Can EXIF be removed after processing?

Hi all,

A fellow photographer told me that even if you save EXIF data in your final image, there are programs out there that can remove it. Is this true?
I tried searching, but could not find anything that looked like it could strip away the data.

I was curious as I always save EXIF data for proof of copyright. Any feedback would be great!

Yes there are.

Here's just one example

http://www.superutils.​com/products/exifclean​er/

Also, I seem to remember that the standalone version of Noiseware also strips EXIF data. It's not a difficult thing to do.

Pete wrote in post #8806368
Yes there are.

Here's just one example

http://www.superutils.​com/products/exifclean​er/

Also, I seem to remember that the standalone version of Noiseware also strips EXIF data. It's not a difficult thing to do.

Damn! I figured as much. What is the best way to protect copyrights on images?

It is even worse than you think. There are programs that will put a new Exif in a tif or jpg file, overwriting the original. So an image thief can have his name, copyright and camera serial number in the Exif of your image.

tzalman wrote in post #8806602
It is even worse than you think. There are programs that will put a new Exif in a tif or jpg file, overwriting the original. So an image thief can have his name, copyright and camera serial number in the Exif of your image.

Great!

All you have to do is open any image with exif info in Photoshop and save for web. The exif is stripped out.

Exif is nothing but a mere convenience, you can't count on it for anything.

I've never used it before but you can try: http://www.phibit.com/​icemark/

So...it seems the safest solution for protecting your work is tiled watermarking?

There is invisible watermarking that can be done.. supposedly works very well. Only problem with that route is that there is no visible deterrent to the thief. They'll see the image and use it. The invisible watermarks are really only there to help you track your images down and enforce your rights.

Honestly, this is a hot topic here, but I feel that if someone grabs one of my images, they are no bigger than 1024 (which wouldn't even make for good desktop wallpaper nowadays) so I'm not too worried with the casual theft by Facebookers and MySpace snatchers. They're going to steal anything not bolted down anyways, so who cares. I only get concerned if Walmart or another similar entity grabs and uses my images. And then, I'd have an easy case, so it's worth going after to me. Otherwise, not so much.

Some others here feel that their downsized 175px images splattered with an obnoxious watermark in the middle of the image, protects them. More power to them, I guess.

Todd Lambert wrote in post #8809164
There is invisible watermarking that can be done.. supposedly works very well. Only problem with that route is that there is no visible deterrent to the thief. They'll see the image and use it. The invisible watermarks are really only there to help you track your images down and enforce your rights.

Honestly, this is a hot topic here, but I feel that if someone grabs one of my images, they are no bigger than 1024 (which wouldn't even make for good desktop wallpaper nowadays) so I'm not too worried with the casual theft by Facebookers and MySpace snatchers. They're going to steal anything not bolted down anyways, so who cares. I only get concerned if Walmart or another similar entity grabs and uses my images. And then, I'd have an easy case, so it's worth going after to me. Otherwise, not so much.

Some others here feel that their downsized 175px images splattered with an obnoxious watermark in the middle of the image, protects them. More power to them, I guess.

I totally agree with you, but... This still sucks!

AxxisPhoto wrote in post #8810184
I totally agree with you, but... This still sucks!

Theft sucks. But it's been around... pretty much since the beginning. Pictures are just one more thing to steal. You can be paranoid and lock everything down tight ... but that isn't very fun. You can show off your pictures, have some fun, but then have the risk of a picture getting stolen.

As long as you don't post anything close to the original file online, of a picture you don't want stolen, I wouldn't spend too much time on it. Life's too short.

outbri wrote in post #8810390
Theft sucks. But it's been around... pretty much since the beginning. Pictures are just one more thing to steal. You can be paranoid and lock everything down tight ... but that isn't very fun. You can show off your pictures, have some fun, but then have the risk of a picture getting stolen.

As long as you don't post anything close to the original file online, of a picture you don't want stolen, I wouldn't spend too much time on it. Life's too short.

I know. I was just thinking about this the other day. Of course I have all the raw files so I not really worrying about it too much.