21 Articles about AI & Photography

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Photographer Disqualified From AI Image Contest After Winning With Real Photo - PetaPixel  

ChatGPT Vision lets you submit images in your prompts: 7 wild ways people are using it - Mashable

AI comes for YouTube’s thumbnail industry -Rest of World

Google unveiled a watermark that will permanently, though invisibly, mark an image to show that it has been produced by A.I. - Axios

The best AI image generators to create AI art – Fast Company 

A Photographer Who Found Instagram Fame for His Striking Portraits Has Confessed His Images Were Actually A.I.-Generated - ArtNet

‘Art’ificial Intelligence: AI Can Create Religious Images in Seconds. But Is It Really Sacred Art? – Denver Catholic

We tried AI headshot generators to see if you should use them – Washington Post

No, the Jesus ‘washed feet’ Super Bowl ad photos weren’t AI – Poynter

How journals are fighting back against a wave of questionable images – Nature  

I tried Microsoft Copilot's new AI image-generating feature, and it solves a real problem – Zdnet

I Used AI Photos on My Dating Profile and...No One Even Noticed?? – Cosmo

No Photoshop skills? No prob. Use AI to edit your photos – Komando

Meta will start labeling AI-generated images on Instagram and Facebook – NPR  

Publishers are deploying AI-based tools to detect suspicious images, but generative AI threatens their efforts – Nature

In novel case, U.S. charges man with making child sex abuse images with AI - – Washington Post

Google's AI Watermarks Will Identify Deepfakes – Dark Reading

Is It Real or Is It AI? For Photographers, It’s Nebulous - Bloomberg

The best AI photo editing software – Creative Bloq

Instagram is now labeling real photos as “made with AI” – DIY Photography

AI image generators tend to exaggerate stereotypes – Science News Explores

AI Tools Are Secretly Training on Real Images of Children – Wired

99 photography tools

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Below are 22 tools I’ve had recommended. For the complete list of 99 photography tools click here.

Camera+
Photo app with lots of filters and strong HDR mode. Sets the standard when it comes to third party iPhone cameras.  $2.99.

Canva
Graphic design tools. Create social media graphics, headers, slides, flyers, photo collages, posters, and infographics using drag-and-drop. 60k templates. Clip-art library available or upload your own images. Share to social media from the app or download a jpg, PDF, etc. for posting. Free. $12 a month for more options.

Compressor
Compress image files less than 10 MB so they will download quicker. A slider allows you to compare the look of the original and the optimized version side by side. Free.

Creative Cloud Express
A single template-focused app (replacing Adobe Spark) that combines some of the best features from the Creative Cloud Suite for mobile and web. Quickly create everything from social media posts to promotional posters and videos with the easy-to-use drag-and-drop interface. Drag all sorts of elements into your composition, from text, icons, shapes, free photos and fonts, music and other design elements. Assets from Photoshop and Illustrator can be utilized. Convert videos to GIFs and documents to PDFs. Great for non-professionals with little video editing experience, but not if you’re a pro looking for a full-featured video editor. Free version, three-month trial or $9.99 a month ($99.99 a year) for more templates, photos and fonts. Included in many Creative Cloud subscriptions. More info on plans here.

Darkroom
Iphone app with filters (or create your own filters), a curves tool for RGB channels, and an infinite history remembers all your edits so undo is easy. Edit photos without having to import them. Link your account to your Instagram account for easy upload. Free. $3 upgrade for curves.

Filmic pro
Powerful app for videography and photography. Lots of bells and whistles such as in-app stabilization. Possibly too much for the average person. Video explanation here. $14.99.

FilterStorm
Advanced mobile photo editing that can be sent by email, FTP, Dropbox, SFTP or export into social media. $3.99.

Getty Images
The most prestigious and the highest quality stock photography agency, Getty also offers video, music, and multimedia elements. Some of its images can be expensive to use and known to be protective of its property.

Google Reverse Image Search
Drag and drop or upload an image into this search engine to find where images originated from. Video explains it here.

Hipstamatic
Fact-checking photo editor. Can pick films, lenses, and flashes before taking your photos. Set shutter speed, shoot multi-exposed photos. $2.99 for the app but HipstaPacks for up to $4.99.

Hyperlapse
Instagram’s timelapse video. No audio option.

Instagram
Photo and video sharing app owned by Facebook.

