Will I use AI in commissioned photography work or my photographic art?
Given the obvious impact AI is having on photography, I felt the need to clarify my own set of policy guidelines in regards to the use of AI in my work.
AI, and in particular generative AI, will inevitably impact the actual authenticity or perceived authenticity of photographic works. I don’t want this to happen to my work. I want to stand or fall by the quality of my own work, not that of an AI algorithm. Because of this, I have decided that I will not use any generative or creative AI for creative purposes in my photography or post-processing work.
What I will use AI for is a small range of technical processes that have no creative impact on my work.
These processes are:
- Creating masks during post-production in various post-production software
- Upscaling images for print
When making masks, the decisions which creative changes I like to make have already been taken by me. The actual making of the masks is a technical process and, if done by hand and to a high standard, also very time-consuming. I don’t see any impact on the authenticity of a photograph by using AI to create masks during post-processing.
Image upscaling for print is a process that has long been done by algorithms. In fact, it’s the only way it’s ever been done in the digital era. Prior to AI we’ve had algorithms based on various mathematics created by various software makers. Today the software algorithms for image enlargement have become smarter but the aim of the software remains the same. This is to enlarge an image without introducing obvious artifacting, while preserving the integrity of the original image. Again, this is a technical process without creative impact.
My decisions regarding AI will mean that my work, commissioned or art-based, will remain authentic and that the integrity of my works will stay intact.
The Theatre of Light
I live in what I call ‚The Theater of Light‘.
Some context. The place I live in is a small village in a rural area of Germany. The area is known as the ‚Nethegau‘ and lays in the ‚Weserbergland‘ region of central Germany. If you’d look at a map of Germany you’d find us right there in the middle of that map. What makes this area special is the lack of infrastructure and the beautiful hills and valleys with their fields, forests and rivers. It’s an area where the Brothers Grim conceived and collected many of the fairy tales that are still so well known today. The castle where Rapunzel supposedly ‚lived‘ is a leisurely 25-minute drive away from our village.
Now, while I love this area for its natural beauty I love it even more for the quality of light. Our village is surrounded by hills on three sides and a river flat on the other. This gives it the appearance of an open-air theater. Because of the geographical location near two hill ranges and the various river valleys, we enjoy ever-changing atmospheric conditions leading to constant changes in the quality of light. You never know today what you’ll get tomorrow and there are many subtle to dramatic changes during the day. In other words, it’s rarely boring and a boon to photography. Having said that, on a dull, grey day this area can also look dull and grey, but then someone turns on the lights and the whole area just looks magic.
As I’ve been privately calling this area ‚The Theater of Light‘ I have now decided to start a project with that name. Above are the first two images as part of that new series.
