Has artificial intelligence technology taken over photography? No, it hasn’t, and it probably never will. But here’s how AI has been helping you behind the scenes.
Artificial intelligence (AI) will probably be the biggest buzzword in the world of photography and technology in 2023, and will continue to be a widely discussed topic in 2024. This stems from the fact that there are mixed reactions in the industry regarding the emergence of AI. They developed tools for photography and raised the question of whether this type of technology could put photographers’ jobs at risk. But much of the wariness and resistance to this type of technology often comes from photographers who don’t fully understand what AI actually is and what it actually does. A discussion of this can get too deep into technicalities, but for the sake of a simple discussion, let’s start by saying that AI won’t mean robots will take our jobs.
Watch the video below for a discussion between myself, landscape and travel photographer Elia Locardi, and portrait and wedding photographer Ziggy Alejandrino about how AI has impacted post-production workflows. Masu.
Artificial intelligence in various forms
AI comes in many forms and is currently being applied to photographers’ workflows. But from a broader technology perspective, artificial intelligence can be seen as a more advanced and complex level of computing processes that can be applied to everything we do on our digital devices. In some ways, this technology is not new at this point. At best, they have matured to become more competent. AI was introduced in smartphone cameras at least seven years ago as a type of enhanced image processing through scene detection and local adjustments. This early form of AI in smartphone cameras was an improved version of the automatic mode found in almost all cameras. Scene detection provided excellent photometry and color processing. This allows smartphone photographers to use cues to detect scenes and match the settings and adjustments that can be applied to the detected scenes, allowing them to take better photos without the need for too many edits or adjustments. It has become virtually easier to do so. scene. In recent months, smartphones such as Samsung’s new S24 series have been equipped with AI-powered editing features, making it easy to remove objects and even subjects from photos taken with your smartphone.
In conventional interchangeable lens cameras, AI processing has been introduced into Sony’s focusing system, and was first introduced with the Sony α7RV. From personal use, it was clear that this form of AI improves the processor’s ability to detect and track selected subjects through Eye AF tracking. Instead of simply detecting and focusing on the subject’s eye position, the AI processor can now predict and track the movement of moving subjects and focus faster. This reduces the chance of losing focus. some frames. This has since been made available for other cameras released and is now offered by other camera brands as well.
AI in post-production
In post-production, however, AI takes more diverse forms. A variety of tools are emerging that introduce AI processes into various steps of post-production. Some tools use AI to automate the process of developing RAW images. These tools use AI-powered scene detection to apply the appropriate exposure, color, and contrast processing for a given shot. Some tools use AI to detect skin elements that are commonly removed during the retouching process, reducing the time it takes to edit portraits. Some tools offer exponentially higher accuracy in cloning and filling identified spots on surfaces.
The thing to say about AI in editing is that these tools are actually hardly new. For decades, photographers have used tools such as content-aware fills. It’s just a more intuitive version of older tools like the Repair and Patch tools. With smarter AI features, this has evolved into a removal tool. This is a much smarter version of the previous tool that more effectively preserves detail and continuity of the visual elements used.
As a landscape and architecture photographer, I personally use tools such as the Pen tool, Magic Wand, and Lasso tools to selectively edit and blend images to create a single I’ve experienced having to trace the sky in an image for hours on end. new sky Over the past few years, this has become easier with smarter “sky selection” options and semi-automatic sky replacement modules that allow users to select any image to use as the sky for the photo they are working on. Contains images that are (presumably) legally acquired for use for that purpose. This ultimately automated a process that used to take hours and reduced it to seconds. Using these tools and generative fills makes the process more efficient and incorporates options generated from images that appear to be consensus-referenced. That being said, all of this was technically possible in Photoshop in the past. The difference lies in the speed and accuracy with which the tasks are performed.
Generative AI and photography
Perhaps the form of AI that will cause a lot of concern is the generative form of AI that has the ability to create illustrations, either as stand-alone images or as part of the photo being edited. It cannot be denied that there are cases where AI-generated images have been misused in photo contests. There have also been calls for commercial campaigns to promote the use of AI-generated illustrations, especially for brands that sell tools for digital artists. In the wrong hands, AI could be used to deceive, mislead, undermine photographers, and, on a larger scale, spread disinformation. It cannot be denied that there is.
However, for now, it doesn’t seem like AI tools can do anything that creative humans can’t do. If anything, it just runs faster, not necessarily better. While the core of AI is to emulate human reactions and automate things that were previously possible only through human work, the effectiveness of what is done with AI (at least from my perspective) is It seems to me that it depends entirely on the intentions of the people who created it using AI. Anyone using it or the image. This simplifies this advanced artificial intelligence technology, created from learned neural responses, as just a tool. From this perspective, AI tools are still tools, just as a hammer can be used for both construction and destruction. This is where laws, regulations, and ethics need to intervene. To prevent this new tool from being used to cause the same old harms we have prevented in the past.
The impact of AI on photography
The possibilities that AI brings are limitless, and like any technological advancement, it is almost impossible to constrain. Improper use can definitely lead to unfortunate situations and that is where the importance of human intervention, regulation and government involvement lies. It’s up to all of us to intervene in how generative AI can be used for malicious purposes. and prevent this.
On the other hand, AI tools in photography offer many possibilities. Like any other tool, AI can greatly improve the efficiency of your work as a photographer. Inside the camera, AI helped minimize the influence of luck and increase the accuracy of the camera. In post-production, AI tools can do days’ worth of work in minutes if used properly and directed to achieve the right results. Photographers who shoot in RAW no longer have to spend hours developing their RAW files or using presets that still need tweaking, but this allows the photographer to establish a consistent style and orientation. This is possible only if there are Portrait photographers can now retouch their subjects more efficiently based on style, preference, and the extent of processing they choose. Commercial photographers can now do everything they’ve been doing in Photoshop for the past few decades in a fraction of the time and with much more precision.
Authenticity never loses its value
As a landscape photographer, I can say that in some ways, before the dawn of photography, landscape photography was as much of a threat to landscape painters and visual artists as AI is today. However, there seems to be little conflict between landscape painters and landscape photographers. Because both demands are simply based on the preferences of completely different audiences. At the same time, the most constant challenge as an architectural photographer is that clients spend more on photographing the actual structure rather than using already available design perspectives that existed long before the building was constructed. It is to have them spend it on. In this case, AI-generated images seem less threatening than other ways to describe architectural projects.
I personally believe that authenticity, especially the value of having authentic images of people and events, will probably never diminish, especially for portrait photographers, wedding photographers, and event photographers. AI, especially generative AI, will undoubtedly raise ethical dilemmas in terms of the crisis of disinformation and misinformation, and it does, but overall, even in the age of advanced technology, photography It is the art form most likely to maintain truth and authenticity. As long as the line between art and documentation is kept clear.
But for individual photographers, considering this not-so-new technological advancement and also the human intervention, AI tools offer two options. You can spend less time editing and take on more clients and shoot more, or you can spend less time editing and have more time for yourself outside of work. If anything, this may be a reminder that most of us may have started learning photography to take pictures, not to edit them. So technology takes over most of the (yet) necessary steps of the process and focuses on the creative side.
