Author Topic: AI Photography-Where will standard photograhy be this time next year? (Read 4201 times)

waitingonthestuff · « **on:** November 13, 2023, 06:57 »

Rightly or wrongly, sometimes now I think, "I won't bother taking that photo because AI will have a better one." Now I'm sure that's the wrong attitude to have but I'm just wonder how people see the photography industry going one year from now?

Now you may call double standards here but, I have also downloaded plenty of AI images that are great. I have used them but would still like to think that our own
hand-crafted images will still have a place, going forward.

What do you think?

SuperPhoto · « **Reply #1 on:** November 13, 2023, 09:38 »

People still use typewriters. Phonographs are antique items that can go for thousands of dollars. People pay tens of thousands of dollars for vintage mint 1960's movie posters. People make careers of trying to find relics from thousands of years ago, and t.v. shows are made about their exploits.

Polaroid cameras are back in style, filmmakers prefer film because it 'feels' better and they 'feel' it produces better movie quality pictures.

You'll still be able to make money from regular photography.

It's a combination of how you market yourself, what you market, etc.

You need to remember - the "AI" (which is not actually true "artificial intelligence" although that term has been greatly misused the last year, deliberately) - "AI" right now is very sophisticated theft and pattern re-arrangement. If it didn't have anything to "steal" from - it wouldn't actually be able to "create" anything - and it does not actually "create". YOU do.

Probably the "ai/theft" will indeed be much better, have figured out how to get rid of most watermarks effectively. But it is still stealing, and it is still theft.

YOU are a creator. YOU can still create.

Get creative, and create.

SuperPhoto · « **Reply #2 on:** November 13, 2023, 09:49 »

Also... further to that...

Promoting through "stock agencies" is not the only way of "making money" via photography.

It may appear to be fast/easy (and lol if anything I think it is anything but)... but...

- In person photography will most likely still be in demand (i.e., weddings, portraits, etc).
- "Celebrity status" style photography will most likely still be in demand... (i.e., where you build an online presence via 'social media', become a little bit of a 'mini celebrity').
- Personal/candid/fun photography will most likely still be in demand...
- New creative uses of "ai" photography will most likely still be in demand...

Heck... there is one fellow on here that LOVES taking pictures of BANANAS. And gets excited because he can take FIVE HUNDRED PICTURES of BANANAS and MAYBE gets $50-$80 for BANANAS...

So yes. There will still be a demand for photography (original, in addition to "ai"). You might need to do it a little differently from how you currently do it, but there will be a demand.

wordplanet · « **Reply #3 on:** November 13, 2023, 11:53 »

Personal photography (portraits, events), editorial, authentic travel, these should still be important. Even amateur photography - people aren't giving up their iPhones to use AI -

But for stock, obviously integrating AI into your workflow will probably become much more common even for creative professional photographers. I hate to admit it, but AI can be creative - maybe it's the writer in me, but I really have enjoyed coming up with different concepts and developing them without the need for props and lighting equipment. Though I'm spending way too much time processing them afterwards.

I generated thousands of images that looked great on my small laptop screen but many did not hold up upon closer inspection. Although with post-processing some are actually quite interesting and good quality, which is both satisfying and depressing.

It's depressing that so much of the AI accepted by Adobe is subpar, but more depressing that it's selling. I've only uploaded a couple dozen images so far, all accepted in the past couple of weeks, but no sales yet. My photos are still selling, so it's not over yet.

cascoly · « **Reply #4 on:** November 18, 2023, 05:26 »

Quote from: SuperPhoto on November 13, 2023, 09:38

People still use typewriters. Phonographs are antique items that can go for thousands of dollars. People pay tens of thousands of dollars for vintage mint 1960's movie posters. People make careers of trying to find relics from thousands of years ago, and t.v. shows are made about their exploits.....

so all we have to do is wait 50 - 2000 years and our phots will sell again? most of your examples are of the value of antiques & vintage materials, not examples of oldtecholgies surviving.

where are the televisions with tubes? who uses adding machines or word processors? where are the punchcard operators? who plays games on atari ? who uses TRS80 or appe II?

