsense guides on EXIF data, ND filters, and getting the most out of your camera settings.
Camera Basics & Exposure
Setting HDR Exposure Stop Intervals with the Bracketing Calculator
Don't guess how many frames or how wide a stop interval a scene needs. Here's how to use the bracketing calculator to match frame count and step size to a scene's actual dynamic range, and preview total shooting time before you commit.
September 29, 2026 · 5 min read
Golden Hour and Blue Hour: When Exactly Are They? (With the Math)
What golden hour and blue hour actually mean, and how to calculate the exact windows for any date and location.
September 28, 2026 · 6 min read
How Wide Is That Lens, Really? Calculating Field of View in Degrees
"35mm" or "200mm" only tells you so much on its own. Our Camera Field of View calculator converts focal length and sensor size into an actual angle in degrees — here's how to use it and why it matters.
September 28, 2026 · 7 min read
Finding Your Camera's Diffraction-Limited Aperture (and Why It's Not the Whole Story)
Our Advanced DoF & Diffraction calculator shows the aperture where diffraction starts to soften detail for your sensor size, alongside the resulting depth of field. Here's how to read both numbers together.
September 28, 2026 · 7 min read
ND Filters & Long Exposure
Reverse-Calculating Shutter Speed with the ND Filter Long Exposure Calculator
Most ND filter math goes one direction: base shutter speed in, long exposure time out. Running it backward — target exposure time in, required base shutter speed out — is what actually saves you from wasted test shots in the field.
September 26, 2026 · 3 min read
Filter Stacking Guide: Avoiding Vignetting and Color Casts
Stacking ND, CPL, and graduated ND filters together introduces vignetting, color casts, and ghosting you won't see with a single filter. Here's what actually happens, with real numbers, plus the right stacking order and system choice.
September 14, 2026 · 4 min read
Graduated ND Filters Explained: Choosing Strength and Getting the Alignment Right
A practical guide to graduated neutral density filters — how to pick the stop strength and edge type for a scene, and how to align the transition line in a slot holder, with real exposure numbers.
September 13, 2026 · 4 min read
ND Filter vs Polarizer (CPL): Which One Do You Actually Need
An ND filter cuts light; a circular polarizer cuts reflections. They solve different problems, and picking the wrong one for the shot wastes money and time. Here's how to choose, with real exposure numbers.
September 12, 2026 · 4 min read
Photography Genres
Six Frames, Six Lessons: How Light, Timing and Composition Shaped Our Own Photos
A walk through six of our own photographs — a sunrise seascape, a backlit maple, a black-and-white ferris wheel, a calm lake skyline, an autumn waterway and a sun framed in a sculpture — and the planning behind each frame.
October 2, 2026 · 6 min read
Planning Memory Card Needs for a Trip with the Storage Calculator
It's easy to guess at how many photos you'll shoot per day on a trip, but multiply that guess by the number of days and your backup plan and the real number is usually much bigger than expected. Here's how to use the storage calculator's daily-shooting mode to plan cards and backups before you leave.
September 30, 2026 · 3 min read
Macro Photography and Diffraction: Why the Same Aperture Blurs Sooner Up Close
The same aperture that stays sharp at a normal shooting distance can turn soft the moment you move in for a 1:1 macro shot. Here's why magnification shifts the diffraction limit, and how to work around it.
September 28, 2026 · 3 min read
Why Macro Depth of Field Doesn't Behave Like Standard Depth of Field
Depth of field formulas that work perfectly for landscapes and portraits stop giving useful numbers once you're shooting near 1:1 magnification. Here's why macro DoF follows different rules, and what to rely on instead.
September 28, 2026 · 3 min read
EXIF & Sharing
Using the EXIF Remover Before Stock Photo Submission
Adobe Stock and Shutterstock's published guidelines focus on image quality and IP ownership and say nothing about whether embedded GPS coordinates or camera metadata survive into a buyer's download. Here's why selective removal — not full removal — is the safer habit for contributor files.
