A photographer recently wrote a reflection on trying an AI photo tool, comparing the moment to an “Industrial Revolution” for photography.

He raises questions about what happens when AI can generate studio-quality shots from a simple snapshot — does that make Photoshop, Lightroom, or even parts of the profession less relevant?

Curious to hear how others see the future of photography in light of tools like this.

I read a long article on this topic, and my take has always been that serious photography is creative self-expression, just like other forms of art.

The photographer captures a moment that has special meaning for them, expressed in the subject, the time and place, framing, exposure, angle and so on. The photographer senses and creates meaning, based, as in reading, on their unique knowledge, experience, and how the photo is created using their mind and emotions.

For example, my Mom was the Queen of African Violets. They will always have that connotation to me. Is that conveyed in my photos? Well, the viewer also has their own knowledge, experiences, processing the photo with their minds and emotions. That's the "magic"

This is especially evident in portraits. Look at some portraits by Yousuf Karsh. In them is the very special interaction between photographer and subject, and then the viewer.

Art is the interplay of peoples' expressions. Some art may be jazzy looking, as in the proverbial "Postcard Photo" but with AI, all those variables above collapse.

The more AI progress I see, the more I seriously consider solipsism instead of just some "dude weed bro" type shit as I did 10+ years ago when I was youngling lol