Why I do not use AI in creativity.

There is no AI in any of my photos, artwork, video or written work.

Last July, I wrote a blog on the Emptiness of AI in Photography. Little did I know that only a year later, AI would have developed so much.

Some of the videos and photos created by AI are extremely realistic. However, some of them are extremely inaccurate and complete nonsense, particularly those associated with animal behaviour.

The animals, people and places in those images are fake, unreal, in a situation that never happened. There is nothing educational or inspiring about those stories. Their goal is to give you a dopamine hit to keep you continuously doom scrolling.

Every creative needs to be clear how they interact with AI because failure to do so could lead to misleading assumptions on the origin of the image and how much of it is fact or fiction, how much is down to the skill and creative ability of the artist or storyteller and how much is down to an algorithm.

My goal with photography, film-making and art

My goal is to tell authentic stories of people and wildlife in the great outdoors. I want to use imagery to showcase the natural world, the wonder of creation and the adventure playground outside we can enjoy. If people look at my images and want to go and experience the beauty of nature for themselves, to value it and protect it, my job is complete!

Generating AI images doesn't align with this goal. Only real images capturing real stories will inspire you to go on real world adventures, in beautiful raw, wild nature.

So if you are a creative, does using AI align with your vision, values and goals? If it does, let people know.

What about AI in photo editing?

This is the real question I needed to have a really good think about. AI is now integrated into Photoshop tools and is available in the premium Affinity 3 package.

Personally, I don't like subscriptions so I'm sticking with the free Affinity photo software which doesn't have AI. It is a professional grade software that has just been made free recently. I also use Davinchi Resolve for professional video editing which is also free.

So while I am sticking to the free software, I don't have access to the AI stuff. But if I did, would I use it?

To answer this question, I must return to my goal: to capture the beauty of the world around us, document stories and inspire adventure and nature conservation.

During the editing process, I change parts of the photo to make it look like what I see in the real world because a raw image straight out of the camera doesn't do it justice. It looks flat and sometimes, really dark or discoloured. Editing often involves layering and stitching multiple photos together to create an image that captures the real world because one photo on it's own just wouldn't be sufficient.

A panorama photo made up of 11 different photos stitched together in Affinity to create one large scene.

At this point, I think it is impossible to say that I will never use AI in photo editing as it is being integrated into so many basic editing functions. But I would only use AI in photo editing to do the tasks I do already more effectively for example, selecting fur on an animal more easily, improved sharpening or organising my photo files better! I always want my photography primarily to be about the camera work.

For me, the editing is part of the creative process. I wouldn't give a robot my paint brush, so why would I give it my mouse?

Skipping the process

After years of developing photo and video editing skills, the last thing I want to do is hand over my creative process. Creating artwork or a photograph is a story in itself. An imperfect human process that involves skill and time.

Time is something we have less and less of in our society.

Simply jumping from an idea to an image is like skipping from a mountain base to summit - you miss the whole journey in between full of the challenges and triumphs along the way and additional discoveries made.

During an art group I attended, someone once said that they love all the marks in abstract art because it is so human. Although I am not an abstract artist, I appreciate the concept, that the creative process is something profoundly human and unique. It is built into us as a form of expression and inspiring others.

My watercolour paintings are inspired by what I see in nature.

Conclusion - My stance on AI

• I do not use Ai in my creativity. There is no AI in my writing, artwork, filming or photography. My creative process requires time, research and skill development.

• When researching topics, I fact check against views and opinions of the websites of professional organisations and science research journals.

• Authentic storytelling is inspired by real world experiences - not by Chat GPT.

• I strive to showcase real world stories out in nature.

• My photo editing reflects this goal of enhancing an image to make it more like what I see. I don't use heavy handed photo editing or generate images using AI.