I Do Not Take Photos Anymore. I Still Make Photographs.

For the last two and a half, almost three years, I have been using generative AI for photography and video in real client work. I started during my last year with Topo Chico and now use it for all my clients.

Quietly. Intentionally. Without talking much about it.

Most of that time, the results were interesting. Occasionally impressive. Always flawed. Sometimes laughably terrible.

Then a few months ago, something changed.

The images stopped giving themselves away.

Not because AI got louder or flashier.

Because I got better a making it quieter.

Early AI photography was about novelty, not craft. The lighting was too perfect. The compositions were trendy in a way real photographers do not actually shoot. The skin looked plastic or rubbery. People had six or seven toes or fingers. The text was misspelled. You could spot it instantly.

What I learned during that phase had very little to do with what to put into prompts. It was about what not to include.

AI is terrible at trends.

AI is terrible at being clever.

AI is terrible at restraint unless you force it to be restrained.

AI is terrible at not looking like AI.

The more I stripped things down, the more real the images became.

One of the biggest breakthroughs was skin. For a long time, that was the dead giveaway. In the last few months, the tools finally caught up. But only if you know how to steer them. You still have to understand light, texture, color, and imperfection.

Without that foundation, AI just produces better looking garbage at scale.

Where things really changed was product accuracy.

You can now train models on very specific products and reproduce them correctly and consistently. CPG. Outdoor gear. Odd shapes. Niche items. Details that actually matter.

If you sell tires, the tread matters.

The sidewall matters.

The lettering and fonts matter.

That is not a creative parlor trick. That is an operational shift.

Now I am training models on my own photography from the last twenty years. My light. My compositions. My instincts. The goal is not just volume and efficiency. The goal is authorship.

Photographers say they make photographs, not take photographs, for a reason. AI does not remove that. It demands it.

If you do not have the eye, you cannot direct the machine.

Here is the uncomfortable truth.

If you are afraid of AI, you are already behind.

If you are using AI without real skills, you are just failing faster.

AI does not replace talent. It multiplies it.

Right now, as an individual consultant, I can produce work that would have required multiple agencies five years ago, at a fraction of the cost, with more control and better results.

This is the best time to be alive if you actually care about craft.

The tools are finally quiet enough to let the work matter again.

---

I am an Ad-Age, Emmy, Shorty, Telly, and Webby Award-Winning Social Media Strategist and Content Creator specializing in outdoor lifestyle, adventure, travel, and recreation brands. With extensive experience spanning over two decades, I’ve been instrumental in evolving brand narratives and transforming the storytelling landscape for outdoor lifestyle, travel, food & beverage brands. My work focuses on crafting impactful social media strategies and engaging content that resonates deeply with audiences, fostering strong community engagement and brand loyalty. Ignite your online presence. Schedule a chat with me.