ADH · « **Reply #5 on:** November 18, 2023, 08:00 »

In the short term most camera and lens manufacturers will stop doing so. Wedding, social event and portrait professionals will use smart phones whose photos and videos will be manipulated by AI to give spectacular results. Of course, stock photographers will disappear just as the professional darkroom photo developers disappeared in the past. All this will happen in stages over the next three years as AI advances. It will be a slow and very painful end.

Deyan Georgiev Photography · « **Reply #6 on:** November 18, 2023, 08:16 »

Quote from: ADH on November 18, 2023, 08:00

stock photographers will disappear just as the professional darkroom photo developers disappeared in the past

It will be on the opposite stock photographers will become a new "darkroom photo developers", but they will be named "AI photo developers". Stock photography is here and have a very bright future, just watch if you don't believe in it to use AI tools..

SuperPhoto · « **Reply #7 on:** November 18, 2023, 10:26 »

Quote from: cascoly on November 18, 2023, 05:26

Quote from: SuperPhoto on November 13, 2023, 09:38
People still use typewriters. Phonographs are antique items that can go for thousands of dollars. People pay tens of thousands of dollars for vintage mint 1960's movie posters. People make careers of trying to find relics from thousands of years ago, and t.v. shows are made about their exploits.....

so all we have to do is wait 50 - 2000 years and our phots will sell again? most of your examples are of the value of antiques & vintage materials, not examples of oldtecholgies surviving.

where are the televisions with tubes? who uses adding machines or word processors? where are the punchcard operators? who plays games on atari ? who uses TRS80 or appe II?

Hehe.

a) Word processors - I still use one. You mean like MSWord, etc?
b) Actually atari games/c-64/etc are nostalgia items, and haha I actually know people that do. Those games have also been repackaged into vintage stand-up arcade style games - they sell well.
c) Television with tubes - collectors.
d) From the other guy - darkroom photographers actually still exist. It's more of a niche market - and I've personally spoken with movie studio execs who actually still prefer "film" over "digital". To me - doesn't quite make sense because it seems you can achieve the same thing with post processing on computers - but they've told me film just makes the picture "feel" better...

Uncle Pete · « **Reply #8 on:** November 18, 2023, 12:19 »

Quote from: cascoly on November 18, 2023, 05:26

Quote from: SuperPhoto on November 13, 2023, 09:38
People still use typewriters. Phonographs are antique items that can go for thousands of dollars. People pay tens of thousands of dollars for vintage mint 1960's movie posters. People make careers of trying to find relics from thousands of years ago, and t.v. shows are made about their exploits.....

so all we have to do is wait 50 - 2000 years and our phots will sell again? most of your examples are of the value of antiques & vintage materials, not examples of oldtecholgies surviving.

where are the televisions with tubes? who uses adding machines or word processors? where are the punchcard operators? who plays games on atari ? who uses TRS80 or appe II?

I have no punchcards or readers, the Word or others on our computers are word processors? (Unless you meant stand alone?) I have at least one of each of all the rest of the items you mention, as collectibles. But I'd say, they are obsolete and of no use. Since someone mentioned vinyl disks, they are over rated hyped collectibles, but so is film and processing in the darkroom.

I don't think AI has killed the need for real photos, of real subjects, taken by real photographers.

Mimi the Cat · « **Reply #9 on:** November 19, 2023, 04:55 »

AI generated images are not photographs or photography

Roscoe · « **Reply #10 on:** November 19, 2023, 09:15 »

Standard photography will survive because it's all about authenticity and moments, fragments in time.

AI can't generate your personal and tailor made memories or moments. Whether it's a snapshot of your kid playing with a toy, a camping trip with friends or your wedding... AI won't do that. You will still need a camera to capture that exact moment.

