In the spring of 2022, almost one-year ago to the date, I first heard about AI (Artificial Inelegance) creating art, illustrations and photography. It all seemed a little Sci-Fi to me so I didn’t think much of it. Fast forward six months and the ability to use and create with AI was building momentum so I decided to try it out using a free online software version, Mid-Journey. It was entertaining for an afternoon, but after spending a few hours of experimental creation with the program, I wasn’t too impressed with he results.
What I had tried to create was an old wooden boat from biblical times floating on flat water after a storm.
The color and light of the images were impressive but when I imported the images into Adobe Photoshop, and really zoomed in, the results were not usable for the image I was hoping to create. At first glance, the images looked like a boat floating on the water but when taking a closer look, the boats were more or less a pile of sticks in a shape of a boat, not an actual structured boat.
I can’t say that AI was the problem, because it was also the first time I was creating with the program and being a novice at keying in the appropriate prompts to obtain the right results was definitely on me. As the creator I have to always take in my own ability for what is produced.
So without getting the results I wanted at first I didn’t attempt to use AI for any current projects I was working on and once again brushed it aside for at least a few more months.
Then all of a sudden, immediately at the start of 2023 my social media and anything associated with photography went crazy and everything I saw, read or heard being talked about in photography was all about AI.
Since the start of 2023 I’ve been using Mid-Journey AI to learn and create images and over the past several months there has been a wave of concern from the photo industry and photographers who believe their going to be replaced. Throughout my experience I don’t believe AI will ever replace photography but it will create voids in the genres of photography. More emphasis on fine art photography and documentary photography will stand on it’s own but commercial and conceptual work will take a blow because AI will the most modern tool available to creators to tweak alter and explore options in record time and effecting budgets that will not emphasize create worlds from behind the screen of a computer instead of exploring our own.
In March (2023) I was invited to be a panelist for the Ohio Valley ASMP Chapter to discuss and provide my opinion of how AI has effected my own work and how I’m using it in my work flow. Below is a link to watch the one-hour event.
ASMP: PHOTOGRAPHY IN THE AGE OF AI: WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
In the short amount of time that I originally created my first images to the images that are being produced have drastically improved in only a few months. Things are changing so fast and will continue to change as Mid-Journey just launched their 5th version of the software earlier this month.
As I dove deeper into trying to learn and understand the ability of AI, I found that it was difficult to get exact results and the only way to produce the image I originally had envisioned was to separate out characters, scenes and objects and then rework the image parts in Photoshop.
I used a fictions rodeo clown as my character to create because it offered a lot of narrative story telling regarding who these individuals are. What they look like, the humor and nature of their job. Then placing them into an action scene or a location that is also very illustrative helped me understand the capabilities and the limitations of what AI as a photography tool can do. Right off the bat I was impressed and see why artists of all kinds (not just photographers) are concerned. Even though I was impressed there was an equal amount of frustration. I’m use to being the creator and having full control over each element within the image and instead I was more of a restricted director in keying in the commands and then waiting to see what the results produced was a trial of my patience.
If I didn’t have a set image I was trying to recreate from my imagination and preferred to just accept and be surprised with what was produced, I’d have a stronger opinion but I really fought for control over different aspects of the image. In the end I found that the most success came from having the AI create different elements of the image and then for me to continually work with combining the AI pieces together for a seamless montage composite that came close to what I was trying to create.
After months of experimenting and seeing the potential as well as the limitations AI in the photography industry, I know that AI will be a factor in the future and will be apart of client requests. It’s definitely not going away and will only continue to build and produce better images as AI learns and is refined, so I suggest all creators to understand what it can do so you can utilize it as a tool for your workflow and know its limitations for when not to use it. Resisting the change the change is not going to help because it will ultimately happen with or without you. For me, I’d rather try to understand it now as it’s being developed instead of playing catch up to learn in the future.
I’ve read comments from retouchers and photographers that have said, “they haven’t been this excited to create for a long time.”
I can see this as a true statement, but for me it’s only creating the desire to go out and create my own images the way I know how so that I’m the creator. What happens behind my lens and the journey, cultures, individuals, locations, and experiences is what keeps me creating. The picture is just the end result for others to see, but for me it’s what’s not seen that holds meaning in the photos that I have created and I can’t see how AI will ever replace that.
