I have been a professional photographer for 18 years now and have seen the industry change a lot over that time.  I started out working for a large catalogue company which is where I learnt the fundamentals of commercial photography. Having moved to predominantly working with online businesses I have always been grateful to have had the opportunity to learn in a much more in-depth way when I was starting out. Those fundamentals have followed me throughout my career giving me a broader skill set which I was able to adapt for the faster pace of e-commerce. I have seen the online boom and how it changed the way we work, and now we have Generative Ai which again is forcing us to revisit our existing processes and ask ourselves, is there a better way? 

 

The introduction of artificial intelligence in the work place is a massive shift to how we have worked over the past few decades. Change can be scary and often meets resistance, especially when it happens so quickly. Ai is simply a tool which allows us as creatives to solve the same problems our services already provide in a more efficient way. It is easy to get very attached to the process but we need to remember WHY instead of focusing on the HOW. With one simple white background image of a product we can now show your customers what it would look like in an infinite array of settings, and these scenes can be changed throughout the year without having to reshoot that product. This saves you time and money, allowing you to focus more on creating great products so really everyone is a winner. 

 

Not every situation however is relevant to the use of Ai. There are still many things that are more efficiently solved simply by doing it the way we always have. Personally I take a holistic approach, looking at all the options available and recommening what is best in that specific scenario. What are we trying to solve, and what is the most efficient way to solve it. I do however keep up to date with new technologies so that I am ready to implement them as they become of a sufficient standard to be used in a professional setting. 

 

It is an exciting time to be alive with so so much changing around us. Now more than ever we need to evolve, grow, iterate alongside the ever changing landscape and embrace the newness we are presented with.