Hi Everyone
For today’s blog I would like to discuss the subject of AI and the future for conference and event photographers in Edinburgh and how it affects event photographers in Scotland and all for photographers for that matter. First of all there is a discussion to be had over the legal aspect of the whole subject, then we can look at which genres of photography will be affected most, then finally there is the whole moral and honesty subject, which is the one I would like to explore most of all.
Now AI has been the in topic in recent months and it can have many uses, some of which will benefit society at large, particularly for medical purposes, however it is likely like all revolutionary changes that many people will lose there jobs and it will effect artists. The subject is considered so important that the Royal Photographic Society Artificial Intelligence and the RPS have decided to hold a conference in October this year on the subject of AI and its effect on the industry and how to approach the many dilemmas it will create.
AI and the legal aspect for photographers in Scotland
I thought this would be a good place to start. When you are using AI software, it gives you many options to change your photo, using a word search and also lots of other visual options, this can replace a background, create a sunset and also use a number of special effects. Now this background or special effects image has been created by someone, so what are the copyright implications. They will need to be paid, have they given permission for use of their image. Can AI just search the internet and use images, I don’t think so, but it does pose a very interesting question. It could also be a means of income for photographers to supply these images.
AI and the photographers affected the most
As a conference photographer in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Scotland I would like to examine the subject of AI and the future for conference and event photographers in Edinburgh ie how will it change my day to day job as a conference photographer in Scotland. To be honest,
I think I will not be affected as much as other genres of photography. The event photographer in Scotland, will be required to capture special moments and will want to supply the client with real images of the wedding, conference or event. However, there may be an option for the clients to cut corners and instead of hiring a photographer, to search for image of the speakers and create an AI image from the venue but I think this will be highly unlikely. Now the landscape and art photographer in Scotland will be seriously affected. You can search for AI images from various locations, change backgrounds, create special weather conditions for your photos etc, these are just some of the options. Adobe have also introduced AI in Photoshop for photographers Generative AI – Adobe Sensei and this means it has been introduced to the vast majority of photographers. I expect graphic designers and some people who offer editing services won’t be too happy. As an infrared photographer in Scotland, New fine art and infrared photography – Colin Wright Photography (edinburghphotographer.com)will my infrared skills be obsolete, when an infrared image can be created by the click of a button, or will there still be room for real artists. The other thing is, just how real the images will be, although I expect them to keep improving. These are just some questions we need to ask.
AL and the moral argument
This brings me to the most important issue, the moral argument against AI. I remember as a kid playing golf with my pals and there was always temptation to cheat, to replace the ball you lost, to place it in a better position etc. I still remember my Dad saying but how will you feel about that, you just won’t gain any satisfaction if you win, you will only be cheating yourself. now this won’t stop everyone, as we have seen from all the doping bans in athletics, but it is something to think about. We all edit photos a little bit, maybe increase saturation, apply curves, clone out that unwanted item but AI takes it to another level. I just think you will not have the same amount of pride in an image half created by someone else. The most important thing about photography is that you capture a real moment in time of a special event or place for instance and anything else is just a fake digital creation. Now photography has been evolving and we have probably already gone too far with editing, especially when it comes to people, in my opinion but we now have the power to prevent our industry from turning into a glorified heaven for computer geeks.
More discussion on this subject will follow, watch this space.
Kind Regards
Colin
www.edinburghphotographer.com
www.colinwrightphotography.co.uk
