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Will AI image generation ultimately ruin our love for photography?

Dec 12, 2022 by Alex Baker 9 Comments

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There has been so much discussion recently about where AI imaging technology is going to leave the photography and other creative industries lately. It almost feels as though you cannot go online without reading about it (yep, guilty of adding to that, sorry, not sorry).

But in amongst those usual arguments are some not so often talked about points of view. In this video, Taylor Jackson brings up the elephant in the room when it comes to AI, which he believes no one is really addressing.

Jackson predicts that AI imaging will even disrupt personal branding photography now that everyone can create their own avatar-likeness for mere pennies. But that’s not the issue here. The crux of it, says Jackson, is that AI will ultimately rob us of the very joy that photography brings us.

For example, he believes that you’ll invest a couple of years learning photography, and go to Iceland in order to capture those epic images that you see online. But you’ll be sorely disappointed because your images will in no way ever stand up to those images created with the help of AI that you’ve become accustomed to seeing.

It’s an interesting point of view. However, I think that maybe he just isn’t quite getting the point of why most of us create anything.

For the majority of us, photography isn’t just a job. Heck, there are way better ways of earning a living, trust me. And that goes for most of the arts. I don’t earn a living from landscape photography. It is something that I love to do in my free time. It pushes me to explore places and get outside in the fresh air and get my body moving. No AI is going to replace that for me.

Most of the time, I go out to take photographs, and I come away with maybe just one or two passable images each time. Sometimes I don’t shoot anything that I like. And that’s ok, I am happy with that. I will certainly not be crying into my thermos flask about how I cannot match the images I’ve seen online. And I won’t be making them up, either, like “Snow-leopard-Gate”.

We are already inundated with impossibly beautiful images online that have been ‘tweaked’ by Photoshop and other post-processing. I don’t think that this is a valid concern about AI. The invention of photography didn’t see a stop to people enjoying learning to paint, just as the move to digital didn’t completely stop people from shooting film.

Digital drum machines have been around for decades now. And they are very, very good. To be able to play some of the grooves you hear on a real drum set takes years of practice and high amounts of skill. But it doesn’t replicate the joy of learning something, of mastering a skill. There is still plenty of opportunities (paid and otherwise) for drummers out there.

After 30-plus years of playing the instrument, I am still not tired of trying to improve at it. Humans thrive on overcoming challenges. This will not change. If you’re going to give up after a year because you’re not any good, perhaps that particular thing wasn’t for you.

Jackson thinks that the biggest challenge will be our “mental competition with ourselves,” as he puts it. That has always been the case, and it is what drives us to get incrementally better each day. My goal is to be a better photographer today than I was yesterday. That is all.

There will be a shift, given, but we must remember that the beautiful part of creating, is the process. If you love the process, nothing can take that enjoyment away.

Will you quit photography just because AI is easier?

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Filed Under: news Tagged With: AI, Artificial Intelligence, landscape photography

About Alex Baker

Alex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

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Alex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

Dave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

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