A guest post by Photographer Brand Ambassador Brodie Turner
If you are an avid Adobe user, as 82% of photographers are, then you’ll likely be well aware of the generative AI tool now in Photoshop and Lightroom. When this first came out, I’ll be honest, I was a little wary of it due to the power it carried. It seemed as if even the most beginner photographers could walk outside and take a picture of their backyard, take it into Photoshop, work a little AI magic, and create an incredible landscape photo that Ansel Adams himself would want autographed. As evident in this image here that I took from my phone at 11:22am in my backyard in Wilmington, NC.
There is definitely a healthy balance to where generative AI can be used to help photographers and make our jobs much easier but not to where our photos are altered entirely. Where is this healthy balance though? Here are my thoughts:
I have found incredible use in the generative AI tool for removing both small and large spots in my photos that I need gone. I take many photos of small waves and sometimes water droplets and even swimmers can ruin my entire frame, but I am able to remove them with ease and speed now as opposed to the clone stamp or a content aware fill. I will say that when it comes to removing small areas, I do not recommend using generative AI and instead would use the spot remover in Lightroom because it takes away the extra two steps when analyzing. When you are going through many photos at a time, two extra steps is something for which I personally do not have all the time in the world.
When removing large areas, generative AI has quite honestly been a game changer. As I previously wrote, there are times when swimmers get in the way of my photos. Take for example this photo of a local surfer at Wrightsville Beach…
A great photo with someone directly in the foreground. Surfboard noses are very particular and have a specific shape to them depending on each board, so clone stamp or spot removal was not an option. Generative AI gave me this result in one click…
When I sent the photo to the surfer, he did not even realize the nose of his board had been AI generated.
Changing unwanted parts of an image is where I start to be a little cautious. For example, sky replacements, removing telephone wires in a real estate shoot, or any alteration of the subject itself is where I personally consider the change from “Photography” to “Digital Art.” I am not suggesting there is anything wrong with digital art, in fact I will use those tools in many of my works especially for a paid client who does not want those objects in there and they want it altered, but I do not anymore consider it a “Photograph.”
Lastly when it comes to altering images entirely I will only use this similar to above, if it is a client who makes the request, but I do not consider it my own personal photography. Take for example this photoshoot I did with Odysea.co…
The request was to have horses in the background in order to fit the theme of the jacket. The entire background of the photo was generative AI created. It began as an apartment complex in the background of this photo. Do I consider this my personal photography work/style? Not necessarily. Do I consider it wrong or bad? Not at all. It is simply a different style of photography in the realm of Digital Art. I will make it happen upon request, but I wouldn’t choose to do this in my own personal work.
AI in photography has its own pros and cons, I would also never dare say that what I write here is the ultimate truth, they are merely my own opinions. I doubt that there ever will be an ultimate opinion to be truthful. I love using it for small and large removal of objects that do not alter the subject of my photo, and will use it for altering my subjects only when my client has requested it. To each their own, but AI in photography is definitely here to stay. All I ask is that instead of going to your backyard and generating a dream photo, take that trip you’ve always wanted, and see it for real. That will always make your photos a true extension of your own view of the world.
