If I’m testing a gadget for Digital Camera World, then I normally head to the Barbican Centre in London, England. The Barbican’s sprawling maze of Brutalist structure makes an important location for a mannequin shoot, particularly once I have to gentle them with an LED or check out a wide range of fog machines within the location’s lengthy, darkish corridors.
When Apple lent me an iPhone 17 to evaluate as a digital camera, I predictably shot on the Barbican. However, I additionally wished to place the iPhone 17 by means of its paces in a brand new location, to interrupt freed from the Barbican’s acquainted grey-and-brown shade palette and stony textures.
I solely had my mannequin for 2 hours, so I made a decision to ask the machine thoughts of ChatGPT to conjure up a London-based two-hour photograph stroll that will give me a variety of areas wherein to shoot my mannequin.
I hadn’t actually used ChatGPT earlier than for a mission like this, however I used to be impressed by the velocity at which the app created a location-based itinerary in a part of London that I’d not visited because the final century: Shoreditch.
It struggled to give me a usable map with a detailed route inscribed on it, but it did give me the following route, complete with a timetable – and each location had some suggestions on what type of subjects and shots I could expect to capture!
I checked out ChatGPT’s suggested route on Google Maps and was able to use Street View to get a better preview of the locations that it suggested I visit. Here’s the photo walk timetable, route and some potential photo subject suggestions, and even a selection of shooting tips that it suggested:
Route Summary:
Start at Boxpark Shoreditch → Walk along Redchurch Street → Head to Brick Lane → Turn into Chance & Whitby Streets → End at Arnold Circus.
Time 0:00 – 0:20
Location Boxpark Shoreditch
Style / Highlights Urban, modern lines, signage.
Photo Ideas Geometric backdrops, glass reflections
Time 0:20 – 0:45
Location Chance & Whitby.
Style / Highlights Streets Graffiti concentration, artistic vibe
Photo Ideas Edgy portraits, shade light tests, color contrast
Time 0:45 – 1:15
Location Redchurch Street
Style / Highlights Boutique storefronts, muted tones, cobblestones.
Photo Ideas Shopfront portraits, mirror reflections, lifestyle
Time 1:15 – 1:40
Location Arnold Circus
Style / Highlights Soft greenery, vintage London brick, calm atmosphere.
Photo Ideas Depth layering on staircases, natural skin tones
Time 1:40 – 2:00
Location Brick Lane
Style / Highlights Street art, graffiti, markets, lively texture.
Photo Ideas Murals as backdrops, walking shots, wide vs portrait
Shooting Tips:
Best time: Early morning or golden hour for softer light and fewer crowds. Bring a small reflector or white card for shaded shots. Test ultra-wide for murals, standard for portraits, and telephoto for compression shots. Each stop is 5–8 minutes apart — stay flexible for spontaneous moments.
So, armed with my AI-powered itinerary, I headed to London. I planned to meet my model, Maddy (@Runway.voguish), at 14:00, so I arrived an hour early to do a fast recce of ChatGPT’s proposed route. I quickly realized that there was a good bit of zig-zagging, so I re-ordered the itinerary in my iPhone 17’s Notes app.
The recce was a good suggestion, because it confirmed me that ChatGPT had certainly offered me with some unbelievable areas, from the autumnal leaf-strewn Arnold Circus, to a park surrounded by lovely Victorian red-brick mansion blocks and tenements, to the store fronts and graffiti-sprayed partitions of Brick Lane.
When I met Maddy I used to be utterly relaxed, as I knew the place I used to be going and what backdrops I’d be taking pictures her towards. This gave us time to slot in a espresso break in a phenomenal non-franchise espresso store, which itself offered a way of life photograph alternative of Maddy consuming her espresso.
I loved my ChatGPT-inspired photograph stroll, and it actually offered me with a a lot wider vary of topics and backdrops than I normally get from my common photograph stroll haunts. I used ChatGPT’s solutions as a springboard for my shoot and was pleased to tweak its timetable and placement solutions as soon as I’d recce’d the placement.
It’s actually an experiment that I can extremely advocate – and as you’ll hopefully see from my photographs, I captured a variety of colourful and different photographs on the iPhone 17, utilizing its Ultra Wide 13mm, 26mm Main, and 52mm Telephoto lenses.