The Phoblographer spoke about the rise of artificial intelligence multiple times over the past few years, yet we believe it is a topic that still needs more awareness and discussion. One of the reasons is the technology’s use, from the creation of memes to its infiltration into almost all aspects of our daily lives. Photography, however, unlike art forms, stands to lose the very veracity that it was created for. And so, when we heard there would be a talk about Human x AI: The Future of Visual Storytelling at the Xposure festival in Sharjah, we decided to see whether the speaker, Yohan Wadia, could make a compelling case for the technology. Here is a glimpse into what happened during the workshop.
Editor’s Note: The Phoblographer was part of the press trip to Sharjah. We were invited to see the festival, interact with the photographers, and share our insights with our readers. Since we believe in transparency, we want to let our readers know that the trip was entirely paid for, but this post is not sponsored. This is a reminder of how much photographers need to protect their livelihoods.
At the beginning of the talk, Wadia clearly stated: “AI can’t replace human creativity,” but added, “It holds a power that we can’t ignore.” The Gen AI creator, who has dabbled in direction, illustration, and photography, further added that AI is nothing but a tool of “expression,” something like “handing a pencil to an artist to draw.” The speaker went on to explain how AI is changing the landscape of storytelling, just as painting, photography, television, and social media, amongst other formats, did so. However, as I sat through the entire four-hour workshop, I realized that AI will be utilized increasingly to cut costs. How so? Let me give you an example from the workshop itself.
Wadia started by asking the group of participants to think about an idea so that he could help us create images for storyboarding. The idea, in the end, was about a young boy walking through an imaginative garden, just like Alice did in Wonderland. Following that, Wadia showed us how to use ChatGPT to create elaborate prompts, which were then fed into Freepik, a software that creates Gen AI images. One can choose through a plethora of styles, which also include a “futuristic photography” template. After an hour of this, we had about six to seven different images of the boy in varied settings that will propel the story forward. When we had a storyboard in place, we moved on to create a video using these illustrations. All one had to do was put in the image and choose varied camera angles and directions, zoom in or zoom out, and other traditional editing techniques, which the Gen AI replicated. At the end of the workshop, we had a whole video created entirely out of AI by just one person.
The feeling of dread slowly started to set in when Wadia showcased a series of short clips and photographs that were created for fashion and jewelry brands. Per Wadia, all he needed was a PNG file of the product the brand wanted images or videos of, and within a few days to up to a week, you would have the entire campaign ready. This is done without employing any humans, such as models, light technicians, or model photographers, or even paying rent for the studio. In addition, the clips he made were so realistic that one could have barely realized that the “model” in the image is basically AI. What’s even more scary is that one can lift off your images from the web to create an “aesthetic” that can be replicated for someone’s commercial shoot. Gone are the days when AI would give you six fingers. If you spend enough time with it, you can get exactly the kind of results you want.
Quite recently, the Getty Museum acquired their first AI picture, which is going to be part of their upcoming showcase about queer photographers. With museums and brands now finding ways to make AI more mainstream, the future of photography is truly in danger. Sure, I have heard conversations about how AI’s introduction is similar to the introduction of a digital camera in an analog world. However, it is not. AI still needs human artwork to train itself, while a digital camera, like film, records reality on a light-sensitive object. In this case, a sensor. How can one compare the innovation of digital cameras with a tech that can learn from the works of photographers to create an image without human intervention? It does not make sense.
The takeaway, dear readers, from this rambling is photographers, like writers, are still replaceable by a tech guy who knows how to create prompts. If you remove the whole chain that goes into the creation of visuals, such as fashion or a food campaign, the corporations save tons of money. One honest advice to you would be to perfect your storytelling. I know times are hard, but the only way for photographers to survive is to make way for honest narratives. Your unique style and keen eye can’t be replaced. It is like how you need architects to make skyscrapers like the Burj Khalifa in Dubai and the Watch Tower in Mecca. You will be needed, but how you shoot or what stories you tell will play a massive role. Furthermore, with the democratization of photography, every third person can make an image of a bag from their phone. What they need is your knowledge and your ability to make unique visuals. So take your time to perfect that. As I said earlier, in the noise, only works that touch human emotions will sustain.
Last but not least, you should protect your work. As we had seen with Jingna Zhang’s lawsuits, anyone can replicate your photographs for their next project, so use the list we have created to safeguard your work against AI. Furthermore, keep an eye out for the AI world; read up and see how fast the technology is spreading so you know exactly what to do when the time comes. In times like these, the photography community needs to come together. If we don’t, we just may find ourselves in more trouble.
