The AI-(R)evolution: From a double-edged sword to a Swiss army knife

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) has left no industry untouched, and the creative world is no exception. As a photographer and videographer, I’ve felt the ripple effects of AI in both exhilarating and daunting ways. It’s like standing in front of a double-edged sword—on one side, AI unlocks opportunities and sparks creativity; on the other, it challenges the very essence of what we do.

I’ll share my perspective on how AI is transforming my workfield, specifically photography and videography, diving into the pros and cons. Most of them are widely known and discussed, but combining them gives you a better view and understanding towards AI.

Spoiler: It’s not all doom and gloom, but it does require adaptation, an open mind, and a willingness to evolve.

The Blessings: How AI boosts creativity and efficiency

1. AI reduces mundane tasks

One of the biggest perks of AI is its ability to handle repetitive, time-consuming tasks. I often state: “I’m not lazy but I don’t like to do the same thing twice!” Enter AI! Photo and video editing, which used to take hours (sometimes days), can now be streamlined with AI-powered tools. Think of programs like Adobe Photoshop’s Content-Aware Fill or AI-enhanced color grading software. They allow us to automate parts of the process that once drained our time and energy.

For instance, as a photographer, I’ve often spent late nights meticulously retouching skin imperfections or removing unwanted objects from the background. With AI, these tasks are reduced to a few clicks, most of the time. Videographers can also benefit from AI’s capabilities, like auto-tracking subjects or generating subtitles with surprising accuracy.

This frees up mental space to focus on what truly matters: the process and creation itself. When you’re not bogged down by the technical grind, you can channel your energy into storytelling and creative direction. It still takes a lot of hours to edit a movie, or to finetune a photo up to the clients perspective. But at least you're doing constructive creative work, not repetitive mindnumbing work. I’m, for example, a photographer that refuses to learn extended photoshop skills. For the simple reason that my skill and work fun is while shooting in the field, not being behind my computer all day. But thanks to AI, I’m now able to do simple stuff in photoshop myself, which either brings more benefit to me, reduces process time or is cheaper for the client. I used to outsource those tasks to skilled retouchers, but that took time and came with a price. So this also impacts their business directly: the ripple effect goes all the way down the chain. On the other hand, I still relay and co?perate a lot with them since it quickly surpasses my simple AI photoshop skills! So there are limits as well. In the end it’s about experience and specialisation. Because my retouchers use the same software as I, so the benefit as well in the same way as I benefit.

2. Enhanced pre-production

AI has also made pre-production tasks more efficient. Mood boarding, scripting, and storyboarding can be much more productive with tools like MidJourney or ChatGPT. I’ve used AI to brainstorm ideas for video scripts and to create mood boards that capture the tone of a shoot.

It’s not just about saving time—it’s about elevating the process. For example I used to find making moodboards for shoots more stressing than an actual shoot itself. I found it very hard to find the correct images representing what and how I saw the shoot. I would never succeed in finding what I wanted. That really stressed me out. Now I use Midjourney and Chat GPT to create exactly what I had in mind. That makes me feel way more confident to convince a client of my vision and creative approach.

3. AI has many faces, widen your view and opinion

We tend to forget that it’s not all creative threats or bread theft. We also forget how AI has already entered our lives maybe a little bit earlier than we tend to believe. Look at face recognition in our cameras for auto focus and subject tracking. Look at DJI Lidar auto focus systems for manual lenses, … these things are also (yet a simpler form) AI. I heard no-one complaining about that, or the noise cancelling in our headphones, adaptive noise cancellation more specific. And when Adobe integrated automatic subtitles in Premiere pro I only heard cheers and hurrays … It still takes a while to get all the errors out, especially in Flemish but still you gained hours of work. And don’t forget that the smartphone you hold so dearly in your hand is full of all kinds of AI, from simple to super advanced tools you love to use: let’s start by optimising your look every time you take a picture, no problem with vanity AI, aren’t we?

And the list is long:

• AI Colorization: Restoring old black-and-white photos and videos into color.
• Retinal Scans: Detecting signs of diabetes, hypertension, or Alzheimer’s through retinal imaging.
• AI Beekeeping: Monitoring hive conditions and bee health to improve colony survival rates.
• Smart Irrigation: Using AI to analyze weather, soil, and crop data to optimize water usage.
• Wildlife Protection: AI-driven camera traps to identify and track poachers in protected areas.
• Crack Detection: AI systems inspect bridges, buildings, or roads for micro-cracks and structural weaknesses.
• AI Traffic Flow Management: Smart systems that optimize traffic light timing to reduce congestion
• Notebook LM: I wrote an article (on my personal blog) on how, for example, I use Notebook LM for my Arabic language studies. (You can translate it to english with the language flag)

…

The challenges: when AI feels like a threat

1. The fear of job replacement

Let’s address the elephant in the room: AI’s ability to replicate certain aspects of photography and videography is unsettling. Programs like DALL·E can generate realistic images from text prompts, while AI video tools can animate sequences without a camera.

For professionals who’ve spent years honing their craft, this feels like a direct challenge to our expertise. Why would a client hire a photographer to shoot product images when AI can create perfect renders in minutes? Why hire a videographer when AI can produce animated explainer videos at a fraction of the cost?

