When We Weren’t Looking

Since artificial intelligence seemingly emerged everywhere at once, like an invading alien space force, predictions of the demise of portrait photography have assumed an air of inevitability.

The more likely outcome is that AI and professional photographers will coexist. Undeniably, AI-generated headshots (based on existing captures) are already nothing short of astonishing and will continue to improve exponentially. However, as they become more ubiquitous, the premium on authenticity will grow in direct proportion. The genuine article always assumes greater stature in a world drowning in fakes.

An Inevitable Backlash?

Curiously, Gen Zers are said to be among the greatest proponents of AI headshots. What’s not to love? It’s immediate, cheap, and makes you look amazing. But that same upcoming generation—digital natives—is driving a return to all things analog. The rising demand for quality magazines, for one example, is partly a response to the erosion of trust in digital media.

Similarly, the tactility and permanence of vinyl records contrast with the ephemeral nature of music comprised of bits and code that you never really own. Young folks profess a love for vintage cameras, with a particular affinity for film, and embrace the exquisite imperfection of instant prints in the mode of classic Polaroids. The apparent contradiction reveals a longing for authenticity and weariness for the over-embellished, a yearning for real human interaction, and a premium on experiences over consumerism.

It will be interesting to see whether AI flourishes in the face of a synthetic backlash or eventually becomes disparaged, like the Metaverse. It may be some of both, but the coexistence of simulated reality and actual photography is no different from that of the artisanal with the mass-produced. Or of gourmands and devotees of fast food. In our world, most people navigate between both realms effortlessly.

It’s important to remember that AI is merely a continuation of a long arc of image manipulation as old as art and certainly since the origins of photography. In the recent past, back-to-nature types in the 1960s rebelled against impossible benchmarks of beauty imposed on the world by Hollywood, only to ricochet in the form of soft-focused glamour portraits, so de rigueur with mall studios in the 1980s. Adobe Photoshop changed the game by allowing us to tinker with photos in a fraction of the time it took before, displacing thousands of skilled retouchers overnight and creating a new class of digital professionals and enthusiasts on orders of magnitude. Progress and culture wait for no one.

AI is an extraordinary tool for concepting creative direction for all types of image-making, from films and advertising to editorial art. But while culling the herd may be inevitable, smart photographers will survive by positioning their skills as a premium luxury experience, emerging stronger than ever. —J Heroun