AI is getting SMART! We used to think augmented reality, then VR and the metaverse was the future. Not anymore.  A new version of Chat GPT has recently just launched and to say I’m blown away is an understatement. So much so I’m personally going to be investing more time and effort into AI and it’s relationship to photography, creativity, and how it can best help me produce images.

That sounds like a profound statement, I know. But hear me out. When digital photography first came around in the 2000’s, it was totally dismissed by most people. Those early adopters embraced the new technology and flourished. Those that didn’t, DIDN’T. Just look at Kodak. Once the giant of the film era, now… I will add though that I’m now one of those that kinda hates adopting new tech. I LOVE new tech, but having to integrate or change everything to accommodate, not so much.

If we take a quick look at which companies are investing heavily into AI, we can see Adobe has added a tonne of features into photoshop and light room, and has just announced a platform called firefly which is all about generative AI artwork! What this fully means, I’m not yet sure, but having the option to type in a phrase and have a computer literally generate the artwork for you is crazy!

There are other platforms that have been focusing on AI for a while, for example, Luminar. Which, when first released had a fair amount of criticism for “having the computer edit for you”. Things like sky replacements could be done in seconds, and alot of people saw this as cheating. Then photoshop came out with the same feature. Whether this is still considered cheating or not, it has opened up alot of options. A few years on and Luminar Neo has plenty of AI tools to help edit and creatively control your photos in a few clicks and sliders. 

Then we have the likes of retouch4me. I keep debating buying a few of their products as it will make portrait editing so much faster, but it the letting go of control part I can’t get over. Retouch4me is another suite of AI plugins aimed, as the name suggests, at retouching (portraits). With just a quick run of the plugin, skin blemishes, dodging and burning, masking, and even backdrop cleaning, can all be achieved in next to no time. Whereas manually doing all of these will usually take me at least 30 minutes. On single images it’s not so bad, and I even enjoy it. But on a set of 30, it adds up so fast. Asides from the cost, I’m apprehensive about giving up my control over retouching to an AI program. But it’s so good I’ve been tempted!!! 

The rate at which these AI tools are progressing is insane. Generative tools that last year made very obvious AI looking art are now, 6 months on, creating art that is indistingusibale from real artists. Understandably this has gotten people both scared and excited about the future of photography and art in general. There’s going to be people that hate everything about this new era we’re entering into. Others will be thinking that using AI isn’t real art, and using it as a tool is just basically cheating. You need to earn your stripes and go through all the hardships of learning how to use a camera, lighting, photoshop etc. My personal viewpoint is that I’m glad I’ve had to do it all that way. I’m glad I’ve learnt how to retouch photos with frequency separation, dodge and burning, everything before AI and even mirrorless cameras were a thing. It’s giving me a wealth of understanding I wouldn’t have been able to achieve, and the experience to be know when, and how to implement specific tools. But that’s just the editing side of things!

I’m really excited to start using AI generative art with my photography! I get random ideas all the time, so being able to plug them into a generator that’ll be able to throw out an image or images of my idea and seeing the results instantly, with amendments made in real time, is going to give shoots a drastically new direction. Especially if you cant find existing examples of the idea. But not only that, 15 minutes searching for that specific inspiration, or 2 minutes generating inspiration. 

Of course big businesses will utilise this kind of thing too and inevitably some photography jobs will get taken over. Think commercial catalogue jobs where a company is spending 10k for a season of products on a model on white seamless. Those will get swallowed by the AI tech. It’s unfortunate, but that’s just life. Other jobs, like weddings and events, won’t be affected. AI cannot replace that kind of work. AI can assist in adding an expedient workflow, added products, etc, but it’ll never take them over. 

“Real” photographers will always still be in demand though! People will always want the personal and creative aspect that comes with an actual photographer. Just the same as people still want drawings and paintings, even though they have a phone in their pocket with cameras that are more than capable.

I think we’re in for another massive shift starting this year. It’s going to be super interesting to see how things develop. As I said above, I’m personally going to start using some AI generative tools to see how it compliments my photography and hopefully improve it. I think this AI in photography and art trend/era is something we all need to embrace and adapt to quickly or fall behind the curve.