I've made no secret of my dislike of computational photography in smartphones. The way AI software now makes every creative decision for us has fundamentally altered what photography means, turning us into passive observers of our own image-making process. However, things might be about to change.
Google this week revealed its new Camera Coach feature for the Pixel 10 (the successor to the Pixel 9a, now available for pre-order). And it could just be the first genuinely useful thing AI's offered photography since it began.
Because let's be clear. For years now, our phones have been taking photos for us rather than with us. Typically, every shot gets run through a gauntlet of algorithms that smooth, sharpen, brighten, and generally meddle with reality... until what comes out the other end looks like a cross between a Renaissance painting and a Vegas billboard.
Yes, the results can be visually spectacular. But most of us have absolutely no idea how or why.
We point, we tap, we get a photo. Unlike traditional photography, it's not a learning process that nurtures and fulfills us over time. It's more like photography by lottery ticket.
What will Camera Coach do?
This is where Camera Coach sounds genuinely revolutionary, and I say that as someone who usually reacts to new AI features with all the enthusiasm of a vegan at a butcher's shop.
Instead of doing more things to our photos, this will teach us how to take better ones in the first place. Camera Coach will analyse what you're pointing your camera at, and offer real-time suggestions.
We've yet to discover what this will be like in practice: our sister site got hold of a demo unit, but it wasn't working on the phone yet. You can, though, just imagine the possibilities. Try this angle. Find better light. Maybe don't photograph your mate Dave whilst he's mid-chew. Okay, I'm wildly guessing what it'll suggest, but I like the basic idea anyway.
In theory, this'll be like having a photography tutor peering over your shoulder, except one you don't have to pay, and who won't judge you for still shooting everything in portrait mode.
Camera Coach could bridge that gap between pro knowledge and everyday use, at the convenience of the user. Imagine understanding why moving two steps to the left makes your photo dramatically better, or learning to spot good light, instead of just hoping the computational gods smile upon you this day.
It could be awful
Of course, this isn't my first tech rodeo, and I'm fully aware Camera Coach could be terrible. Might it actually be a photographic cousin of Clippy, the early 2000s Microsoft character who irritated a million users of Word and Excel? "It looks like you're trying to take a sunset photo! Would you like me to suggest 17 different ways to hold your phone whilst blocking everyone else's view?"
I wonder: will Camera Coach learn when to shut up? Will you be able dial its enthusiasm up or down? Most importantly, will it actually make you a better photographer, or just create a generation of people who can't take a decent photo without hand-holding?
On the whole, though, I'm cautiously optimistic, and that's not a phrase I use lightly when discussing AI. Unlike most computational photography advances, Camera Coach appears focused on making photographers work more like, well, photographers. Fingers crossed, eh?
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