Last week I shared Great Bird Pic’s Guidance On Using AI in Bird Photography. In it I laid out how bird photographers could use AI tools such as Remove/AI Generate during post-processing and left the door open for our members to post their pictures using these tools on GreatBirdPics.com. In the previous post I acknowledged that AI is inherent in our cameras and post-processing and as JimBabbit said, “So the questions is not will you allow AI, but rather how much”? In this post I want to focus on what I will be considering before applying these AI tools and encourage you to do the same. Having the tools doesn’t mean you should use the tools.
When I was asking our members about using AI tools I found, in general, the non-photographers were the most negative about its use. Swozndrix said, “Removing and regenerating seems to me to be a step in a more ‘invasive’ process.” Kramerte said, “AI should not be used to alter or enhance in ways that would take away or remove the authenticity from the true picture. It demeans the human skills and talent it takes to get a great shot. Anyone can create a great pic with AI. Not everyone is a skilled photographer.” Leegramas was more direct, “Being old and resistant to change, I don’t like AI” (keep in mind he also cited seeing 2001: A Space Odyssey when he was eight years old as the reason he doesn’t like technology) . Why are non-photographers more resistant to the use of AI? Is it that we photographers have fallen into the habit of turning to AI tools to make our pictures look “better”? Perhaps we should be questioning that reflexive tendency more.
I was struck by ahould63’s comment (who is a bird photographer): “I am against the use of AI in a photograph that I intend to share publicly. I do not want to mis-represent myself as someone who frequently gets the ‘perfect’ shot”. Similarly, she and Blanke agreed that using AI in bird photography, “…would take away a bit of the excitement of finding the ‘perfect’ shot’ “.
I reflected on those comments (and similar comments made by our members) as they relate to my use of AI tools. Have I have fallen into the habit of looking at a “good” bird pic and then try to find ways to make it a “great” bird pic through the use of various post-processing tools? Truthfully, no – I do it to please myself first, then to please an audience (see below). However it is easy to just fix an image: Is the sky too washed out? Add a little blue in the background. A twig covering the body? Remove and AI Generate takes care of that. A colorful piece of plastic distracts? Remove and AI Generate takes care of that, too. What I haven’t been doing is thinking about the deeper ramifications of using these tools.
For example, I took some pictures on the beach at Montrose and there was a bright blue bottle cap in the foreground. I didn’t think twice before removing it. In doing so did I improve or obscure the habitat? Montrose Beach is in downtown Chicago and there are many people around who leave a lot of litter behind. To remove that bottle cap is to ignore the actual conditions/habitat of the bird I was photographing. Did it remove a distraction so the eye of the viewer was brought to the bird? Yes. At the same time it gave a false impression of what the conditions were around the bird at the time. In fact it hid what the beach really looked like, and if people saw the litter perhaps they will be more mindful of their waste in the future. I now feel like I have a responsibility to present the actual conditions of the birds’ surroundings in my photographs, not focusing just on the bird.*
In the case of a blade of grass or twig crossing in front of the bird it’s easy to remove and have AI generate the parts of the bird that were hidden. By removing it, am I trying to present myself as someone who got the “perfect” shot? I don’t think so. I do it to make the bird look better, to remove something that is a distraction to my eye. I don’t do it to impress others. However, in doing so, I have subtly changed the conditions in which I captured the bird, which misrepresents how well I photographed it. That blade of grass tells me I could have been a better photographer by noticing it in the first place and repositioning myself so it didn’t appear in the shot. Ron Zigler said that he only uses AI effects on some of his pictures and, “…they need to really strike me as special, except for some piece of distracting vegetation”. Like the previous point, I’m going to think twice about removing small objects that pass in front of the bird.*
Adding objects such as clouds to an image is easily done in Photoshop, but I think I’m going to avoid this in the future.* Yes, adding clouds to the sky might improve the overall composition but it seems like it could be a never-ending trap to fall into – adding a cloud here, a branch there, giving the bird’s eye a glint of sun – you could find something to add to just about every image and where do you stop? I’m thinking, don’t even start. If there weren’t clouds in the sky, so be it.
At this point I believe it’s important think about the audiences for my images. If an image is just for me I can do whatever I want, but if nobody else sees it what’s the point? I don’t sit around all day admiring my own shots – I want others to enjoy them too (that’s why I created Great Bird Pics). Here’s how I’m going to approach the use of AI in my bird photographs for the following audiences:
On Great Bird Pics and other Social Media – I going to be sharing pictures with minimal application of AI, as described above. Several people commented that those who do use AI during post-processing should disclose this when sharing that image on our site and I think it’s a good idea. Just a simple statement like, “AI used to remove object(s)” or “[Name of object] was added to this image”. This would level the playing field a bit if we all disclose when we apply AI effects. Again, I’m not going to become the AI Police on our site – I suggest we all disclose when we use AI effects, but I can’t make you do it. Or, how about a box to check when entering the information about the image into our site’s database – what do you think about that?
Presentations About Birds – I give many presentations on behalf of the DuPage Birding Club to libraries, garden clubs and retirement centers. In these cases I want the audience to appreciate the wonder of birds enough to go out and become birders, too. I want my images they see to be clean with identifiable field marks, so I will use some Remove and AI Generate to take out obscuring objects that distract uneducated eyes away from the bird.
eBird – AlwaysBirding shared that she recently had a conversation with an eBird reviewer about pictures she took of a rare Wandering Tattler in Michigan. The reviewer said that people have been submitting pictures to eBird with too many “distractions” removed – in fact they want images with as few distractions removed as possible. They like seeing the bird in its habitat.
Friends and Family – I’m working on one of my big projects of the year right now, the creation of our 2027 family calendars. Each month shows an 8 1/2″ X 11″ image of one of the birds Karen and I saw this year and I want these images to look great for my non-birder family members. It seems like the images I chose were great not because I used AI to make them so, but because I got a good shot. I want everyone to look forward to flipping the page at the start of each month and to be delighted with the bird they see there. Maybe a little Remove and AI Generate to eliminate distracting objects is OK in this case.
Photo Contest Entry – You have to be careful about submitting images that use Remove and AI Generate to a contest. Some members said that local contests are more likely to have relaxed rules about this, whereas national contests usually won’t allow any AI alterations. Read the rules carefully about what will and will not be accepted.
* On a final note, Docshaf reminded me of why we enjoy creating and sharing our bird photographs. In referring to an image in which Bajadreamer “added canvas” above and below a Marbled Godwit he said, “I believe this is an acceptable use of AI that enhances the photographer’s creative expression without taking over”. In collaboration to the points I made above, I don’t want to forget my “creative expression” as I practice our art. I do consider bird photography as one of the fine arts and as artists we have an ever-growing variety of tools we can use in the creation our Great Bird Pics. Use the tools judiciously, acknowledge their use when appropriate, and share your works of art with others. Bird populations across the globe are threatened and through our photographs we can help others be cognizant of their beauty and ultimately that they are worthy our efforts to protect them.
PS – Many thanks to the following members not specifically mentioned above but whose thought’s contributed these two essays about AI: JamesD, Photogirl10, Emil Baumbach, HXQAJCW, Paul Demkovich, and LouAlexander.
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