Whenever we see a photo we really like and want to recreate ourselves, one of the most tempting things to do is to ask what camera settings the photographer used. Here is why that’s actually the wrong question to ask the majority of the time.

Coming to you from Craig Roberts with e6 Vlogs, this great video discusses the pitfalls of asking what settings a photographer used for an image and why it’s better to ask them why they used those settings instead. If you follow any photography groups online in which people post their work, I’m sure you’ve seen that the first comment on almost any good photo is someone asking what settings the photographer used. And while it can be somewhat instructive in certain instances to know those, particularly when an image has an unusual process of creation, photographers tend to oversell just how crucial knowing the EXIF data is, as if it’s a magic recipe that will unlock that great photo. The truth is that there’s a myriad of factors and decisions that go into making any good photo, and the final basic exposure parameters are just a small piece of the puzzle. Check out the video above for Roberts’ full thoughts.