State of AI in Photography, Vacation Edition

We’re going to keep asking “What Does It All Mean?” and that’s OK.

Hello friends! Let me extend a warm welcome to the new subscribers who’ve joined since last week’s edition, and virtual warm chocolate chip cookies 🍪 to those that became paid subscribers. I appreciate your support in keeping this newsletter going.

I’ve been on vacation this week, so this edition of Photo AI is going to be brief.

First Thing

The latest episode of the PhotoActive podcast is out, where Kirk McElhearn and I get ranty about a number of photographic subjects. It’s not specifically AI-focused, but we did have a great conversation that isn’t just curmudgeonly banter—we dig into some photographic issues that have been gnawing at us.

Listen and subscribe here: Episode #139: The Rant Episode.

The State of Photography AI with Aaron Hockley

Aaron Hockley and I had a great chat about the state of photography AI over on his Tech Photo Guy YouTube channel that you should definitely check out. Because it’s still a nascent technology, there are a lot of misconceptions and questions around AI in photography, which is why we’ve both been covering the field.

Watch the full video (35 minutes) here:

We no doubt didn’t cover everything, so we’re doing a live Q&A this Wednesday, April 19 at 4 PM PDT. Bring your questions and concerns: is AI the end of photography? Are pro photographers going to be made obsolete? We’ll bring our expertise to the discussion.

Further Reading

• Pixelmator released a new version of Pixelmator Photo, now rebranded as Photomator, for iOS and iPadOS. Pixelmator has been aggressive about incorporating AI technologies into their tools to differentiate them from other photo-editing apps. Just as exciting, the company says that a Mac version is coming soon. (If you want to see it before the official release, you can apply to sign up for access via TestFlight.)

• This isn’t specifically an AI/ML tool, but I wanted to call this out. Reincubate recently released Camo 2, the newest version of their software for using an iPhone as a webcam. This update broadens what Camo offers, expanding support for nearly any kind of camera…even standalone webcams. (Quick disclaimer: I wrote a trio of pieces in 2020 and 2021 for Reincubate about webcams in general. They’re still good references about webcam technology and options for using other devices as webcams, and not specifically about Camo.

Let’s Connect

Thanks again for reading and recommending Photo AI to others who would be interested. Send any questions, tips, or suggestions for what you’d like to see covered at jeff@jeffcarlson.com. Are these emails too long? Too short? Let me know.