Why Photography is Better Than AI-Generated Images:
This week I looked at three different sources of images. With my subject as desert sunsets, the first photo is the one I took on my iPhone from my backyard. The second is a stock photograph and the third is an AI-generated image that tries to follow the same subject. This experience has led me to conclude that human images/photographs are better than ones that are generated by AI.
There is a kind of relationship between an artist or photographer and their work. With the photograph I took, I had to physically go to where I wanted to take the picture, plan what time and angle, etc. I assume the photographer of the stock photograph did this as well.
But I didn’t have this personal relationship with the AI-generated photo. I typed in a prompt, and it spit out an image. I had a hard time getting the AI-generated photo to look like mine and the stock photo and I still found the result to look fake and not like an actual photograph.
This is because AI cannot mimic the process of photography. In his blog, Mindscape FX, David Wilson describes how photographs are created by light falling onto a photosensitive surface which is converted to an image either digitally or chemically.
In an article from Wild Eye, Justin Black explains that one of the things that makes photography better than AI is that it encourages us to see and explore the world. Photography captures the memories of the places we’ve been to and the experiences we’ve had. Another of Black’s points is that photography allows us to add our creative vision from start to finish. But no matter how much we add to an AI-image generator prompt, the final image is the product of AI and its training.
Natalie Zepp, who runs a photography blog and business, sums it up best by saying, “While AI can enhance certain aspects of photography, it lacks the intuition, emotion, and creative insight that are integral to the human experience. Photography is not solely about capturing images but also about conveying stories, emotions, and perspectives that are deeply rooted in the human condition.” Even as AI-generated images improve, they still won’t have the human elements that make photographs special.