Until recently we haven’t seen any major advancements in camera technology for years. It seemed that all camera manufacturers care about was the ‘megapixel race, e.g. the higher the resolution, the better. The word megapixel became a synonym for image quality, which is in fact a misnomer, as almost no images are ever seen or even printed at their native resolution.
Smarter Autofocus
The latest generation of digital cameras can identify objects in the frame such as humans, animals, birds and even vehicles. This means the camera understands the composition and can track subjects as they move through the frame. The team of local wedding photographers at Schmittat Photography tell us this type of autofocus is an absolute game changer for their line of work. The camera can follow the bride and groom, identify their faces, and even lock focus to their eyeballs – gone are the days of misfocussed shots. But not only professionals benefit from this technological advancement. Also, amateur photographers will see this technology appear on their consumer devices and even smartphone cameras. In future, it will be normal to assume that your camera will focus on a subject just like the human eye would
Smarter Culling
Whether it’s in-camera or using photo editing software in post-production, AI is making the process of selecting the best shots ever easier. Modern AI systems can detect and recognise facial expressions including smile detection and closed eyes detection. According to the team of corporate headshot photographers at FrameShot, such software greatly reduces post-production time when producing hundreds of business headshots in one session. In addition, AI is now capable of analysing motion and motion blur in photographs, which makes culling large amounts of photos even faster. Before outputting the selected images to the user, sophisticated AI systems can rank the remaining images according to general image composition, contrast and exposure. In conclusion, culling images – a previously tedious process – is more and more becoming an effective and even enjoyable part of commercial photography again.
Intelligent Photo Development
Most commercial photographers shoot in RAW format. RAW format means that all data from the imaging sensor in the camera is saved. This data needs to be digitally developed which is a process that includes many creative decisions. Editing (or developing) digital photos has become somewhat of an art in itself with many photographers working in their signature styles. Once the images are culled the photographer usually has to edit his or her images one by one. It is not uncommon that a photographer would spend 2-3h editing photos for each hour spent taking photos.
Recent AI-based software solutions can ‘learn’ any photographer’s specific signature style. The software analyses thousands of previously edited photos to understand that photographer’s style. Now, a photographer can simply send their photos to the AI engine and receive edited versions back almost instantly.
Conclusion and what’s next?
AI is adding real value for photographers. It increases the quality of their images through effective in-camera autofocusing and immensely reduces post-production turnaround time through AI culling and developing. The team of professional videographers at Funeral Memories expect, that going forward AI will play an important role in video editing as well.
