AI Photographer: New Career on the Horizon by Ana Lyubich Since you’re into photography, the chances are high that you will have heard about Artificial Intelligence (AI) images taking the creative industry by storm. Suddenly, everyone with a computer is not only a ‘photographer’ but an illustrator too! Does this mean there won’t be a need for creative professionals in these fields soon, now that everyone can type a few words and get a super realistic image in high enough resolution in just 60 seconds? Although the sudden popularity of AI image generation might seem like it happened overnight, it took two decades to develop. It started with image recognition, training machines to identify what was displayed on images and to know when a dog was a dog, not an elephant, etc. Google Image search is a great example. Next, the technology was applied in the real world, various apps started using image recognition to solve some important problems, e.g. helping blind people ‘see’, the app helping to identify objects around them. We all know the saying, ‘There’s an app for that,’ but with the development of neural networks and AI, it is really time to say ‘there is an AI for that’. There are many different AI algorithms, whether you need to write or edit a piece of text, do analysis, forecast, or search for an image. Now we see the subsequent development in AI, where it not only recognises what already exists and analyses images but can also create new work. It is developing fast in the image creation realm, so should we worry as photographers? Will we still be needed to capture photographs in 10 years? Just like cinema vs theatre, TV vs cinema, and Internet vs TV, global changes mean shifts happen. However, everything fits into its niche in the end, and we still love going to the theatre, watching movies on big screens, watching Netflix on TV, and checking reels online. The same is happening now with AI. Yes, it is a huge development, a growing trend, and no doubt will be transformational for most people, but I don’t think it will bring an end to the era of photography as we know it and here is why. AI, no matter how good, will never be able to take your wedding or family photos, present you with photographs of events happening in real-time, or create that truly local Wellington photo while you sit in your New York office. While it is capable of generating images, it can’t compete with a real person taking a photo who puts their soul into it. So as long as you continue to capture authentic, fresh photographs, your work will stay in demand just like it has always been. AI image generators, including Midjourney, DALL-E etc., are still great to use as a source of inspiration, though. For us photographers, coming up with ‘what to photograph’ is quite often a challenge, so why not try and pick the brain of this new ‘Artificial Intelligence’ - type a few words of what you would love to capture and see what comes up! Then try to replicate it in real life. Maybe it will spark an idea for your next photography project. In saying that, the image you see here is probably the only one that will appear in the pages of <strong>NZPhotographer</strong>. Being a photography magazine, we still require photographs to be the original work of those who take them, not a mix-and-match result of millions of images taken from the world wide web by some kind of robot! The ethical part of AI is an entirely different topic, and we will cover that in the next article. Join our conversation about AI and other topics on ExcioHub (https://hub.excio.io) – join for free and stay in the know about what’s happening in the photographic community. Co-founder of the Excio Photo Community and <strong>NZPhotographer</strong> Magazine, Ana Lyubich is a passionate photographer and photography mentor. She loves exploring the unseen macro world and capturing people's genuine emotions. Ana is always happy to help fellow photographers so don't hesitate to get in touch with her at ana@excio.io 80 <strong>November</strong> <strong>2022</strong> <strong>NZPhotographer</strong> @excionz
<strong>NZPhotographer</strong> <strong>November</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 81
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ISSUE 61, November 2022 GETTING BAC
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over this time. I am also a member
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many circumstances. I regularly use
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Rising Star; Bridget Sinclair Bridg
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Top: Mellow Gecko Fuji X-T4, Fuji X
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After Battle Drink Fuji X-T4, Fuji
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