Where Is Photography Going In The AI Age
Hi ChatGPT, can you write me a nice blog post about what the raise in AI generators and software additions means for photography and ultimately where it will take our beloved craft? Then at the end of it can you write my signature sign off at the start of a blog, let's talk about it.
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You will have to take my word for it but this is not AI, I am writing this myself. I just wanted to try and be smart and witty with the intro. I probably failed miserably but oh well. Anyway, AI and photography and what does it mean for this craft we love and is it going to kill the profession? Well nobody knows really, you can only guess but I do feel that there are some things within photography that AI just can't replace or replicate so that gives me massive hope.
I would say that I think AI threatens many of the professional genres of photography such as product and food photography. These genres are often very expensive to construct a shoot with props and products or cooking a whole lot of food to be photographed, so the potential for these businesses to save huge money and get their images through AI is definitely very appealing to them.
Fashion and model based photography could also be in trouble due to how good AI has become at generating people. Im not sure what the brand was (maybe Adidas), but a large brand developed an ad campaign fully through AI, not a single real person, product or backdrop. ALL AI, my mind was blown!
Genres of photography that are real events such as weddings or news photographers are probably safe as I'm not sure how AI can replace these or make them better in anyway. Photography that documents places and people as they are, so reportage style work and documentary photographers are probably safe, because sure you can prompt AI to make something similar but it isn't the actual thing for records and history.
Landscape photography is one of the hardest areas to detect AI. Im convinced that some people are selling or at least insinuating that their work is real and yet at least part of it is AI if not fully generated in some way. I think this has really cheapened landscape photography however, I think it has boosted the popularity of YouTube channels who actually take you on their adventure and you see them capturing the shot they show so you know it's real. Channels such as Thomas Heaton do this really well.
Street photography I think has taken a slight hit from AI with people generating those typical street scenes with the silhouettes and small dark alleyways etc... however, similarly to genres that aim to document events, street photography will remain due to people needing to capture life as it is and as it was, but I think AI will try and take over the fine art area of street photography.
With all that said, let's look at a few things that I feel AI will never be able to replace or replicate and why photography, in my opinion, isn't going anywhere!
Being In The Moment
One of the things I love most about photography is the actual time spent shooting. Being in the field and seeing with your own eyes what you want to capture and make images of. That can never be replaced by AI. Is it possible that AI could make or generate a better image than I am able to construct in my camera? Yes quite possibly but I would much rather be out in the world gaining life experiences and seeing amazing things than sitting in a dark office with a few plants for company and telling an AI engine what I want a picture of. Im sure that gets some people excited but I would like to hope that most people would take the approach I much prefer and get themselves out into the world.
Human Connection
One of the most impressive areas of AI imagery I've seen is portraits, or people in general. Holy cow, some of the images generated are straight up stunning, so much so that you could never get close in the real world. Just like the ad campaign I mentioned earlier. That's all well and good but, you never actually got to meet the person in the image. Something I love about my project Silent Conversations, is I remember the interactions with each of the people I photographed. Some very friendly and welcoming having chatted with them for a good while, some not so much and a simple smile or acknowledgment and they move on. It doesn't matter how the connection was, it was a human connection that AI obviously doesn't give you.
Remembering the Scene
Another thing about photography that I love is when you look at your images it casts your memory back to that moment. Granted, some images stronger than others, but still that feeling of remembering what it was like on that day at that time is so precious. My favourite example of this is my image from the Lake District in England. I have a blog post about this image HERE which explains more detail. This image casts my mind back to a time that this image really meant so much to me. AI again will rob you of these feelings. No doubt in mind, if I asked AI to make a shot of the Lake District in the evening with autumn colours it would create a better image, but I don't care because I wouldn't have the memories and feelings that creating my image has given me.
Health and Wellbeing
Again something I feel very strongly about but in the current life we all live, I feel that most of us spend way too much time looking at screens and computers, myself included. Picking up your camera and walking out the front door is a very welcome break from sitting down and looking at the TV or laptop screen. Okay you could argue that the cameras now all use EVF's so that's a screen as well and you'd be right but I think the fact your out in the world and walking, exploring and being curious is so beneficial to you health and mental wellbeing as a human. We are not designed to sit still and look at screens, we are designed to be out in the world exploring and gathering, whether that is food, water, memories or in this case images. being outside is far better for us than sitting at home and asking AI to do everything for us. Hey AI can you generate an image of a man walking down a street, backlit by a nice light? NO NO NO, get out there and find that light and the man walking and capture it yourself!
To Conclude
I think AI will possibly eradicate certain professions such as product photography where it may be easier and cheaper to generate an image than have a photographer work for days or weeks to construct that same shot. I think the general idea behind what I'm saying is that photography is way more than the final image. Photography for me now is the whole process, the planning, the shooting and editing to a final product. This thing that we all love so much not only gives us images that can cast our minds back to certain times in our life but it gives us an excuse or a need to get up of our back side and walk out of the front door and into the world.
Ultimately I think now more so than ever we need to really try and connect with people and the world. Sitting at a computer and generating things that don't actually exist is not good for us mentally or physically. This is why I don't think AI will make photography go away and in actual fact may even cause a resurgence in photographers looking for and photographing those amazing life experiences and searching for those human connections that the camera so often gives us.
As always thank you for reading,
Arran.
