During the past week I traveled to the north of Portugal (Braga) and was doing my usual shoots: drone, street, micros (not much), book covers. While doing my rounds something occurred to me that I’ve had a good think about and would like to share with you my thoughts.

In particular, how much Artificial Intelligence has really begun to influence some of my workflow and the question that begs to ask is: Have I become a “lazier” photographer as a result? Let’s get started!

Some thoughts on Artificial Intelligence by Andrew Balcome

I’ve written at length about Artificial Intelligence in photography and the wider implications, although it has been a few months, which in this segment of the industry feels almost like years.

For more up-to-date developments, check out Andrew Balcome‘s take in his recent October 2023 earnings/news report. Also many thanks for the mention on my YouTube premiere!

Some thoughts on Artificial Intelligence by Jeff Whyte

Jeff Whyte, another seasoned stock contributor has also given his take on the new Ai revolution in his monthly report.

Jeff’s Ai earnings are increasing month-on-month

I was particularly impressed to hear/see that Jeff earned a record whopping $250 from his Ai assets at Adobe Stock (link to his port), with 331 downloads. Both the revenue and downloads were approximately half of the total downloads for the month.

“Each month it [sales] seems to be going up as I continue to upload more content and to get more sales and it’s just driving it’s driving my earnings on Adobe stock. I have no idea how long this is going to last, it may just come to a sudden end in a few months who knows.”

Jeff Whyte

I’m yet to give Artificial Intelligence a real go!

I’m encouraged by Jeff’s results, although not quite ready yet to give Artificial Intelligence a real go…mainly because I’m just too busy with my usual travel-related / book cover stuff, which is tremendously time-consuming. On top of the learning curve associated with creating interesting YouTube content and a lack of a premium account at Midjourney/Dalle2/LeonardoAi, it’s a no go for me!

Perhaps one day, who knows, but to be honest (as always), I just rather be outside shooting than inside programming.

I love being outdoors

As you know that I don’t just shoot just to earn money, for me it’s a type of therapy for my well-being. If I’m at home all day and doing tedious mind-numbing inputs to get an output just right, even if it does earn well, to me it’s too soul-destroying.

Nothing wrong with putting in a few hours a week of Ai, but no more…at least for me, but each to their own.

Wait and see

I’m a bit conservative when it comes to new technology and associated myself more within the “wait and see” type of crowd (took me a little while to get my drone as one of my regrets). By no means a modern-day luddite but just being careful about not rushing into something without first understanding its implications.

After all, regulations is yet to catch up and once it does nobody can predict what the result will be, including entire ports deleted at the very least and at worst legal claims.

I’m well aware that I may “miss the boat” but I’m willing to take the more cautious route. Seems like Andrew Balcome is also in this camp.

I’m still thoroughly impressed about a flying camera for fuck’s sake, so give me some time to get used to Ai!

Risky Business

Everybody is jumping on the Ai bandwagon (including 3rd world ” mass factories”) and although it’s exciting, it carries a lot of risk. Jeff has rightly mentioned about the legal risks and I concur. Victor Torres in the interview from last month also mentioned his hesitations:

Interview with Victor Torres, CEO of Addictive Stock

“We’re keeping a close eye on market trends, especially Adobe’s direction. We’re seeing more and more AI content in advertising campaigns of all kinds, so it seems like an unstoppable force. Personally, as a photographer, I’m somewhat concerned because, no matter what we’re told, clients will hire photography services much less or reduce their budgets for stock as long as they can create professional images with AI tools. There’s also a feeling that anything can happen, and it wouldn’t be surprising if a law were introduced to restrict certain uses of AI-generated content, forcing us to remove it from our collections. That’s why we try to motivate our authors to continue producing real photo/video content.“

Victor Torres – CEO of Addictive Stock

So, I think I’ll hold out for the time being and just watch from the sidelines and obviously report on what I find interesting/concerning…which is a lot and there’s an abundance of news coming out everyday.

Now, let’s move on to what I’ve been thinking while shooting these days…

Why I’m Becoming More Lazy Due to Ai

I’m using Topaz Ai religiously, both for noise reduction and sharpening and I’m truly impressed with the results, see here an example just from yesterday:

So much so that sometimes I’m getting even a bit lazy when it comes to trying to shoot with the best of my abilities. Just a click and done.

For instance, if I capture a scene that could be sharper or less noisy sometimes (not always) I’m developing the mentality of “oh I’ll be able to fix it later on with software”. And the truth is, yes I may be able to fix it later but it won’t be as high-quality as if I captured the scene to the best of my ability in the first place!

So, I must stop myself getting complacent!

Getting the angles correct in-camera

Then there’s correcting barrel distortions and wonky verticals from architecture shots, example below. So much better to get it almost perfect when shooting than spending long hours correcting using Photoshop, even if the software has come a long ways.

I’m not calling Ai-creators lazy but it’s good to leave the house!

I’m by no means demeaning the skill it takes to be a top-level Ai-content creator. Although I absolutely do think that the vast majority of “creatives” who are considering pursuing AI-generated content are too lazy to make it as “real photographers”.

My worry is that in a few years’ time we won’t be photographers/videographers anymore and (almost) everybody will have turned into coders/programmers! Why leave the house and incur costs and wasted time with logistics when you can create content at home?

I’ll keep practicing my YouTube skills

On that note, I will leave you. I’m happy to finally be on YouTube and will put out more content there as often as I can…it’s also great practice to speak/present/edit! Until next time and look who’s coming to town soon!

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About Alex

I find it quite concerning, actually, that there are people out there who embrace this relentless pursuit of progress and technology. Take this individual, for instance. They proudly proclaim their eccentric lifestyle and their obsession with traveling the world while capturing stock images and footage. It’s as if they’re completely unfazed by the rapid advancements in technology and the consequences it has on our lives.

This person claims to have dedicated eight years to the so-called “business” of being a travel photographer and videographer, along with freelance writing. It’s almost as if they’re blind to the fact that these traditional career paths are being rendered obsolete by automated cameras and AI-generated content. Instead of adapting to the changing landscape, they cling to the past.

They even brag about submitting book cover images to Arcangel Images, a company that’s surely capitalizing on the digital age. And the fact that they’re flying a DJI Mavic 2s drone regularly only reinforces their allegiance to these intrusive, privacy-invading devices. Drones have brought about countless concerns, from privacy violations to potential security threats.

The ultimate irony is that they’ve written a book about their adventures and tips on making it as a stock travel photographer. In a world where AI and stock photo libraries dominate, their “Brutally Honest Guide to Microstock Photography” seems like a futile effort. They should be promoting a more sustainable and responsible way of using technology, but instead, they’re celebrating their outdated approach. It’s a testament to the fear of embracing progress and the blind faith in outdated models.