Why AI will never take your job...and how it may actually help

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I was on a recent trip and had an interesting chat with my Uber driver headed from the airport. After a brief introduction, I found he was a former wedding photographer.

We were both about the same age and had shot about the same number of weddings, but there was one big difference between us - besides the obvious fact that I had camera gear next to me and he was driving the car to my hotel.

"Brides have just changed so much and all this AI is killing photography."

Hmm, interesting. I probed.

I'll call our former wedding photographer "Cameron," just to give him a name.

Cam was clearly disgruntled, though he had accepted his current situation with a fair amount of grace. He was a musician and artist so now he could pursue these creative outlets more. He no longer had to worry about all those brides, those long hours shooting, those longer hours editing and making money for a living.

I understood his issues with the changing landscape of bridal expectations. It was the AI part that perked up my ears, however.

I started in photography before digital cameras. I saw first-hand the massive impact they had on photographers and their businesses. Some died, some survived, and some thrived.

Whether or not they died, survived or thrived was the choice of the photographer.

It was a supply and demand situation at its core and the supply increased greatly with the introduction of digital cameras in the market. Many photographers couldn't handle the "competition," so they bowed out.

I understood this reaction. I don't didn't agree with it, but I understood it. The photographers who saw the shift as a marketing opportunity, however, thrived.

This is what I see with the introduction of AI into wedding photography.

For Cameron, the future doesn't look bright - it looks artificial and contrived. He sees a decline in craftsmanship and AI cutting into his business somehow. He's missing the marketing opportunity.

AI will NEVER replace wedding photographers.

Some may see this as a bold statement. I don't.

There's an opportunity here to make the photographer more valuable than ever…if you're willing to embrace what may appear scary and see it for what it really is…a tool.

"AI is the dumbest, most willing, patient and available intern you'll ever have."

This is exactly how I describe AI to my students. It may be ready and willing, but it knows nothing about your wants and desires and does not care (ie. it feels nothing).

Of course, the first thing that comes to mind when you mention AI is ChatGPT or any of the dozen or so "learning models" out there. If you're an average writer who aspires to nothing more than an average writer, AI is probably coming for your job.

If you're a wedding photographer, AI is coming to help make your life easier.

Here are 3 reasons AI will NEVER replace you as a wedding photographer.

1. No one connects with your bride and groom better than you.

Wedding photography is about building trust with couples and understanding their desires and stories. AI can't FEEL, and it can't replicate the essential human connection needed to make clients feel at ease.

Oh, and did someone mention relationships? Try building a long-term, personal relationship with your phone or laptop. It didn't work for Joaquin Phoenix in the movie Her, and it won't work for your couple. You build and earn trust, you don't buy it or download it.

2. The moments you capture are real

Sure, a bride can AI generate a photo of herself and her handsome groom on the precipice of a sun-drenched vista in San Juan (I assume they have something like that there), but it won't be real. It'll be cool, but there won't be any "Do you remember that moment" in that artificially generated image. YOU get to deliver moments that preserve a memory.

There's emotion in moments, and a wedding day is filled with emotion. Each real moment is a little slice of THEIR story, and you get to help preserve that for them.

3. The wedding day IS the experience

Someone brilliant once said you don't buy a wedding, you assemble it from a hundred small, personally selected pieces with your signature on them. Ask any bride, and she tell you everything about her day...in the small, meaningful details.

Every wedding is uniquely personal and your presence becomes a part of it. Just like the family and friends, every person lends itself to making this day one of a kind. AI simply cannot do that.

When the ring bearer trips and tosses the little pillow, when one of the groomsmen drinks a bit too much and shows everyone how good of a dancer he really is, THIS is what a wedding is about, and there's 0% artificially generated content here.

Your photographic style, your special brand of guest interaction, and your legendary care and consideration for your couple and the family are all a part that makes this day special and 100% real.

"OK, Chris, I get it, AI can't replace me, but how can it help me?" I'm glad you asked.

Here are 3 ways AI can help you build your wedding photography business.

1. AI photo editing is surprisingly good and getting better

There are AI tools that can help with your base-level photo processing, allowing you to get your photos to your clients faster.

I mentioned back in Issue #12 the importance of The Glow. Getting your processing done faster will help you deliver the photos to your couple while they are still in The Glow, making you look like the hero you are.

2. AI is a really good retoucher

Photobombing mishap? Poof, they're gone. An unfortunate wrinkle in the maid of honor's dress? Poof, it's gone too.

There are many ways AI can streamline your retouching faster than you can. Why poo-poo this fantastic feature? Incorporate this into your system and get things done faster. Issue #13 is a great refresher of why this is important and don't forget, this is simply another tool to help you.

3. AI marketing is a real thing

Using AI for inspiration with marketing or creative idea generation is fun, for lack of a more colorful adjective. I've also seen some new and more efficient CRM organization tools that will certainly become industry standards very soon.

The bottom line? AI isn't your competition - it's a tool to enhance your business. Nothing will replace the authenticity, the love and the genuine human touch you provide to your clients.

Brides will hire you because of YOU. Embrace your work and your special approach to photographing weddings, and you'll never have to worry about the robots coming to take your job.

As long as you're not a robot yourself, or a stockholder in Skynet, the future looks bright.

Helping you fight off the robots of creativity is just one of the little parts of the "inner game of wedding photography. THIS is what I write about each week in this newsletter.

If you want to be notified each Sunday morning when the new issue is posted, pop your email in and subscribe for free.

If you're interested in becoming a wedding photographer but don't know where to start, I can help.

Shoot me an email at [email protected]