Does AI Photo Editing and Retouching Ruin the Essence of Photography, or Does it Boost Creativity?

Last Updated on January 23, 2022

AI photo editing has been making a lot of noise in today’s highly competitive marketplace. In this era of technological uproar where everything is done just one click away, there’s no end to delivering new and more interesting photographs.

Does AI Photo Editing and Retouching Ruin the Essence of Photography, or Does it Boost Creativity?

The advancement of technology has contributed a lot to the photography industry and allows photographers to take their photography skills to the next level. With the advent of AI-powered photo editing, many businesses that incorporate these technologies into their workflow save time performing repetitive tasks.

Not only does AI photo editing technology impact small to large-scale companies, but they are also loved by individuals who are fond of taking pictures and showcasing their creativity through photography.

With photo editing, one can create new stories out of one or more other images. You can also achieve new, ambient ‘feels’ through simple adjustments and filters. But while there are endless possibilities in recreating and repurposing photographs through editing, a question baffles many amateur photographers and individuals alike: is editing actually ruining the essence of photography, or is it just a way to boost creativity?

We can only find out the answer if we know the advantages and disadvantages of photo editing and how edited photos affect the people who look at them.

Does AI Photo Editing and Retouching Ruin the Essence of Photography, or Does it Boost Creativity?

The Benefits of Photo Editing

Photo editing is not just making a raw image beautiful. You want your photos to catch attention by transforming them into an eye-catching exhibit. Enhancing the image quality can make it more appealing to the viewer. Making your photos look more realistic is a plus factor. 

Photo editing services are widely available for digitally enhancing photos to fit the requirement. There are lots of photo editing applications and software that you can utilize to edit your photos. Photographers find it very useful because it makes their lives much more uncomplicated.

There are several reasons why you might want to edit pictures using photo-editing software:

1. You can transform the general appearance of a person or object in the image by retouching it. 

You can get rid of the unnecessary part that might degrade the image. It is mainly used in fashion photography to beautify models by removing dark spots, acne, blemishes, wrinkles, etc. In addition, it improves the appearance of the images you intend to use when launching a product or rebranding.

2. You can build your style that you can stick throughout your photography endeavor.

You can do this by experimenting with a few photos until you achieve the perfect look that you want. Aesthetically-shot images on social media give you a head start in introducing your business. In addition, it helps you stand out by making an impression on people.

3. You do not want your photo to look dull and lifeless.

You can adjust the contrast, brightness, gray and white balance, vibrance, color strength, and the like by matching different colors to deliver perfection. Moreover, you can adjust the lightness or darkness based on your preference to make an image look fresh and lively.

You can make your photos pleasing by utilizing editing tools that will make you look like a pro. You can inspire creativeness in your craft by making unique imagery. The more attractive it is, the more prospective clients you gain.

4. You can emphasize the desired part of the images you wish to draw attention to by enhancing the mood and feel. 

There are certain instances when what you capture on camera sometimes does not accurately reflect that moment. That way, you can tell a story using your images by recreating the whole story behind the picture. Try to learn something new.

5. You can crop unwanted content or unnecessary distractions from the image that were not supposed to be there.

You can use manual background removal to your photos to set a new one. You can generate a transparent background instantly and turn your images into something else by simply using Removal AI technology.

Removal.AI is a fully automated background remover that automatically detects an image and removes background in just a few seconds. It clears and smooths cutout edges and is capable of handling any undesirable part. It can be your saving glory to your editing mess.

6. Restore worn-out photos and make them look new by using the appropriate photo editing applications.

You can remove the dust or dark spots and give the image a different vibrant look. You can even bring old photos back to life. You can turn headshots into short, animated clips that show the people moving and blinking. That’s amazing!

7. You can give yourself a second chance to get the image you would have wanted to capture.

Although we should always attempt to get it right when taking the picture, there are times when no matter how good you are, you can still fumble a little. Photo editing is the answer to your dilemma. Do not stop trying new things.

Good quality photos boost the content matter in social media

AI photo editing is now an essential part of the most-outsourced process in the industry by representing a specific brand and conveying a business message in the best possible manner through properly edited photographs. It increases the overall quality instantly to make it alluring for the general public.

The use of images mainly in social media and business has seemingly increased over the years. Good quality photos boost the content matter. Anyone who takes photography seriously should not compromise its quality. The idea of enhancing it provides an opportunity to give high-end results. 

Although photo editing brings many benefits, the idea of editing photos also has its disadvantages.

Does AI Photo Editing and Retouching Ruin the Essence of Photography, or Does it Boost Creativity?

Here are some downfalls that you might want to know about photo editing:

Disadvantages of Photo Editing

1. You need to familiarize yourself with the different photo editing tools that do several things.

It can be a one-click fix away if you know the appropriate tools to use. But if not, this can be a very tedious and time-consuming process to understand which button accomplishes a task. Beginners may find it hard to manage the interface with all the intricacies. It can be a daunting task. One has to be persistent enough to learn the usage of all relevant tools.

It takes a special kind of person to become a photo editor. You may opt to watch several online tutorials to get used to the advanced features. You cannot utilize the software to its maximum potential if you lack knowledge in finding the advanced functions. 

2. Photo editing software will cost you a lot of money.

It may be affordable for organizations and institutional users but for small-time users who resort to this software for minor usage would find the price an extensive roadblock in its use. They would prefer to use relatively cheaper software which would allow them to carry out nominal image-related processing with ease.

3. Photo-editing software consumes a lot of space on your hard disk.

In this case, you need to have a lot of readily available memory space. The actual amount of space you have on a given hard drive to store system files and data files serves as a space kept aside for helping programs, other hardware, and software-related tasks function without complication within the operating system environment.

4. There are psychological effects of the photo manipulated images (body images) issues that can distort the perception of beauty.

People think that being beautiful is having flawless skin and a slim body. Imagine how others who do not have these beauty standards would feel about it. These psychological effects may lead to anxiety or even depression.

It can also incur false self-acceptance by making others accept people who look unrealistic and unbelievably perfect. There would be no problem at all if people would only learn to embrace their imperfections. And if they stay true to themselves and the people around them.

5. Some people rely too much on photo editing apps and make others incapable of posting images that are not yet digitally manipulated.

There is nothing wrong with editing photos and applying some touch-ups. However, it’s undeniable that every edit can affect feelings and emotions, much more if the edits are heavy. It can become very powerful and will play tricks on other people. Deceptive edits, therefore, are unethical and may destroy one’s image later on. 

Does AI Photo Editing and Retouching Ruin the Essence of Photography, or Does it Boost Creativity?

So, Does AI Editing Ruin the Essence of Photography, or Does it Boost Creativity? 

The purpose of photography is to preserve a memory and to communicate feelings, emotions, and stories through artistic image representations as perceived and interpreted by the photographer. For decades, photographers have been altering images to make them more engaging and riveting.

In the end, it’s all about the story. The perception of beauty varies for every person. Whether it’s a raw image or has been altered to tell the story better, isn’t how it has conveyed the message more important? We have different ways of appreciating something depending on how we look at it. We should be conscious of the things that matter by looking with utmost intention and apprehension. To see things as a part of our experience.

It’s incredible how one can express themselves better and create effective images that tell great stories through photo editing. However, there are limits to how outrageous you can edit your photographs. If you intend to deceive and twist the truth for your audience to see, then that is when a picture really loses its value and purpose.