A.I. love it or hate it, it’s here to stay. As photographers we can use it as a powerful tool, to mask photos, reduce noise or even to inspire or teach us. We can also use it immorally by adding things to images that were never there, or even by passing off A.I. images as real photography.
Unfortunately A.I. imaging – I will not call it photography – will only continue to grow. But does that mean as photographers we must stand by and idly watch our hobby or profession fade into obscurity? Far from it, now is the time for real photography to shine and we are the makers of our own destiny. But to do that, we must be prepared to push our own creative boundaries, develop our own individual looks and style. Today, I would like to look at why developing your own style is vital in an A.I. world.
The TikTok Factor
Our journey starts not with A.I. but with social media. Social media is driven by algorithms. The more people like a particular style of image, the more the algorithm feeds it to them.
As photographers we naturally gravitate to beautifully composed and well crafted photos. We have a keen eye for what’s good and what’s not. However, we are a small minority on social media, a tiny percentage.
The vast majority of people driving the algorithm on a place like TikTok are non photographers. They tend to lack the critical eye that we possess and will click on any image that looks striking. Note the word striking, not good. This is why our feeds are often an endless stream of very similar image types and styles. Over saturated aurora, super moons, lens balls and overly dramatic skies.
Because of this, a certain sub section of photographers produce 30 second reels or shorts, telling newer, younger photographers exactly how to produce this or that look. No consideration is given to settings, light, location or skill, just follow this and you will get this picture.
This, by its very nature, leads to more and more striking yet creatively dull images, all of which feed the algorithm. Which leads us to A.I.
You Are What You Eat
A strange analogy for A.I. you might think, but bear with me. Most A.I. engines train off of images and image types that are popular online. They scrape social media feeds and other popular online resources. Remember when it was popular to make a post saying “I do not give Facebook permission to use my photos”? Well, the people that posted that were correct, although by joining Facebook or any other social media site, they had already given their permission.
Before the advent of A.I. We all thought that FB et al might use our photos to make money through advertising products. But that was a little naive, there is very little demand for a picture of Aunty Beryl's dog on the side of a jar of pickled gherkins.
Social media knew A.I. was coming, they knew they would be sitting on a huge resource of photography and just like your data, they knew they could sell it.
So, you are what you eat? The A.I. companies are eating the images on social media, put simply they are scraping the very same images that social media made popular. Because of that, A.I. images are homogenized, striking but sterile looking with very bland stereotypical styles.
I am sure you have seen plenty of A.I. images online and as photographers we realise straight away what they are. The majority don’t though, they don’t see that these images seem to portray absolute perfection in an utterly imperfect world. They don’t see the entirely wrong perspectives or wording, they just click like.
We Must Be Individual
So where does that leave us photographers? It leaves us as the guardians of reality. We might have to accept that social media is lost to the bland, uncreative and visual pulp fiction. It’s a battlefield that we will never fully regain.
Instead we must continue documenting the real world, showing our peers, friends and family our creativity and skill – just like we used to before social media. We must exhibit in galleries, enter competitions, have our work peer reviewed.
Our photography should be intentional not algorithm driven, we should go out to photograph the things we love, document the things that inspire us and not shoot the stereotypical merely for likes and shares. We should be developing our own, unique styles, capturing reality, shooting the imperfections and making them look amazing.
A photographic style doesn’t develop overnight, it takes months, probably years of honing what you are good at and spotting trends in your own photography.
But that’s a key point in the difference between A.I. and real photography. As photographers we control a narrative, a story built up over time a near endless stream of moments in time. We are documenting history, a reality that A.I can never match.
A.I. can create a perfect sunset, a beautiful kitten playing with a ball, a stunning Alpine landscape, but none of those ever existed. That sun never set, it never set in any location. That kitten was never born, it never found joy in playing with that ball. That Alpine landscape never took anyone’s breath away. It was always and always will be a series of 1s and 0’s born in silicon.
Photography will always have that emotional connection with reality. It might be the utter sadness of Phan Thi Kim Phuc’s plight in Vietnam, the mesmerising eyes of McCurry’s Afghan girl or the simple pleasure of your own kitten playing with a real ball.
A photographic style is what sets us apart as photographers but also sets apart from A.I.. It’s our fingerprint, our DNA. It’s what makes people stand up and say, yes I know that photographer.
A.I. can never have that. No one is going to be able to say that’s an amazing image, I know exactly who typed it. An A.I. artist is never going to develop a style because they are literally being defined by computer algorithms.
As photographers we owe it to ourselves and our peers, to go out and photograph the things that we love, develop our own unique styles and looks and record the beauty of the real world. That’s the way we will keep photography alive.
