Thanks to all who replied to my inquiries about using AI in bird photography – I ended up with five single-spaced pages of your comments! Your responses helped me understand how our members use AI and helped me reframe some of my thinking about the subject as it relates to bird photography. As a result I created the document below to guide Great Bird Pics members as use AI and share their images on the site:
Unless someone is using an Instamatic camera, every picture taken will use AI just to capture the shot. Eye-detection and tracking use AI to focus on the bird’s eye and to remain on the target as the bird moves. Before even taking a picture the photographer sets the Color-balance and exposure – these alter the qualities of the image when the shutter button is pressed. The camera can be set to the user’s preferred level of sharpness and the level of detail (JPEG or RAW) as the images are transferred to the SIM card. Even though we don’t usually think about camera settings when we discuss AI in bird photography, be aware that it exists and it affects every picture we take. On the other hand we often think about the use of AI during post-processing.
When discussing post-processing AI functions I’ll be referring to Adobe Lightroom’s (LR) Develop Module because I am most familiar with it (although most post-processing programs have similar functions). Each version of LR has been delivering more AI tools for use during post-processing and we should be learning about them.
The first AI tool I started using regularly was AI Noise Reduction. LR had a noise reduction function in earlier versions, but they often decreased the sharpness of the image. I used to slow down my shutter speed to lower the ISO of my images so I wouldn’t have to apply much of the “manual” noise reduction but this just introduced camera shake and created softer images anyway. On the other hand the current AI Noise Reduction function appears to actually enhance the clarity of each image! Even images that were shot in relative darkness and have an ISO of 12800 (lots of noise) can look dramatically better after AI Noise Reduction has been applied. Discounting those members who stated that AI should not be used at all (a small minority) everyone else said that this was an acceptable use of AI, and I agree. Members should consider using AI Noise Reduction.
Using the Remove Tool with AI Generation did not have the same high level of agreement amoung our members. For those who are unfamiliar with the process, the user highlights an object to be removed and then the computer “generates” what it thinks was behind that object after it’s gone. When applied to distracting objects like phone wires up in the sky the computer does a pretty good job of guessing what the sky looks like after the wires are removed.
Things get a little messier when the removal involves objects in areas surrounding the bird. To be clear, this particular scenario is about the removal of objects around the bird which do not in any way affect any part of the bird. Be it a leaf, scrap of paper, or a plastic bottle cap the computer has to make guesses as to what lies behind the object, and the larger the object the more guessing it has to do. Sometimes, when removing those objects it’s possible that what the program generates may not be compatible with the existing natural items around it. For example, if a distracting leaf is removed from a picture taken in Costa Rica and the AI generates vegetation not found in Costa Rica the viewer is given an incorrect understanding of the habitat. Although this is an extreme example I think it Illustrates a concern that several of our members shared with me – that the generation of something natural “looking” is in itself not natural. Members who use Remove and AI Generate tools should verify that the regenerated natural items are authentic to the setting in which the picture was taken.
An even larger problem occurs when trying to remove objects that are overlapping part(s) of the bird’s body. Depending on the size of the object being removed (a blade of grass, a twig, or a branch) the bigger the object the more the computer has to guess what the bird looks like beneath it. Sometimes the generated parts of the bird look fine but other times they can appear distorted. To tell you the truth, most of the time there’s almost no way of knowing if something has been removed and regenerated. As the Generative AI gets better and better (and it will) there will be a point at which it’s impossible to tell if an object as been removed (absent demanding the untouched original accompany each submission, and that’s not going to happen here). Members who use Remove and AI Generate tools should ascertain that the generated bird parts are a faithful rendition of what the bird actually looked like.
There’s another level of image modification to address and that is the introduction of new objects into the composition. An example of this is adding clouds to a clear sky to make it look more interesting. I’ve done this myself using Photoshop (the ability to do this predates AI). This is a murky area for me as the user is adding the objects to improve the overall look and feel of the image. Members who use AI to generate an additional object should make sure that the additions are consistent with the natural habitat of where the photograph was taken.
Up to this point we’ve focused on the generation of an object in small areas and found that, within limits, they are an acceptable use of AI. How about when the entire image is generated by AI? This website was created for people who go outside and take pictures of birds and want to share them. To do so takes knowledge of where to find birds, knowledge about the birds being photographed, and skill in using a camera to take a shot of the bird. I respect these skills and want to recognize people with those skills on this website. I do not want to recognize people who sit at their computer and type in a prompt on an AI image generation program. A person typing a prompt into an AI program could be sitting in a windowless room which I believe would be the anthesis of what is at the heart of bird photography. Images that are wholly generated by AI are not acceptable on our site. If a picture is suspected of being wholly generated by AI users can use the Report Image button to send me a message, then the author will be given a reasonable amount of time to demonstrate it is an actual photograph of a bird. If they cannot provide that evidence they will be asked to remove the image (if they refuse, that image will be removed by the administrator).
The same process will be applied to images that have been wholly generated from an existing bird photograph. For example, if someone takes a picture of a hawk and then loads it into an AI generator and tells the AI to render the same image but show it at night with a full moon over the shoulder of the bird. Even though an original bird photograph was used as the model, the output would have been wholly generated by AI. Images that have been wholly generated from an existing bird photograph are not acceptable on our site.
I want to assure you that there aren’t any AI “Police” on the site. Great Bird Pics was designed to be a place where amateur photographers could share their bird photographs and I am not about to question the degree to which AI was used in the production of those images. Our members might leave a comment questioning the use of AI in an image, as is their right (as long as it is done respectfully). If an image is brought to my attention because of AI slop during the generation of removed areas, or appears to be generated entirely by AI I’ll take a look, but in general I’m not into becoming the AI Police.
So in conclusion, members are encouraged to use the tools at their disposal to create and share their Great Bird Pics. When using AI post-processing tools members are encouraged to make sure that the final product is an accurate representation of the bird and its habitat. Next time I’ll explore about the thought process one might use when determining IF AI should be used to edit their bird photographs.
Your Thoughts? I struggled with this piece (and have 25 drafts to prove it). At one point I found myself demanding that members disclose the use of AI on each of their photographs – instead I turned it into a list of things to consider when using AI . What do you think? Did I miss anything? How do those of you who are against any and all use of AI feel about it? I welcome your thoughts as a reply to the email or a Comment in the post.
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