Artificial Intelligence. How quickly this tool has swept through the world.

When used with good intention, it can be fantastic. When used all willy nilly it has ridiculous results. Then there are others who use it with malicious intent.

As a photographer, I'm skilled at considering the frame before capturing the image. I might choose to leave a distraction in a frame to intentionally remove later on, simply because it's easier for a family or child to remain where they are. I'll also toot my own horn a bit... If someone blinks in a perfect group photograph, I can swap their open eyes from another image in mere minutes. You never know the difference!

Ai has made some basic edits effective and faster. Even down to colour adjustments or adding keywords. (Sorry, a bit techy!) Sometimes it does a brilliant job, other times it creates something closer to a sea monster. Hence, I will always swap blinky eyes myself!

The important part is to understand the fundamentals. Know your craft inside and out. Master your camera. Know how to correctly expose, edit and manipulate images, understand colour and light. Observational skills. These are all the basics of achieving a fun and successful photo session. The benefit of ai should enhance these skills, not replace them, not take away from them.

And then there’s the darker side of it all.

I recently relented and allowed my child to start playing online games with his friends. Even with every security setting switched on, there’s still that underlying awareness that I can’t monitor every second of every interaction. The internet asks us for trust we’re not always comfortable giving.

The same thoughts have me considering how I share client photographs online.

In a world where anyone can take a screenshot and use ai in ways never intended I'm increasingly conscious of image ownership, identity, and consent. Some malicious individuals can, and do, without permission, without context, and without care, exploit images.

What’s already online can remain, but moving forward I want to approach things differently. I’ll still share my work — the setups, the atmosphere, the tiny details, maybe even the backs of heads or hands held together — but not identifiable faces or intimate family moments.

This doesn’t mean my clients aren't able to sharing their own photographs. Clients receive images for sharing on social media however they choose. These images belong to them. But interestingly, many of my clients already feel the same way I do.

Who has the rights to us now?

What a strange question to even have to ask.

In a world where someone can take a profile picture, manipulate it, fabricate situations, or even imitate identity entirely, privacy suddenly feels fragile in a way it never used to.

And I’m simply not comfortable ignoring that.

Going forward when potential clients ask to see recent work, I’ve gone a little old school. Each year, I create a printed portfolio album instead. It may make things slightly less convenient in a world built around instant online sharing, but I would much rather have the peace of mind that the families who trusted me with their memories are being protected with the same care I gave while photographing them.