Methods and systems for operating x-ray system. One system includes an x-ray source having a plurality of exposure parameters and a controller for the x-ray source. The controller for the x-ray source is configured to receive image characteristic information and automatically adjust the plurality of exposure parameters based on the image characteristic information. The image characteristic information can include an identifier of a predefined sequence of images, an identifier of an image type, a set of values of the plurality of exposure parameters, and a unique identifier of a holder for an x-ray receptor.