🚀 Why We Can’t Stop Envying AI Photos

The debate about AI photography is popping up everywhere, so I thought I’d share my own thoughts on the topic.

Table of Contents

• 🚚 Rethinking Photo Distribution

• 🍄 Facing AI Photography

• 🧃 Are We Just Jealous of AI Photos?

• 💐 Will Photos Become ‘Divine Pictures’?

• 🕺 See You Again Next Tuesday

🚚 Rethinking Photo Distribution

Before the internet, photos circulated through newspapers, magazines, photo books, galleries, and prints. But now, thanks to the internet, photo distribution is on a whole other level.
For example, in 2013, about 3,600 photos were posted on Instagram every minute, and by 2022, it had jumped to roughly 66,000 per minute.

With this flood of images, the relationship between viewer and photograph has shifted. In the past, viewing a photo usually meant going to a store for a photo book or magazine.
But now, we can access images worldwide right from our phones. You don’t even need to fly somewhere to see the latest work from a photographer in the U.S. if you’re in Japan.

But in a world where tens of thousands of photos are uploaded every minute, how many people actually open Instagram thinking, “I’m going to appreciate every new photo I see today”? It feels more like a habit: open Instagram, scroll through, hit ‘like,’ and repeat.

Photos risk becoming just consumable data, quickly scrolled through in fractions of a second.
It’s pretty sad, right? I think it is, and it’s why I believe it’s important to rethink how we distribute photos—how we deliver them to viewers in a way that they won’t just consume them and move on.

🍄 Facing AI Photography

At an event for Ricoh’s GR series in Shibuya last Saturday, I joined a talk with Tatsuo Suzuki, Takehiko Nakafuji, and Kyosuke Hamao, where we talked about all things street photography.

During the Q&A, someone asked how we felt about AI photography. He seemed to have a bit of a grudge against it, saying, “Images generated by AI aren’t real photos!”

I agree that AI-generated images are not photos (for convenience, I’ll refer to AI-generated photo-like images as 'AI photos' here).
But, in reality, most people don’t care. I saw a friend of mine—who’s not a photographer—share an AI photo that looked just like a photo. To them, it didn’t matter whether it was real or AI-made.

In this scenario, we as photographers need to rethink the value of a photo. In the pre-AI era, a photo’s worth was in its ability to capture reality in fine detail, to trace the real world from various angles.

But now, with fake news and AI photos flooding in, it’s harder to tell if an image captures truth or is a fabricated reality. It’s a bit like the market for counterfeit luxury goods—some people are happy to buy a knockoff if it looks good enough.

In those situations, a brand like Louis Vuitton might authenticate its products with unique stamps and date codes, or create value through the in-store purchase experience itself, emphasizing the appeal of owning something genuine. It’s no longer enough to simply create a good product.
We need to think about what kind of experiences or certifications can emphasize a photo’s authenticity.

🧃 Are We Just Jealous of AI Photos?

A lot of people criticize AI photos for being “fake.” But, if you think about it, even photos are “fake” in a sense. Reality isn’t black and white, and digital camera filters create colors like Fuji’s VELVIA that don’t exist naturally.

So maybe the real issue with AI photography is our own jealousy. We’re just annoyed that an amateur can type a prompt and generate an AI photo that captivates viewers more than a photo we spent time, effort, and money to create.

And maybe to mask this jealousy, we’re quick to call AI photos “fake” or say they “mislead” viewers. But AI is here to stay, so rather than just showing pictures, we photographers need to think more seriously about how we can share and showcase photos in ways only true photography can.

💐 Will Photos Become ‘Divine Pictures’?

Thinking about this reminded me of the movie Gattaca, where naturally born humans are labeled as 'God’s children' and considered inferior, while genetically engineered ones are the norm.

In some places, like parts of Europe, street photography is even illegal, and public opinion is trending against candid shots. If things continue like this, with AI street photography on the rise, photos captured on a real camera might someday be revered as images of “God’s creation”—“divine pictures.”

And if we can prove that these photos are authentic, they could gain a unique appeal and recognition in a world flooded with AI photos.

🕺 See You Again Next Tuesday

That’s it for this week’s edition.

Thanks so much for reading all the way through! If you found this helpful, feel free to share it using the social buttons below. You can also hit “like” or leave a comment; I’d love to hear your thoughts!

See you again next Tuesday!