October 2, 2026 · 3 min read
Removing GPS Data Before Social Media Uploads with the EXIF Remover
Instagram and similar platforms strip GPS automatically on upload, but marketplace listings, personal blogs, and email attachments usually pass the original file straight through. Here's how to use the EXIF Remover's GPS-only and full-removal options correctly depending on the situation.
October 1, 2026 · 6 min read
GPS Data in Photos: What It Reveals and How to Protect Your Privacy
How location data ends up embedded in your photos, what it actually exposes when a photo is shared, and practical ways to check for and remove it before posting online.
August 28, 2026 · 3 min read
How to Add a Professional EXIF Frame to Your Photos
Why photographers add a camera-info frame to their shots, how to pick a style that fits the photo, and a step-by-step walkthrough using a free browser-based frame generator.
August 23, 2026 · 3 min read
Gear & Accessories
Choosing Lenses for a Crop-Sensor Body with the Crop Factor Calculator
A lens recommendation written for full-frame cameras doesn't carry over cleanly to a crop-sensor body. Here's how to use the Crop Factor Calculator to check real field of view before buying a lens, with concrete focal-length examples for everyday, portrait, and wide-angle shooting.
October 2, 2026 · 4 min read
Shutter Count Explained: How to Check It Before Buying a Used Camera
A camera's shutter count is the single best clue to how much life is left in a used body. Here's what it actually measures and how our free checker reads it straight from your file.
September 28, 2026 · 6 min read
How to Choose a Tripod: What Actually Matters Beyond the Spec Sheet
From load capacity and leg material to head type, here's a practical, numbers-based guide to what actually matters when buying a tripod, plus which combination fits travel, landscape, and long-exposure shooting.
September 17, 2026 · 4 min read
Storage & Backup
Printing & Output
Checking Wedding Album Print Resolution with the Calculator
A wedding album or photo book doesn't print one photo at a time — it prints dozens at once, and a handful of underpowered images can hold up approval for the whole book. Here's how to use the print resolution calculator, including for two-page spreads, to check every album candidate before handing files to a designer.
September 30, 2026 · 4 min read
What to Check Before Printing a Large Poster with the Print Resolution Calculator
Don't guess whether a photo has enough pixels for a large poster print, or which DPI to target. Here's how to use the print resolution calculator to find the maximum safe print size and whether you'll need to upscale.
September 29, 2026 · 4 min read
Lighting & Flash
Guide Number Math: How to Set Manual Flash Power Without Guessing
Your flash's manual lists a guide number, but turning that into "what aperture do I need at this distance" takes a formula. Here's how our Flash Guide Number calculator does that math for you.
September 28, 2026 · 7 min read
Studio Lighting Basics: Shaping Depth with Three-Point Lighting and Lighting Ratios
One light left half the face buried in shadow, and adding more lights just flattened everything out? Here's how key, fill, and back lights split the work, how the inverse-square law predicts exposure shifts, and how to calculate a lighting ratio that actually adds dimension.
September 23, 2026 · 4 min read
Flash Sync Speed Explained: The Hidden Shutter Speed Ceiling
Why flash photography hits a hard shutter speed limit, what causes the black band when you exceed it, and how High-Speed Sync (HSS) gets around it — with real exposure math.
September 22, 2026 · 5 min read
Tools & Alternatives
A Free ND Filter Calculator You Can Use Instead of ShootCalc
ShootCalc.com is a small, free web-based ND filter calculator with forward/reverse modes and filter stacking. Here's how ExifLens's own ND filter calculator compares, feature for feature.
September 28, 2026 · 6 min read
Free Alternatives to PhotoPills' Calculators: What ExifLens's Web Tools Cover
PhotoPills is a well-known paid photography planning app. If you specifically want free, browser-based calculators for exposure, depth of field, or astrophotography without installing anything, here's an honest look at what ExifLens covers — and what it doesn't.
September 28, 2026 · 5 min read