Mojo
A great easy-to-use app for making professional vertical social stories to go on Instagram Stories, Facebook Stories, and Snapchat. Templates and fonts. More info here. Free. Pro version $9.99 a month.

Moment
Cases, lens, batteries, lights, gimbals, etc. to enhance photos and videos taken with a phone.

Pexels
Vast and well-organized, it is one of the best free stock images and video sites. High-quality images under the Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license.

Pixlr
Browser-based and mobile photo editing. Pixlr Express is an option for making small changes when Photoshop is overkill. Pixlr Editor and Pixlr Pro is a step up for professional use. Free for basic tools, $5/month Pixlr Pro.

ProCamera
A great iPhone app for capturing, editing, and sharing high quality photos. Control over focus, exposure, white balance, and lighting. Compose shots or shoot HD and SD video. Tools can clutter the screen. The website offers a user manual and video tutorials. $14.99.

Shorthand
A visual storytelling tool used by major news outlets that allows users to combine text, images, and video. See exactly how a story will look as it is built. See examples created by the BBC here and here. Free trial then pricing starts at $150 a month.

Shutterstock
Royalty-free stock photos. With reverse image search, you can use drag a photo or illustration into search in order to find other images with a similar look and feel.

Snapseed
Google's Snapseed is a powerful mobile photo tool. Both auto edit and editing controls. Lots of filters and effects including text for adding captions. Both IOS and Android. Tips for using it are here. Free.

Unfold
App for iOS or Android for creating vertical montages of videos and photos. 25 free templates, dozens more as in-app purchases. A product of SquareSpace. More info here.

VSCO
Great start-to-finish photo/video app. Easy to use filters and helpful tutorials. Manual controls like focus lock, exposure lock, and white balance. Edit images and share them on social media. IOS. Here is a tutorial. Free version or $19.99 a year for 170 presets.

For the complete list of 99 photography tools click here

New Adobe tool for Content Creators

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Adobe express logo

Adobe has released a single template-focused app called Creative Cloud Express (replacing Adobe Spark) that combines some of the best features from the Creative Cloud Suite for mobile and web. Quickly create everything from social media posts to promotional posters and videos with an easy-to-use drag-and-drop interface. Drag all sorts of elements into your composition from text, icons, shapes, free photos and fonts, music and other design elements. Assets from Photoshop and Illustrator can be utilized as well. Convert videos to GIFs and documents to PDFs. Great for non-professionals with little video editing experience. However, if you’re a pro, this is not a full-featured video editor.  

Creative Cloud Express includes premium features from: 

  • Adobe Premiere Rush — Shoot, edit, and share videos on mobile and desktop. 
  • Adobe Photoshop Express — Edit and retouch images, create collages, and combine photos. 
  • Adobe Spark Video — Quickly create stunning video slideshows. 
  • Adobe Spark Page — Turn words and images into beautiful web pages.

More on the features here.

Teaching resources from Adobe for Educators here.

While Express is already included in many Creative Cloud subscriptions, there is a free version available or get more templates, photos and fonts with a paid subscription for $9.99 a month (or $99.99 a year) here. Better yet, there is a three-month free trial here. More info on the plans here.

More Tech Tools

98 photo tech tools

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Find more tools here

360Verse
360 panoramas.

123rf
Royalty-free stock photos.

500px
Photography community. Share photos and ideas on this free app (IOS, Android, Windows).

Afterlight 2
Similar to Darkroom, Lots of filters, textures, and unique frames. 

Animoto
Templates for creative videos made up of your photos. Free but limited. Fee for more flexibility.

Camera FV-5
An app to control camera functions including shutter speed, exposure, focus, and white balance. (Android only)

Camera+*
Photo app with lots of filters and strong HDR mode. Sets the standard when it comes to third party iPhone cameras.  $2.99.

CameraT
Photo app. IOS only. Features: shutter speed, white balance, and exposure compensation, focus controls, tilt meter. Doe not record video.

Canva*
Graphic design tools. Create social media graphics, headers, slides, flyers, photo collages, posters, and infographics using drag-and-drop. 60k templates. Clip-art library available or upload your own images. Share to social media from the app or download a jpg, PDF, etc. for posting. Free. $12 a month for more options.

Clip Safari
Free, easy-to-find and use clip art.

Compressor*
Compress image files less than 10 MB so they will download quicker. A slider allows you to compare the look of the original and the optimized version side by side. Free.

Creative Commons
Royalty free stock photos.

