My Adventures with Portraits by Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Let’s face it, Artificial Intelligence is being incorporated into our lives on a more regular basis all the time. From algorithms that follow our browsing and send us ads for things we might want to buy, to robot customer service operators, to self driving cars, we are slowly adapting. (I haven’t tried one of those cars yet, but the self parking feature would sure come in handy some days.)
Now, ChatGPT is everywhere, proposing to make our work lives easier by writing our blog posts, scripting our podcasts, and even replying to emails on our behalf. No more forgotten emails. And we barely need personal input.
I don’t doubt that this could be wonderfully time saving, and I am willing to learn about it all. Even AI portraits. After all, a scant 20 years ago, digital photography was the new kid on the block, and seemed strange to those of us with medium format film cameras and long hours in the darkroom. Live and learn.
The latest trend in the line of ‘no contact ‘ service is AI headshots….’professional’ portraits you can utilize in your job search …and you don’t even need to be there! Sound impossible? (Or maybe a dream come true if you really don’t like to have your portrait made.)
To be fair, as a professional portrait photographer for over 40 years, I have been bending reality for decades, via Photoshop and other portrait enhancement software. Smoother skin, brighter eyes and other tweaks can help me create portraits my clients love. And I am happy to offer this service.
Occasionally, someone asks if I can remove all the lines on their face, rather than just soften them. My answer is, ‘I can, but do you want me to?’ Those lines tell the story of our life experience, our smiles and laughter, even those youthful summers spent on the beach. Enhancement is great, but plastic Barbie skin is just too artificial for me. On reflection, clients really want an image that shows them looking great, but still authentic.
Which leads to my experiment in AI Headshots. The ads are everywhere, and a person does need to keep up with industry trends.
I looked up several companies, and the promise is amazing. This service offers to take our selfies and/or casual snapshots and turn them into professional headshots. It offers change of wardrobe and background and lighting. Pretty cool.
As per directions, I paid the fee, and I sent in 10 recent photos from my phone, with three recent hairstyles. There is a disclaimer that not all of them may look exactly like me. But I get a bunch, so that’s ok. I got back over 40 headshots! Wow.
Is this the end of professional photography? I hardly think so.
As promised, all were quality images, with various outfits and hairstyles. Interestingly, most of the outfits looked like something I might wear in real life. (They also highlight the importance of choosing the right colors and neckline style for your photo.) I could use many of them as headshots.
However, not one of them really looked like me Instead, they were a computerized version of what some programmer thinks someone which my features SHOULD look like.
Many kind of resembled me. Certainly some looked my sisters. I look younger in some, significantly older in others. But not one was authentically a portrait of me.
The selection felt more like an actor’s storyboard of favorite roles:
*Hardworking Alaskan Ice fisherman *Weary but determined BBC TV Detective
*Energetic Cable News Anchor *C Level executive
*Disapproving potential mother in law *Criminal mugshot
One was so beautiful, I would want to give it to the plastic surgeon if I ever go into the witness protection program and get a new face. I won’t show that one. Just in case…
All the sites stressed the importance of good headshots online. And I agree. We still want to do business with people we know, like and trust. Truly, we may never meet many of our business contacts in person.
And if we never do, does it matter that our online photos are not actually photos of us?
One site promised that I would never be rejected by a recruiter because of my poor quality photo. Ok, but how about when we get to the Zoom interview and look significantly different than the photo we sent when applying?
Does this show me to be deceitful? We all hear about photos on dating sites that looks nothing like the person, and how and how sad that is. Is it the same in business? Isn’t it better to start off as authentic, genuine people? Or does that knock us out of the running before we get started? Hmmm…. I am curious on the recruiter’s take on this concept.
All this is not to say that AI headshots is a terrible service. It was rather fun. I was truly curious what would be generated, and I was oddly disappointed that not one image seemed right, to me, my husband or my kids.
I imagine if I kept sending in more images and the AI kept building different scenarios, I might end up looking like a real girl. Then again, I could call a real photographer……
As to whether anyone needs to (as one site put it ) ‘waste time and money to hire a professional photographer,’ I compare it to eating. We already have fully equipped kitchens in our homes, and coffee makers, and well stocked pantries. There is no real need to ‘waste time and money’ eating out. yet when we want something special, and we want someone else to do it for us, we still head to our favorite restaurants.
Same thing with a portrait. When you represent your business, or yourself, you want your photographs to be good, and it is the professional photographer’s job to help you present your best , most authentic self to the camera, and the world. And look great doing it.
Call anytime to see if we can do something for you!
Vignettes 