Travel Dairy & Photography

About photography today

Written by Thinh-Phat Cao, PhD

In the current era, when Artificial Intelligence can outperform Homo sapiens in numerous digital tasks, the artistic nature of Homo sapiens seems to recede into the shadows. I am talking about photography—at least, that appears to be right.

Human beings have witnessed AI’s ability to generate photos from seemingly nowhere. However, if we have insight into how AI works, we would acknowledge that these photos are not created from nothing. Instead, AI “learns” from the data provided by humans before it can generate a new image. But let us set aside the technical aspects and focus on how current technology is reshaping the concept and definition of photography.

Rather than investing in bulky and sophisticated gear and learning photography from scratch, people today can simply purchase an all-in-one, state-of-the-art smartphone for a fraction of the cost. There is no longer a need to understand film types, digital sensors, ISO, aperture, shutter speed, focal length, light metering, white balance, or even camera modes. The decline in photography knowledge began the day digital cameras replaced classic film. Sadly, technological innovation has also led to a downturn in traditional photographic understanding.

With a digital camera in hand, there is no longer a need to burn through rolls of film to grasp the nuances of light in photography. As a result, light metering and white balance have become less relevant. People now take countless shots in one go, selecting the best ones later. There was a time when many digital photographers focused solely on camera and lens types, unaware of the challenges film photographers had to endure.

Personally, I have great admiration for those who continue to use film cameras and can determine the correct aperture and shutter speed for a given film and lens within seconds. There was also an era when many eagerly awaited the release of new cameras and lenses just to “experience” them. I would call these individuals camera-men rather than photographers—simply based on the images they shot out. This relentless desire to try every new piece of equipment has led to several misconceptions, one of which is the belief that telephoto lenses are meant for portraits while wide-angle lenses are only for landscapes.

A true photographer needs only one camera and one lens, regardless of type. To them, the camera is a part of their selves. A wide-angle lens can be used to capture stunning portraits, just as a telephoto lens can frame magnificent landscapes. After all, equipment itself does not inherently bear a purpose, but the effects it can produce that avail of the purposes of the photographer.

The innovation of technology, including AI, in spite of providing convenience to everyone, worsens the perception of photography to the next degree. Look at the new cell phones—the number of cameras tends to increase. The built-in functions in these phones seem to satisfy all the needs of common people. No one needs a photographer at a travel site any longer. Everyone can take a portrait of themselves without another’s hands.

Let us temporarily categorize people in this era into two groups: the common people, who only use their smartphones to take photos, and the real photographers, who use either their cameras of any type or their smartphones. This classification clarifies many things. First, common people are not usually aware of what kind(s) of cameras are on their smartphones. Second, their understanding of the fundamentals of photography is often quite limited. Third, they often focus more on their own faces, paying less attention to the other subtle effects reflected in the photos.

When I purchased my iPhone 12 mini, I was intrigued to find that the camera app had a portrait mode. However, it took me a couple of minutes to realize that the effects produced by this mode were unreal—or fake, if a straightforward comment is required here. This becomes clearer when considering the lens that accompanies the phone. In one of the photos I took, the AI failed to distinguish the straw in the glass—also part of the subject—from the background and mistakenly blurred it away. People may hope that future AI advancements will resolve such amusing issues, yet at this moment, the artificial effects in smartphones that mimic real lenses are not particularly successful.

Notwithstanding, the current generation of smartphones has integrated virtually everything one might need for decent photos—particularly for common people’s self-portraits. On social media, hundreds of short videos offering tips on how to take good photos with a standard smartphone can easily be found. These are good pieces of advice, as common people primarily care about their own appearance, and if a photo also incorporates fancy styles, composition, and perspective, it becomes even better. In other words, common people today are not required to learn the fundamentals of photography as much as old-school photographers. What they need to learn instead are posing techniques, the composition and perspective of a photo, and the post-processing functions readily available in apps.

At this point, a check can be made. Imagine if all common people in the world learned and practiced photography through these tutorial videos—every single photo they take would look alike, differing only in subject, location, or time. Ultimately, the creativity in common people’s photos depends solely on the creativity of the tutorial creators.

Unfortunately, creativity is a kind of gift that is not bestowed upon everyone. If it were, common people would not need to watch such tutorial videos. However, in the fast-paced world of social media, these poses and styles suffice, as posts quickly drift into obscurity.

The other group remains: the real photographers. What defines them? First, real photographers learn everything about photography—equipment, techniques, and creativity—sharpening their ability to take beautiful photos through experience. Second, real photographers look, listen, smell, feel, and think before shooting. In other words, they capture the image in their soul before pressing the button. Their process may be slow, but the equipment setup is already done in their mind, instinctively flowing through their fingers as if it ought to be that way but not otherwise. And third, they are natural artists. I’ve pointed out this aspect elsewhere.

I always emphasize my opinion to everyone: if you want to take a beautiful photo, you must see the beauty first. If a photographer cannot find any beauty in front of their eyes, what they capture is merely an empty shell. The mood and emotion exhibited in a photo reflect the heart of the one who took it.

Like those in literature and poetry, an artist under the name of photographer also possesses a sensitive soul. Therefore, taking photos becomes a way to heal when that soul bears a wound.

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This article was originally published on my personal blog. There is no conflict of interest or issue of plagiarism in this post.

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