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September 27, 2024

Filipino Photographers are Asked: Is AI use in Photography okay?

In a previous ASI article, it was reported that art competitions have seen controversies surrounding the use of AI. Some winners have been accused of copying their works from computer app outputs. The question arises: is this legal or a form of cheating? After all, the work itself is not produced by human hands. But how can one detect an AI-generated artwork if the artist is really good at realism and could produce output similar to or not better than his AI-generated reference? Is that not a mind-boggling truth?

In March 2023, Berlin-based artist Boris Eldagsen won the creative photo category at the Sony World Photography Awards with his entry of a haunting black-and-white image of an older woman embracing a younger woman titled PSEUDOMNESIA: The Electrician. But he later turned down the award after revealing that it was an image generated using DALL-E 2, an AI image generator. “I applied as a cheeky monkey, to find out, if the competitions are prepared for AI images to enter. They are not.,” Boris explained on his website, sparking widespread controversy about whether AI-generated images should be considered art.

Renowned Filipino photographer Jun De Leon reshared a 2004 portrait he took of Bianca Gonzalez, emphasizing the artistry of traditional photography before AI and advanced editing software. “Not AI. I will always enjoy the romance with my brain and the joy of realizing my vision physically. Photography is the hardest language to articulate,” he wrote, underscoring the tension between technological advancement and traditional creative processes.

Today, the debate on AI in photography continues. Some see it as a powerful tool to enhance their work, while others fear it undermines creativity and threatens job opportunities. One such example was Mango’s AI-generated fashion campaign, which drew significant backlash. As Filipino photographer Lee Morale aptly put it, “Using AI is a double-edged sword.” On one hand, it can enhance what we are doing and improve the quality we want to showcase to our audience. It can also help us expedite our work, as long as it is used ethically.

Preview.ph talked to other Filipino photographers to hear their take on the use of AI in photography:

Dennis Sulit: “For me, AI is a great help in my editing process as a photographer, but I believe it is not a valuable tool for enhancing my work. I use it solely to speed up my editing process, such as erasing unwanted parts of a photo or omitting some details that were left unnoticed during the photoshoot.”

Josh Tolentino: “AI for me has been helpful whenever I get into my retouching workflow. It enhances the photos and saves me time through the series of tools available to get the retouching that I want—AI, specifically Generative AI helps me enhance or remove unwanted elements inside my photo with just a prompt that I wish to initiate.”

Karlo Cadang: “AI is very useful for my commercial works. It makes my workflow faster when it comes to cleaning the photos or extending backgrounds. But for more creative and editorial shoots I want my vision to be captured during the actual shoot and opt not to use AI or any kind of post editing as much as possible.”

Reference: Is It Okay to Use AI in Photography? We Asked Filipino Photographers to Weigh In (msn.com)

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