This week, I did a shoot with a client who didn't know how to smile. I would say, 'Now give me a big smile', and her lips would twitch but remain in a straight line. I tried variants of this directive such as 'smile and show me your teeth' and 'say cheese' to no avail. I finally got her to smile by saying, very literally, 'Turn the corners of your mouth up'.
And it struck me that AI would be terrible at knowing how to get the best out of clients. Yes, to my horror, there are now AI headshot generators - I reviewed one for DCW here and was appalled at the prospect of it taking all my portrait photography work - but how much competition does artificial intelligence really pose to photographers?
Because no one is going to hire an AI to photograph their wedding. People skills are what are needed, especially when it comes to directing large groups of people. They're also necessary when handling difficult or nervous clients. An AI can't put people at ease, or be truly friendly, or crack jokes (I mean, I guess it could, but that could be more disconcerting than relaxing).
It can't take a genuine interest in why the person wants the photos, allay their fears of not looking good enough, or come up with clever solutions to problems such as my aforementioned 'smile situation'. It can't tell the client their false eyelashes have come unglued, that their top is unflattering or makes them blend into the background, or that they need to wipe their nose as there's something hanging out of it.
It can't yet assess lighting and suggest an alternative if it's too dim or casting the wrong shadows on the person's face. It can't tell someone to stop slumping, lower their shoulders or unfold their arms – and, even when it eventually becomes able to do these things, I doubt it will be able to assess whether someone's expression is appealing, frightened or sinister.
Right now, all it can do is analyse selfies and spew out a load of similar-but-not-bang-on 'pictures' of a client's likeness, saving it from having to interact with any humans or vice-versa. I guess it could do product photography, because you don't need to direct products, so I admit that product photographers might lose work. I'm not saying companies won't try to get AI to do every type of photography, including weddings – I'm just saying it would be horrifically bad at them.
However, what AI is really good at is 'glamour effects', aka beauty retouching. AI apps such as FaceApp and Facetune can carry out what would be a ten-minute process in Photoshop in seconds. They can smooth skin, define eyes, resize features, add catchlights and change a client's hair colour at the touch of a button or two. AI can also remove objects or people in the background of shots naturally, as though they were never there, in a fraction of the time it would take a photographer to do so manually.
So we photographers should take advantage of AI's plus points to please clients and save us time (and therefore money) – and not worry too much about it replacing us. That's unlikely to happen anytime soon.
You might also like
Check our guide to the best portrait cameras and the best camera phones.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
