In recent years, there’s been lots of talk about the potential – and possible danger – of artificial intelligence. Most people fall into one of two camps; those who are excited about the ways AI could make life easier for humans, and those who fear its ever-evolving capabilities. Will it replace humans in tech jobs? Will it compromise our security? Those are questions I can’t answer. What I do know, at this point in time, is that AI isn’t going away any time soon.
Photographers and AI
As the technology becomes more widely used, especially in art and design fields, it has become clearer that there are both pros and cons to using AI. The key, it seems, is to learn how to use it to supplement your own skill and creativity, without relying on it too heavily.
Earlier this year, Adobe rolled out a beta version of Photoshop with generative AI capabilities. Almost immediately, photographers and tech reviewers took to the internet to test-drive the program and share their initial thoughts with their followers. Overwhelmingly, the pros agreed that it was a game changer, but not always consistent.
The Not-So-Good News
The generated images were pretty hit and miss, and it could take a couple tries to get the results you want. Things like hands and feet often come out looking pretty wonky, but if you ask the program to replace your dull field and grey sky with a mountain range and sunset, you might just get a beautiful photo.
The experts are warning, however, that photographers may run into problems legally if they’re using generative fill for any kind of work they intend to sell. The technology works by sourcing imagery from the internet. That means that any elements that Photoshop adds to your image was once part of someone else’s. So if you’re looking to avoid being sued for copyright infringement, maybe the beta program isn’t the best tool for you.
The Good News
As far as I can predict, AI is never going to put wedding photographers out of business. Sure, technology may be able to conjure up a photo of you and your partner in a tux and gown, but it wouldn’t be real. People are always going to want the big things in life to be captured authentically. Your family photos may not be in a physical scrapbook these days, but even digitally, they’re still photos of your family – not a Frankensteined collage of body parts slapped together by a computer program.
So maybe we don’t need to be afraid of losing our jobs to AI. Maybe, we just need to learn to coexist with it, because not all AI is the same. Photographers like Sven Malojlo have released preset packs for Lightroom and Adobe Camera Raw that make use of AI. Malojlo’s Honey Hue preset pack comes with 48 AI masks. The technology recognizes things like backgrounds, skies, and individual people and their features, so that you can adjust specific aspects of your photos without disturbing the rest of the image.
Personally, I see AI as a tool to be used to enhance art, rather than as a tool to make it for us. For now, I suggest checking out preset packs with AI toolkits, like the Honey Hue pack, instead of asking the Photoshop beta to put a mountain range in the photo you took in a park. Because let’s face it, you’re already making beautiful art, and your clients will always appreciate the authentic experiences you capture for them!