Remember when they said a couple of years ago, the smartphone will replace professional photographers because the quality is becoming so good. Yet still here we are. We lost a little bit of market share but only to business who don't value quality over the cost for their business. They will rely on us professionals in the end, when they understand the power of experience and skills over a single technology.

It’s a valid concern, and I won’t sugarcoat it—AI will likely replace some roles. But the key is to focus on what AI can’t replicate: authenticity, emotional storytelling, and human connection.

I wrote an article especially on that subject: The Power of Realness & Authenticity.?

2. Over-reliance on AI risks losing the human touch

AI, for all its brilliance, lacks the emotional intuition of a human artist. It can analyze trends and suggest ideas, but it can't feel. The danger lies in over-reliance. If we allow AI to dictate every aspect of our work, we risk losing the soul of our art.

I’ve seen projects where AI-generated content felt cold or generic. Sure, it ticked all the boxes technically, but it lacked the warmth and spontaneity that only a human touch can bring. The challenge for us as visual artists is to use AI as a tool, not a crutch.

3. Don’t get mistaken: the goal is imperfection

And there is one thing which defines us humans the best and that is imperfection. I love that about everything in life: the imperfection of and in things. People, my house, clothes, interactions, looks, style, confidence, … and that is so hard to replicate by a system that is focussed on perfection and completeness. My work is full of imperfections, and I love that. It always adds that humans touch, realness and fragility. As humans we are always looking for perfection. And by never achieving that ever, for when one level is achieved the next level of perfection will arise on the horizon. That’s why AI is such a big relief for a lot of people. It brings them so much closer to perfection but in the process they lose their identity by leaving out the gaps and flaws… This is more a philosophical approach to the matter and maybe subject for a different post. I’ll leave it here with the statement that AI will probably never achieve in leaving space human errors and flaws in its creations. Which will always be visible in comparison to actual human work.

4. The learning curve

Adapting to AI isn’t always straightforward. New tools often come with steep learning curves, and keeping up with the latest innovations can feel overwhelming. As someone who loves the tactile nature of photography—adjusting the aperture, manual focussing,? framing the shot, capturing fleeting moments—spending hours learning software updates isn’t always appealing.

However, this challenge is also an opportunity. By investing the time to learn these tools, we not only future-proof our careers but also discover new ways to innovate. I have been following AI progress for quite a while now and it literally drove me nuts. There were like 20 messages a day claiming that this was the best AI tool now, two hours later another was claimed the best.. Google Gemini, Perplexity, Open AI, … doing a relay race, non stop. Not to mention the hundreds AI application that flooded and still are flooding the market.

Go check aiagentsdirectory.com.

You’ll be flabbergasted!

Also, prompting as we call it isn’t a thing learned over night. It requires time and patience to learn to talk to those AI apps. That was actually the biggest horde for me to surpass. I often just lost patience in trying. But overtime I learned to formulate, reformulate and by now I’ve made real progress in explaining what I want. Still a long way to go but i’m already moving. Are you?

Adaptation: the key to thriving in an AI-driven world

In a fast-moving world, adaptation is not optional—it’s essential. AI is here to stay, and resisting it won’t make it go away. Instead, we need to find ways to embed AI into our services without compromising our creative identity. Here’s how I’m personally approaching it:

Leverage efficiency: I use AI for tasks that don’t require creative input, like batch editing or generating captions for videos. This allows me to focus on areas where my expertise is irreplaceable.

Collaborate: I treat AI as a tool a team member, not a competitor. It’s a tool to enhance vision, not replace it. By combining AI’s capabilities with my perspective, I can deliver results that stand out?

Educate clients: Many clients don’t understand the nuances of AI and its limitations. I make it a point to explain what AI can and can’t do, highlighting the value of human creativity and craftsmanship. It’s like handing them my photocamera and stating: “Well all the technology is in there. Now you make the photos or videos!”. It’s how you navigate the technology, not just let technology do its thing! Next to that, as a visual artist integrating AI in our process would benefit the client as well because certain deliverables become less labor intensive thus less expensive or time consuming.

Continuous learning: Staying ahead means embracing lifelong learning, another of my life credos. Whether it’s mastering a new AI tool or exploring its ethical implications, I’m committed to evolving alongside the technology. This has always been my driver: Combining creativity with technology, being creative with technology. In our line of business these always go hand in hand. Whether it’s a technology, system or technique. All crafts are based on one or more of them: ancient, new, manual or digital….

Embrace the duality of AI

AI is both a blessing and a challenge for photographers and videographers. It takes away certain tasks but adds opportunities in productivity, creativity, and innovation. The key is to strike a balance—leveraging AI’s strengths while staying true to our artistic identity.

Yes, AI is changing the game, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s an invitation to evolve, to rethink how we approach our craft, and to push the boundaries of what’s possible.

So, to my fellow visual artists: don’t fear AI. Embrace it, experiment with it, and find your unique way to thrive in this new era. After all, creativity has always been about adaptation. AI is just the latest challenge—and opportunity—in a long line of innovations that have shaped our art.

To sum it up with a famous evolutionist’s quote:

"It is not the strongest species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most adaptable to change.”

C.Darwin.