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I feel bad saying so because the photographer is clearly talented and has put a lot of effort into producing these images, but… this is exactly the style of pho

by jl6 3y ago

I feel bad saying so because the photographer is clearly talented and has put a lot of effort into producing these images, but… this is exactly the style of photography (people-free otherworldly landscapes) that is most amenable to AI synthesis. I would not be at all surprised to hear that they had come out of Midjourney or DALL-E. That should be read as praise of the AI models, not a slight against the photographer. Those models are going to squeeze “real” photographers into an ever smaller niche, which is ironic given that the original photography is the ground-truth training material that enabled the models in the first place, and the generosity of this particular photographer is probably furthering this vicious cycle.

great_psy 3y ago
My take as a hobby photographer (3 years). I started doing photography as a means of staying sane during COVID lockdowns. It has been a great way to get me outside and moving (mostly in nature) when there was not much else to do. Having said all that, I think the real value in photography is the doing itself. Yes, the profit generated by each photograph will go down to zero, but I think the real value for people will come from the experience of going out and making a photo. My most memorable photograph is waking up at sunset in the middle of the mountains only to see the sun shine on a giant piece of rock. The photos I took are good, but you can just google it and you will see thousands of them. The photos I took are just a reminder of me running out of the tent to stare at the beauty of nature. AI will never give me that. Not because it can’t generate a better photo, but because it can’t generate the pain on my back from a heavy backpack. Photography thought me how to look for those odd moments at sunset/sunrise, weird cloud formations that make the rest of the experience that much more enjoyable.
- NegativeK 3y ago
  Photography hobbyists aren't likely to stick with the activity unless they like the doing (or the fact that they can point to something they made, even if they're annoyed by the process) -- I agree. So, naturally I agree that AI can't replace that. But people who are making photographs for others to consume (not you; not me) are what the grandparent comment are referring to. AI is definitely going to squeeze them very hard, unless they're generating something AI doesn't.
  - twoWhlsGud 3y ago
    Yes, and particularly in the case of commercial landscape work. People photography, however, might actually be helped out more than hurt. Imagine all the post-processing you could do to "clean up" wedding photographs, for instance. Still need a photographer that is good at capturing the "decisive moment"(1) - so that skill might be more centered going forward... (1) E.g. "Sharpness is a bourgeois concept" might become "Sharpness is no longer even a bourgeois concept" : )
  - girament 3y ago
    One of the main sources of income for professional photographers is wedding photography. Ceremony, party, some shots at some park, ... It pays well, but taking really good pictures is also incredibly hard. You need to be at the right place at the right time, correct setting, lens etc all ready, and then capture exactly the things that matter. Her look over her shoulder towards the groom. Some guest laughing at grandmas joke. A bridesmaid shedding a tear. It's not about the scenery. Obviously you can fake all of that. It's about the interactions between the people, and those split-second moments representing the feelings of the people involved. Good look getting that with AI.
stolenmerch 3y ago
From a certain formalist perspective, yes, a matrix of pixels is a matrix of pixels. I can't help but think eventually we will come to value verifiable human provenance for photography. Human artworks already exude a sort of "aura" in the Benjaminian sense. Or - perhaps 'prompt artistry' will be enough to convey this ineffable human emotional spirit.

by jl6 3y ago

great_psy 3y ago

My take as a hobby photographer (3 years). I started doing photography as a means of staying sane during COVID lockdowns. It has been a great way to get me outside and moving (mostly in nature) when there was not much else to do. Having said all that, I think the real value in photography is the doing itself. Yes, the profit generated by each photograph will go down to zero, but I think the real value for people will come from the experience of going out and making a photo. My most memorable photograph is waking up at sunset in the middle of the mountains only to see the sun shine on a giant piece of rock. The photos I took are good, but you can just google it and you will see thousands of them. The photos I took are just a reminder of me running out of the tent to stare at the beauty of nature. AI will never give me that. Not because it can’t generate a better photo, but because it can’t generate the pain on my back from a heavy backpack. Photography thought me how to look for those odd moments at sunset/sunrise, weird cloud formations that make the rest of the experience that much more enjoyable.

NegativeK 3y ago
Photography hobbyists aren't likely to stick with the activity unless they like the doing (or the fact that they can point to something they made, even if they're annoyed by the process) -- I agree. So, naturally I agree that AI can't replace that. But people who are making photographs for others to consume (not you; not me) are what the grandparent comment are referring to. AI is definitely going to squeeze them very hard, unless they're generating something AI doesn't.
- twoWhlsGud 3y ago
  Yes, and particularly in the case of commercial landscape work. People photography, however, might actually be helped out more than hurt. Imagine all the post-processing you could do to "clean up" wedding photographs, for instance. Still need a photographer that is good at capturing the "decisive moment"(1) - so that skill might be more centered going forward... (1) E.g. "Sharpness is a bourgeois concept" might become "Sharpness is no longer even a bourgeois concept" : )
- girament 3y ago
  One of the main sources of income for professional photographers is wedding photography. Ceremony, party, some shots at some park, ... It pays well, but taking really good pictures is also incredibly hard. You need to be at the right place at the right time, correct setting, lens etc all ready, and then capture exactly the things that matter. Her look over her shoulder towards the groom. Some guest laughing at grandmas joke. A bridesmaid shedding a tear. It's not about the scenery. Obviously you can fake all of that. It's about the interactions between the people, and those split-second moments representing the feelings of the people involved. Good look getting that with AI.

stolenmerch 3y ago

From a certain formalist perspective, yes, a matrix of pixels is a matrix of pixels. I can't help but think eventually we will come to value verifiable human provenance for photography. Human artworks already exude a sort of "aura" in the Benjaminian sense. Or - perhaps 'prompt artistry' will be enough to convey this ineffable human emotional spirit.