As HG Wells puts it: “Adaptation or perish, now as ever, is the unshakable imperative of nature.” All he means is that the world is constantly changing – evolving – and if you don’t change with it, you will suffer. A similar and relevant piece of advice comes from former England goalkeeper Peter Shilton: “If you’re standing still, there’s only one way to go, and that’s going backwards.” That is, it is really impossible to stagnate in many areas of life, when you are moving forward or you are being pulled back.
One area that represents a struggle like no other is technology, which is pervasive enough to be hard to avoid. However, photography – though tech-centric – feels something out of the ordinary outside of the great developments (maybe even revolutions) of the craft. A photographer with a Praktica of the 1970s will not be overshadowed by a photographer of similar skill with a Nikon F6 from 2004, even though they are very different film cameras. This is mostly true in the digital age, although there is no doubt that the photographer with the latest digital camera can have many supports and benefits in terms of quality of life. The fundamentals of a good photo haven’t really changed, but what can be.
This is where we witness an unusual moment in the history of photography when digital imaging was not only possible, but possible. In the early 2000s, experts abandoned analog in favor of digital, and although there will be those who want to argue that, it’s obvious. Most photographers working in the transition period can’t believe their luck; Digital photography has solved countless dilemmas — film costs, development, not being able to review photos as you take them, etc. — and DSLRs are warmly welcomed for that. . However, it has created a widening gap in many areas of photography between digital users and film stalwarts.
For example, while some genres of portrait photography survive just fine with medium format film at the hands of skilled and veteran photographers, most others cannot keep up with digital. . Customers are provided with images sooner, can see footage on set, have more creative control, can carelessly miss shots and experiment, etc. Wedding photography becomes believable more reliable by an extraordinary degree. Sports photography becomes more fun and faster, as missing a main shot is no longer a concern. Photojournalism has been revolutionized, as photojournalists can deliver images as quickly as news can be written. Those who stick only to cinema need a tight niche, some great connections, and incredible technical ability to compete.
Then an even more uncomfortable truth emerges: Whether the ceiling of photographic skill has been raised with the advent of digital photography is a debate for another time, but I suppose. The skill level has been raised significantly. That is, in the digital age, being a regular photographer is much easier than in the age of film photography. This makes photography an easier marketable skill and, in some cases, harder to make photography as a lucrative profession.
For most photographers, harnessing the power of digital photography gives you a distinct advantage over those who haven’t evolved with technology.
How is emerging artificial intelligence similar to the digital photography revolution?
How is AI similar to the digital photography revolution? Well, it’s not quite yet, but it’s close. Artificial intelligence in photography (and video too) post-production has been a regular occurrence. Previously we had to make intricate object selections meticulously in Photoshop by hand, now we can press a button to get the same result in a short amount of time. This is just one of many examples. However, as every writer in almost every field has discussed over the past year, AI is evolving and improving at a dizzying rate and at a terrifying rate. Within the next 5 years I doubt AI will be embedded in nearly everything, prompt based image generation like Midjourney will be nearly indistinguishable from real images and ChatGPT (or similar software) will completely replace many tasks legally.
A recent study pitted ChatGPT against local GPs for patients receiving online help with their illnesses. Research is said to have found that ChatGPT is more accurate from a medical point of view, and oddly enough, it has a better way of sleeping. I have seen two opposing reactions to this. A general practitioner commented that he was interested in the role of the general practitioner in modern medicine. Instead, another doctor I came across on LinkedIn commented that doctors combined with ChatGPT can lead to incredible improvements in medicine and treatment. I can’t say which is more likely to be true, but what I can say is that historically, it seems that the second stance offers the best chance of success.
In the photographic scene, the doomsday foreshadowing that so many people are doing in regards to AI is the general practitioner’s first approach: an unhelpful (though justifiable) fear for the future. The second is a photographer who realizes that AI is changing everything and we need to exploit it, not fight or hide from it. While some of this is theoretical, there’s a lot that can be done once you read it. At the most basic level, make sure you know how to use all the AI tools in your editing suite. Then you can look further. There’s AI to edit the entire image, remove poor quality images from the collection, and AI can reuse photos and videos for different content uses. Then there’s the business side where AI can automate many tasks, create a marketing campaign, or overhaul your accounting.
AI can also be used to enhance your creative process. You can ask AI to create a list of ideas or inspiration for you, or you can combine your real photos with AI-generated images. For all intents and purposes, there are countless ways you can harness AI to improve your results, workflow, and creativity. You just need to take the time to learn how to get the most out of it.
AI is still in the early stages of changing our world, but it’s inevitable. Maybe you can ignore this advice for a few more years and suffer less ill effects, but in the end, you will use it or have to become a romantic, special and proper photographer to get through any and all. hard. Yes, AI can lower that skill level again, allowing even lousy photographers to make good photos, but that has to push you to use AI to push you up a notch. new heights, rather than being bitter about this profession until the AI gains sentience and herds us around like aphids. We are on the familiar path in photography, once again, we must adapt or perish.
