I don’t know should you’ve seen, however images is changing into method too boring and predictable. With telephone processing, presets, AI edits, and social media traits, too many photos are starting to look the identical. The drawback isn’t essentially that that is taking place however that too many people are okay with it.
Of course, there are quite a few outliers. All world wide, photographers are pushing towards delivering simple, friction-free leads to pursuit of one thing distinctive and genuine. The latest 2026 World Press Photo Contest is an ideal instance of this, with images starting from a polar bear on a useless whale to a woman socializing with a robotic.
As disturbing as a few of these images are, their existence exhibits that every one creativity shouldn’t be misplaced. But, if we’re going to stem the tide, it’s price taking a couple of minutes to consider why this pattern is taking maintain. I’ll posit two causes and end with what we will do about it.
Article continues under
Given that the majority of our images find yourself on social media, we are actually conditioned to provide photos that carry out properly. That means excessive distinction, vivid colours, and centered topics. Algorithms have decided that they’re extra prone to cease folks scrolling, and if that’s our motivating purpose, then clearly we’re going to pander to it.
As a end result, we’re more and more discovering ourselves trapped in aesthetic echo chambers the place we copy what’s common, which makes that model extra common, which additional narrows the definition of what a “good” {photograph} is. What a tragedy.
Problem #2 – Evolving smartphone technology
Smartphones have evolved unrecognisably from the first models that were released in the mid 90s. At that point in time, phones didn’t have built-in cameras, let alone AI models for onboard photo processing. I loved my first ever phone, the Nokia 5110, but its capabilities are a far cry from what my iPhone is now capable of. Even the first ever camera phone, the Sharp J-SH04, seems ridiculously basic compared to what the Google Pixel can achieve.
Suffice to say, there’s been a seismic shift in phone technology, but it goes well beyond the introduction of lenses and sensors. Modern smartphones don’t just take a photo; they perform a billion calculations to decide what a “good” photo should look like. With most of this processing performed without user input, we end up with a handful of smartphone brands deciding what photos should or shouldn’t look like.
Onboard processing often results in the brightening of shadows and the dampening of highlights. And don’t get me started on scene optimizers that are trained to recognize what’s contained “inside” a photo and apply presets accordingly. I wish my phone would just leave my photos alone. Let me decide what I want my photo to look like. It might not be as “good”, but at least it’ll be authentic.
Solution – Embrace the second
Henri Cartier-Bresson famously spoke in regards to the “decisive moment” the place the whole lot aligns in entrance of you and also you seize it with a digital camera. There’s no thought to what you may change in submit or the way you may make the most of AI to “manufacture” that excellent shot. Even the concept of utilizing burst modes to hedge your bets goes towards the grain of capturing that authentic shot.
It’s too late to do a lot in regards to the newest traits in the direction of AI, however what if we may forge a brand new path that’s adopted by passionate photographers who care about authenticity and originality? It’s not the simplest path, and the output will probably be much less interesting on social media, however in our hearts of hearts, we’ll know that we stayed true to what we worth most.
You can also like
Browse the best photo editing software or the best computer mouse for photo editing.