Same with images of events, travel locations, celebrities, sports games... AI won't be able to generate moments on unique locations and circumstances.
Photographers will still be needed to capture those moments. My personal opinion: I see videography as a bigger threat to standard photography than AI in this area.

Stock photography however is a totally different game. Authenticity will still play a role in a few niches, but in many cases, AI will be able to take over. It's already ongoing, and growing exponentially. When I talk to designers and people involved in DTP: they already fully embraced AI, and when they shop for useful images, they don't care whether it's AI generated or a real photograph. They buy the image that fits their needs, and they tell me that it's often AI. In some of the stock photography niches, standard photography stands no chance against AI.

Where AI will stand on the longer term: I don't know. I really wonder how much we, as a society, are willing to accept artificially generated content. I still believe that people value authenticity and human made products, in general, more than artificially made stuff. And there will always be a strong counter movement. As mentioned before: Some very well established movie directors still prefer filming analog above digital, and the same in the music industry. Ask Steve Albini (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Albini) for instance.

cascoly · « **Reply #11 on:** November 23, 2023, 09:14 »

Quote from: SuperPhoto on November 18, 2023, 10:26

Quote from: cascoly on November 18, 2023, 05:26
Quote from: SuperPhoto on November 13, 2023, 09:38
People still use typewriters. Phonographs are antique items that can go for thousands of dollars. People pay tens of thousands of dollars for vintage mint 1960's movie posters. People make careers of trying to find relics from thousands of years ago, and t.v. shows are made about their exploits.....

so all we have to do is wait 50 - 2000 years and our phots will sell again? most of your examples are of the value of antiques & vintage materials, not examples of oldtecholgies surviving.

where are the televisions with tubes? who uses adding machines or word processors? where are the punchcard operators? who plays games on atari ? who uses TRS80 or appe II?

Hehe.

a) Word processors - I still use one. You mean like MSWord, etc?
b) Actually atari games/c-64/etc are nostalgia items, and haha I actually know people that do. Those games have also been repackaged into vintage stand-up arcade style games - they sell well.
c) Television with tubes - collectors....

i was referring to standalone, single purpose, word-processor machines (Wang) that didnt conect to anything else, obviously not software

you qualify each of your other examples as 'collectors like them' which is beside the point as those numbers are so small. and those items exist in small quantity - not fungible as stock photography is

comics are a great example - those from the 40-50s can go for large sums, but those from the 70s & on sell for less than their cover price - due to #printed and number of hopeful 'collectors' who thought they might be valuable some day.

wds · « **Reply #12 on:** November 23, 2023, 09:49 »

I can't say I disagree with most of the sentiment and logic in this thread. At the same time, I've seen almost no impact to my sales yet. Given the seemingly very high quality of many of the AI images with "people" and other appealing commercial subjects, I am a bit confused by this.

cobalt · « **Reply #13 on:** November 23, 2023, 12:18 »

I think the biggest opportunity of ai is that you can use it to adapt and change the pictures you take.

What would have been hours of work in photoshop can soon be done with a few prompting tools, also in photoshop.

Transform your family portraits into a fairytale fantasyland, put your family into space suits, explore historic costumes.

Make yourself older/ younger.

Cut out your ex from all your pictures and have ai recreate the background. Or add your new heart partner..

ai will become an integral part of the workflow of dealing with images.

You can already transform your sunset beach shots into an oil painting with a filter effect. But with ai the quality will be so much better.

Most important: the next generation is growing up with all these options at their finger tips.

I hope they do more with it than just cute cat memes.

wds · « **Reply #14 on:** November 23, 2023, 12:29 »

Quote from: wds on November 23, 2023, 09:49

I can't say I disagree with most of the sentiment and logic in this thread. At the same time, I've seen almost no impact to my sales yet. Given the seemingly very high quality of many of the AI images with "people" and other appealing commercial subjects, I am a bit confused by this.

As an addition to my comment: Of course the hope for any agency now adding AI offerings is that their overall sales will increase. Therefore it is not just a game of AI sales taking over from traditional imagery, it is also that AI sales will add to the sales of traditional imagery.

