How is AI changing photography as a business?
A Pittsburgh headshot photographer’s perspective.
Hey everyone! Starting this month, I’m aiming to bring you one local, tech-related, personal story per month in addition to the usual Monthly Beat post. This first one’s from my friend Chad, who is an incredible photographer with a great perspective on AI usage in photography. You can check out his website here.
Enjoy!
—Austin
“AI” is the buzzword of today as companies and networking panels are excited to show off new features and speculate on the future, respectively. While many of the purported AI-use cases are still intangible, there has been a lot more recognizable use of AI in photography. These cool AI features are fun to play with and post on social media, but what effect is it having on professional photographers and their businesses?
The AI Already in Your Hands
Digital cameras and later smartphones have democratized photography. Look at any smartphone today, and you will see quite a bit of consumer AI technology already built into the native camera app. Whether it’s a sunny day in Point State Park or at a concert at Stage AE, the phone will detect the scene, optimize the capture settings, recognize every face that should be in focus, and blur out the rest. Give it another second and the app will adjust the image further to give it a little extra life, labeling each person by name and placing that photo into a curated album. All this AI running in the background makes photography simple, but realistically has had minimal effect on professional photographers.
The Rise of AI in Professional Photography Workflows
For years, professional camera gear lagged the technological leaps of smartphone cameras. But every new professional-level camera comes built-in with AI autofocus technology that functions at speeds needed for professional sports. Subjects can move in and out of a frame and remain in focus, eyes can be selected as focus points and there are even options for differentiating vehicle types. Before you would need quick fingers to adjust focus points and shift with subjects. With these new AI-enhanced systems, it is easier than ever to successfully photograph a wedding or shoot a portrait session.
Perhaps post-production is where we’ve seen the more pronounced advancements and use of AI. Returning from a wedding with thousands of pictures used to take hours or days to comb through—now it can be done in less than an hour with AI-assisted selection that can detect closed eyes, blurry photos, and even different image compositions. Pittsburgh-based wedding photographers have told me that AI-assisted selection alone has given them an entire day back with their families.
Editing and retouching workflows have been enhanced too. There are advanced masking features in most major image editing programs that can detect not only the subject and background, but also select the eyes, mouth, hair, and even whether a person has more masculine or feminine characteristics. It is now even possible to adjust facial features, generate a smile, straighten teeth, and fix receding hairlines with just a few sliders. What used to take hours or outsourcing to a retoucher now only takes minutes.
No feature has captured headlines more than the use of Generative AI where something is created from a text prompt. It’s easy to create a photo where a Lamborghini is driving down the side of an active volcano using OpenAI’s DALL-E 3. It’s also easier than ever to remove objects, backgrounds, fill in hair gaps, and de-wrinkle clothing in Photoshop. Overall, AI tools are a boon to most professional photographers.
How Pittsburgh Photographers are Using AI
I am bullish on the use of AI in photography, especially when it comes to streamlining our workflows and delivering a higher quality product. But I also believe that AI is going to run some photographers out of business. AI is a tool that enhances the final product, but photography is more than the final image. It is about the human connection and the experience a professional can create.
One of my local wedding photographer friends takes the most amazing photos. He uses AI to help him—from focusing and suggesting settings during the shoot to selecting the best photos and batch editing them days later once the cookie table goodies have digested. But those amazing photos are the result of the experience he delivered to his couple, largely based on his personality. Months prior, he was planning their wedding day, easing their nerves as much as possible. On the wedding day itself, he gets the groom pumped up, makes a fool of himself to the bride and bridesmaids, and is dancing with guests at the reception. He made himself an integral part of the day by being human rather than standing on the side, snapping photos from a distance, and hoping for the best.
In my work as a local professional headshot photographer, I have never been worried about the use of AI headshots on LinkedIn. They filled a gap in the low-end market for those who want an inexpensive, quick, and perfect headshot. This does, however, mean they have to accept the unintended implicit biases of AI such as lightening of skin tones, slimming figures, and perfect skin that lacks details, realism, or a natural expression.
When a client walks into my headshot studio, they are often nervous, shy, and feeling unphotogenic. It is my responsibility to create a space where they feel comfortable being themselves and coach them into an authentic expression. Those who have never worked with a great headshot photographer may not realize that a good session is a luxury experience where everything is crafted to make the client look and feel their best—something that AI will never be able to fully do.
Some Photographers Won’t Make It
The days of needing advanced technical skills as a photographer are over. Anyone with a camera can get pretty good photos and then use AI to make them shine. The photographers that charge low prices and deliver average photos will be out of business in a few years. But professionals who focus on the experience they provide to a client—they will continue to thrive as they focus on being what AI can’t be: human.
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