Photo Stats

Photo Stats is a Python script designed for photographers to analyze their photo metadata (EXIF) and generate detailed statistics about their work. The script scans all files (RAW and JPEG) in a given directory and its subdirectories, groups them by folder and base filename (preferring RAW files when available), and extracts key metadata fields. It then stores these values in a SQLite database to cache results for faster subsequent processing.

Features

• Recursive File Scanning: The script scans the specified folder and all its subfolders for images with allowed extensions (RAW and JPEG).

• Grouping & Deduplication: Files are grouped by their folder and base filename. If both a RAW and a JPEG version exist for the same image, the RAW file is preferred.

• Metadata Extraction: Extracts key EXIF metadata such as:

  • DateTimeOriginal
  • Camera Model
  • Lens Model
  • ISO
  • Shutter Speed (ExposureTime)
  • Aperture (FNumber)
  • Focal Length
  • Flash status
  • White Balance
  • Image Resolution (ImageWidth x ImageHeight)
  • Focal Length (35mm Format)

• SQLite Caching: To speed up subsequent runs, the script stores the extracted metadata in a SQLite database (photo_stats_cache.db). New files (i.e., files with new absolute paths) are added automatically.

• Statistics Generation: It aggregates the metadata into statistics (e.g., the number of photos taken each year, by camera, by lens, etc.) and displays them in a clear format.

Requirements

• Python 3.x Ensure Python 3 is installed on your system.

• ExifTool The script relies on ExifTool to extract metadata. Make sure it is installed and accessible via the command line.

• SQLite3 Python's built-in sqlite3 module is used to manage the cache database.

Installation

macOS / Linux

1. Install Python 3 (if not already installed): You can install Python 3 from your package manager or download it from python.org.

2. Install ExifTool:

   • On macOS using Homebrew:

     brew install exiftool

   • On Linux, you can install ExifTool via your package manager (e.g., sudo apt install libimage-exiftool-perl on Debian/Ubuntu).

3. Clone this Repository:

   git clone https://github.com/neo22s/photostats.git
   cd photostats

4. Run the Script:

   python3 photo_stats.py /path/to/your/photos

   If you omit the path, the script uses the current directory.

Windows

1. Install Python 3: Download and install Python 3 from python.org. During installation, check the box to add Python to your PATH.

2. Install ExifTool:

   • Download exiftool.exe from ExifTool's website.
   • Optionally, rename it to exiftool.exe and place it in a folder that's in your system PATH (e.g., C:\Windows\).

3. Clone this Repository:

   git clone https://github.com/neo22s/photostats.git
   cd photostats

4. Run the Script:

   python photo_stats.py "C:\path\to\your\photos"

   If you omit the path, the script uses the current directory.

How It Works

1. Scanning and Grouping: The script recursively scans the given directory and groups files by their folder and base filename. This ensures that if both a RAW and a JPEG file exist for the same photo, only the RAW file is processed.

2. Metadata Extraction: Using ExifTool, the script extracts metadata from each image. The data is normalized (e.g., focal length values are formatted uniformly, white balance values are grouped).

3. Caching: All metadata is stored in a SQLite database. The script checks for existing entries by file absolute path. If an entry exists, it is used; otherwise, the file is processed and added to the DB.

4. Statistics Generation: Finally, the script aggregates statistics from the metadata (e.g., photos per year, by camera, by lens, etc.) and prints the results in the terminal.

Credits

Developed by @chema_photo – Follow me on Instagram and YouTube! More info about the script can be found at chemaphoto.com.

Feel free to open issues or contribute to the project. Happy coding and happy shooting!