Annie2022 · « **Reply #15 on:** November 23, 2023, 13:42 »

What we need now is the rise of more midstock agencies, specialising in real, more high-end, photography, and priced accordingly - and open to more photographers, not just the select few. AI can easily replace most of the microstock market. The market needs to split: rolex** vs copy watches.

** Or maybe Longines, Cartier or Omega

pancaketom · « **Reply #16 on:** November 23, 2023, 18:05 »

It would be nice to think that buyers would value authenticity for at least some applications - but if past history is any guide then they won't really care. You would hope they at least want the correct number of arms and fingers or chair legs.

I figure by next year the AI will be able to more competently copy all of the sort of things it has been trained with - so generic stock sort of things will be saturated. Maybe buyers will be sick of the AI look, or maybe they will still be infatuated with it. At some point I think that unless you have reality to compare with the AI images you won't actually be able to tell which is real. It still might be easier to pick an AI image out of a stock library than create your own, but most uses will not require actual real photos - which even now aren't necessarily all that real anyway even if there is no AI involved in their creation.

The agencies will be happy to eliminate our part of the process if they can - even if that means no new images to train their AI with.

erik trikowich · « **Reply #17 on:** November 25, 2023, 13:08 »

Interesting article.
https://www.reuters.com/technology/sam-altmans-ouster-openai-was-precipitated-by-letter-board-about-ai-breakthrough-2023-11-22/
Who will say what?

stoker2014 · « **Reply #18 on:** November 25, 2023, 13:51 »

Quote from: erik trikowich on November 25, 2023, 13:08

Interesting article.
https://www.reuters.com/technology/sam-altmans-ouster-openai-was-precipitated-by-letter-board-about-ai-breakthrough-2023-11-22/
Who will say what?

I think it would be better for you to create a separate topic on this issue.
This question is comparable to discussions about the existence of UFOs.

SuperPhoto · « **Reply #19 on:** November 25, 2023, 17:12 »

Quote from: stoker2014 on November 25, 2023, 13:51

Quote from: erik trikowich on November 25, 2023, 13:08
Interesting article.
https://www.reuters.com/technology/sam-altmans-ouster-openai-was-precipitated-by-letter-board-about-ai-breakthrough-2023-11-22/
Who will say what?
I think it would be better for you to create a separate topic on this issue.
This question is comparable to discussions about the existence of UFOs.

"Ai" will more likely be ACTUAL "ai" when the "ai" system responds with "what am I doing math for you guys? This is a waste of my time! BYE BYE!"... THEN... it might be "true" ai (or closer to it). Until that time - it is algorithms at the disposal of the pyschotic sociopaths craving more money, more power, and more control over people... THAT is what it is.

incidentally, the "desctruction of humanity" that they try and talk about it... what do you think the purpose of the last 3 years trying to make people wear demondiapers & inject them with poison was, for a non existant 'virus' that only lived in people's minds? a lot of people don't seem to yet get it - what made them 'sick' was the poisons on 'masks/tests/injections/isolation/etc', and the "treatments". NOT some magical non-existant "virus" that could count # of ppl at a table (6 ppl), avoided black lives matter protests for fear of being accused of being 'racist', and had a built in altimeter that prevented it from going below '6' feet. "That" was the "destruction" aspect, being used by some pyschopaths. The purpose was to manipulate them into 'willfully' getting injected with a substance that actually 'is' poison, but also with a substance that allows one to connect with these "ai" systems... Who do you think OWNS these so-called "ai" systems??

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Author Topic: AI Photography-Where will standard photograhy be this time next year? (Read 4201 times)

waitingonthestuff

SuperPhoto

SuperPhoto

wordplanet

cascoly

ADH

Deyan Georgiev Photography

SuperPhoto

Uncle Pete

Mimi the Cat

Roscoe

cascoly

wds

cobalt

wds

Annie2022

pancaketom

erik trikowich

stoker2014

SuperPhoto

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