{"id":511123,"date":"2026-06-21T13:25:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T13:25:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/511123\/"},"modified":"2026-06-21T13:25:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T13:25:10","slug":"it-feels-like-cheating-over-reliance-on-ai-editing-software-is-making-photographers-lazy-and-core-camera-skills-are-not-being-learned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/511123\/","title":{"rendered":"“It feels like cheating”:\u00a0Over-reliance on AI editing software is making photographers lazy \u2013\u00a0and core camera skills are not being learned"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ve quickly got used to AI improving the AF performance of our digital cameras. And now, increasingly, when it comes to further enhancing resultant shots in AI-powered image processing software, including the likes of Evoto AI<\/a> and Luminar Neo<\/a>. I\u2019ve recently had a go with the latest iterations of both and one thought struck me.<\/p>\n

It feels like cheating. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

It also feels like relinquishing control, as the AI tools make visual decisions that \u2013 while producing perfectly acceptable-looking results \u2013 aren\u2019t necessarily mirroring the decisions I would personally have taken, or the edits I\u2019d have made. Am I happy getting generic results, rather than authentic expressions of my identity?<\/p>\n

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That said, there\u2019s no denying I can get results a whole lot quicker \u2013 and I can imagine professionals, facing an edit of hundreds of images from a portrait or wedding shoot, will be tempted to batch process. It\u2019s not like their clients are going to know that they had help from an AI toolkit.<\/p>\n

However, in asking AI to make creative calls on our behalf, do we run the risk of becoming less creative ourselves \u2013 and downright lazy?<\/p>\n

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The tried-and-tested mantra for any jobbing photographer has always been to \u2018get it right in camera\u2019, as the primary way to avoid spending hours cleaning up or adjusting images in Photoshop<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"Evoto\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Dan Mold)<\/p>\n

If now, with AI, I can get similar-looking \u2013 or certainly \u2018good enough\u2019 \u2013 results in seconds, where\u2019s the motivation to go the extra mile at the outset, or get exposure and depth of field spot-on, while my subject is still in front of my lens?<\/p>\n

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The counter-argument, of course, is that with such programs promising to speed up our workflow and help us avoid tedious, repetitive tasks, photographers will have more time to devote to the \u2018fun\u2019 part of taking the pictures. Or even less fun things, such as filing company accounts with the taxman.<\/p>\n

I guess it all comes down to whether we see AI image editing software as a method to maximize our hard-earned skills and take our visual expertise up a notch \u2013 after all, it pays to have a decent image to work with in the first place \u2013 as well as a timesaver. Or whether we view it as a sticking plaster, or crutch, to make good our own deficiencies or occasional errors.<\/p>\n

Perhaps exposure to too much \u2018AI slop\u2019 is rewiring our brains and encouraging and excusing our own photographic sloppiness. Or, more positively, is what photographers are wrestling with now more akin to the transition from film to digital, when we potentially ended up with many more \u2018keepers\u2019 because we could quickly see the result?<\/p>\n

Whether we\u2019re producing images au naturel or aided and abetted by AI, I think what matters most is still our personal judgement. If the result looks great then it\u2019s a keeper, however I\u2019ve reached that stage. If it looks crap, then I\u2019m still reaching for the \u2018delete\u2019 button\u2026 whatever the robots are suggesting.<\/p>\n

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Take a look at the best photo editing software<\/a> along with the best free photo editing software<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We\u2019ve quickly got used to AI improving the AF performance of our digital cameras. And now, increasingly, when…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":511124,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[61,60,80],"class_list":["post-511123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=511123"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511123\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/511124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=511123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=511123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=511123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}