From its beginnings, photography has been an ever-evolving medium. It has never been entirely stagnant, driven by photographers wanting increasingly sophisticated capabilities.

We now see revolutionary advancements, thanks to artificial intelligence (A.I.). As the technology of A.I. becomes more advanced, its influence on photography grows - as an enhancer, not as a substitute photographer. Whether it's auto-tagging images or advanced portrait mode on a cell phone, it seems the influence of A.I. is undeniable.

A.I. and Photo Editing

Artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly adept at photography. As its algorithms become even more trainable, its influence on photo editing will grow. (Even so, it still needs a human photographer to capture images - at least for now!)

Here are just some of A.I.'s influences on image editing:

• A.I. learns from an editor's selections

• Speeds up and streamlines the process by labeling submissions

• A.I. facilitates auto-enhancements that include making colors look more vibrant or accentuates specific details in an image.

• A.I. can recognize what is in a picture, including differentiating between people (including faces), objects, and animals.

A Closer Look at A.I. and Photography

Post-processing edits: The sharpening tool is an example of how A.I. can affect our work. Sharpening an image can be a time drain during post-processing. Accurate sharpening takes skill, even when you're using photography editing software or an online app, and it can take a lot of time. Until recently, many photographers rarely used auto-sharpen because it wasn't very accurate. To sharpen an image, A.I. detects the difference between features, including foreground and background, and automatically adjusts the picture as needed. As A.I. has become more advanced, so have elements such as auto-enhancements, including auto-sharpening, creative effects, and filters.

Recognition: As the sharpening abilities of A.I. have improved, so has its recognition capabilities. It is increasingly efficient at recognizing the differences between humans, including their faces and objects. It will also identify and classify things such as properties, web entities, and labels. All of this means saving the photographer significant time when it comes to organizing images in a catalog. 

Final Thoughts on A.I.

While A.I. is often behind advancing photography technology, most photographers simply see convenient advances that save them time. However, A.I. plays an essential and technical role in photography.

A.I. can store, browse, sort, and process thousands, if not millions, of images. It can recognize or detect increasingly complex metadata such as faces, landmarks, handwriting, text, and other essential details. It can make editing more efficient and sophisticated and, in many ways, more creative, but almost entirely after the image is taken. Those italicized words are the defining distinction surrounding the role of A.I. and photography today.

Don't expect A.I. to completely replace the human editor any time soon. While machine intelligence is rapidly evolving and improving, it's not - yet - at the level of completely replacing a human photographer. A.I. can auto-sharpen an image, but it can't account for things like composition and the context of an image or setting. It can't weigh the emotional meaning of what or who you're seeing and shooting so you can pivot as needed, like when shooting a wedding.

Lastly, artificial intelligence cannot compensate for the human brain's ability to think and act creatively.