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AI has become commonplace in many photo editing apps, but while I use it for a handful of tasks, I still don’t trust it to perform most edits for me.
1AI Cannot Fully Replicate My Editing Style
I’vedeveloped a unique photography stylethrough years of practicing my composition and countless hours learning the ins and outs of editing software. Although I’m hugely experimental, AI has often struggled to replicate how I edit. I also find some tools, such as Auto Enhance, somewhat limiting.
Even with AI-specific photo editing software, I’ve still struggled to get the results I’m looking for. In many cases, I think that it’s much easier to manually adjust my pictures. For the most part, AI is better at fixing issues than it is at adding a creative touch.
2I Worry That My Photos Could Become Generic
You can’t do the same thing as everyone and expect unique results. This is particularly true in creative pursuits, such as photography and photo editing. While using AI has helped me learn the basics of how different sliders work together, I’m fearful that editing just with AI will make my pictures generic.
Using one-click photo editors and similar tools can severely limit your creativity if you rely on them too much. Doing this is the easy route, which means that you’ll be grouped with average editors and struggle to stand out.
3Data and Privacy Concerns
Protecting your privacy in the era of AIhas become more important, and it has also placed data and privacy concerns stemming from these tools in the spotlight. Relying on AI to do the majority of photo edits for me would make me feel uneasy, especially if I used an app that I couldn’t fully trust.
One of the maingenerative AI privacy concernsI think about is how my images will be used. I do not want my images used to train LLMs, nor do I want to leave myself open to security threats when I exchange details with an AI photo editor.
To mitigate this risk, I only use AI photo editing software that I trust. For example, I really likeLightroom’s AI editing features.
If you’re going to use a free AI editing tool, ensure that you understand the risks and are willing to deal with them.
4AI Is Often Inaccurate With White Balance
When I first started photography, I cared very little aboutwhite balance. However, now that I’m more experienced, I realize just how important it is to get this right. I always attempt to get things right in-camera; for example, if I’m using my mirrorless camera, I can control the Kelvin number.
I have tried using AI to edit the white balance, but it often overcompensates and makes the picture much warmer than it should be. For this reason, I almost always automatically adjust the white balance when needed.
I can do this with my smartphone’s native editing app, and for more professional pictures, I use Lightroom to adjust the tint and temperature. Learning how tomaster color gradinghas also helped me get the right temperature in my pictures.
5Overusing AI Makes Photo Editing Joyless
I find it amusing when people say they hate photo editing, as I genuinely enjoy it. On multiple occasions, I’ve spent the entire day editing my pictures without realizing where time has gone. I think it’s very important to do things that bring you joy, and for this reason, I’m very careful when using AI in my edits.
Even if it was possible to click once and get the exact photo edits that I wanted (which it isn’t), I would still probably want to make at least some adjustments myself. Efficiency is important, but you shouldn’t sacrifice what makes you happy.
To maximize enjoyment, I use AI to edit the aspects I don’t want to. For example, I dislike manually fixing blemishes; AI does a pretty job, so it’s fine. But, for things like lighting, I usually prefer not to use AI.
6AI Isn’t Very Good at Editing Colors
Besides the fact that I like editing colors in my pictures, I’ve also noticed that AI isn’t very good at editing them. When I use Auto Enhance, the pictures often appear over-saturated, while at times, the results can seem rather flat.
I’ve noticed similar effects happen not just in Lightroom, but also in most other editing tools I use. My theory is that editing software’s automatic adjustment features get you closer to a technically correct picture, but not more than that.
Admittedly, I could also be nitpicking here because I want to control my pictures more closely. Nonetheless, I still prefer making manual adjustments. If AI becomes good at editing pictures at some point, I’m happy to revisit my statement.
7AI Can Sometimes Make My Photos Look Fake
Another problem I have with relying too much on AI is that it sometimes makes my photos look fake. This has happened especially when I’ve relied on it to adjust the clarity, dehaze, and texture in my pictures. I find that AI often overestimates how much clarity is required in particular.
I also have a specific way of editing my pictures; while they are high-contrast, I feel like AI has occasionally added too much. This becomes a big problem on snowy days in particular, and I’ve also encountered problems on overcast days.
I have a specific approach to editing my pictures. While I prefer high-contrast images, I’ve noticed that AI sometimes adds too much contrast. This issue is especially pronounced on snowy or overcast days.
8AI Photo Editing Can Make My Photos Look Too Polished
When editing my photos, the point is not to make them look perfect. Instead, I wantmy photos to evoke the emotionsthat I felt when taking the picture. I aim to capture the overall atmosphere at that time.
Relying too much on AI has sometimes resulted in my images having too much of a polished look. Personally, I don’t like this; it stops the pictures from looking unique. Even if I try auto-enhancing my pictures, I’ll still adjust at least some of the sliders.
AI has some advantages in photo editing, but as I’ve gained more experience, I don’t rely on it to make most of my adjustments. It’s good for repairing parts of my picture, but I don’t trust AI to adjust colors and whatnot. Moreover, the associated data and privacy concerns mean that I’m very picky about which tools I choose.