Darkroom*
iPhone app with filters (or create your own filters), a curves tool for RGB channels, and an infinite history remembers all your edits so undo is easy. Edit photos without having to import them. Link your account to your Instagram account for easy upload. Free. $3 upgrade for curves.

Death to Stock Photo
10 free, hi-resolution photos each month (for your email address). Access to entire library of hi-resolution photos is $10 a month.

DeviantArt
A wide range of different Creative Commons. A bit difficult to navigate. Free.

DreamsTime
Royalty-free stock photos. Some for low prices. Requires registration.

Every Stock Photo
More than 21 million free stock photos (under the Creative Commons license).

Exif Data
Extract Exif (Exchangeable Image File) data from photos. EXIF is a standard for embedding data within an image or audio file. This may include date, time, camera settings, etc.

Facetune
Airbrushing for the face. Digital makeup that works on IOS and Android. 40m daily active users. Monthly subscription required for special tools (such as simulated studio lighting). $4.

FindMyShadow
This free site helps you to "calculate the position and height of the sun anywhere in the world on any date and plot the shadow cast by the sun at different times of the day." A helpful tool for photo verification.

Filmic
High definition mobile cam for videography, photography. Lots of bells and whistles probably too much for the average person or even for what a professional journalist would need. $14.99.

FilterStorm*
Advanced mobile photo editing that can be sent by email, FTP, Dropbox, SFTP or export into social media. $3.99.

Flickr
Easy to navigate, though not the best app for shooting and editing photos. But the free terabyte of storage makes it a good place to dump everything. The Creative Commons licensing section has free stock photos.

Foto Forensics
Helps you verify the authenticity of digital images.

Free Digital Photos
Free stock photos but you must give credit to the image creator. 

Free Images
Free stock photos with details on restrictions.

Free Pix
Lots of nice free stock photos of travel, people, etc. Other photos fall under the Creative Commons.

Free Range
Quality free stock photos. Must register.

Free Stock Photos
More than 14,000 free stock photos and clipart. A variety of licenses from commercial to public domain.

Geograph
More than 3 million free stock photos for travel and geography under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike license.

Getty Images
The most prestigious and the highest quality stock photography agency, Getty also offers video, music, and multimedia elements. Some of its images can be expensive to use and known to be protective of its property.

GIMP
A free alternative to Photoshop which is an acronym for GNU Image Manipulation Program. Includes cropping tools and the ability to adjust brightness and contrast. Some advanced editing and a low learning curve.

Good Free Photos
Thousands of free stock photos under the Free Public Domain licensing.

Google Advanced Search
Under “usage rights” and pick one such as “free to use, share or modify, even commercially” to narrow down your search for usable photographs. Google recommends checking the license to make sure it is legitimate.

Google Reverse Image Search* 
Drag and drop or upload an image into this search engine to find where images originated from. Video explains it here.

Gratisography
Free hi-resolution stock photos.

Hipstamatic*
Fact-checking photo editor. Can pick films, lenses, and flashes before taking your photos. Set shutter speed, shoot multi-exposed photos. $2.99 for the app but HipstaPacks for up to $4.99.

Hyperlapse
Instagram’s timelapse video. No audio option.

Inkscape
A Photoshop-free alternative using vectors instead of pixels. A high learning curve but great flexibility.  Video tutorial here.

Inshot
Video & image editing app. Simple-to-use & all-in-one with basic functions. Free version with ads $2.99 to remove them and the watermark.

Instagram*
Photo and video sharing app owned by Facebook.

InVID
A free Firefox plugin to debunk fake video news and verify videos and images.

iPhone Shutter Grip
This iPhone accessory helps you hold it more steady and have a button to push. $40.

iStockphoto
Royalty-free stock photos.

Jay Mantri
Free stock photos under public domain. Seven new photos each Friday.

Jimpl
Extract Exif (Exchangeable Image File) data from photos, which can include date, time, camera settings, etc.

Kizoa
Free service to create slideshows and edit photos.

Library of Congress Photos
Stock photos. Free.

Little Visuals
Hi-resolution images of buildings, travel, landscapes, under the Public Domain Dedication. Seven images in your inbox every 7 days.

Magistro
Load your video clips or images, pick a style, then the AI software automatically edits them into a video. You give up some editing control for speed. There’s a free version but $60 a year gets you everything.

Manual
An app to control camera functions on your phone you can't manipulate with the IPhone camera app including shutter speed, exposure, focus, and white balance. (iOS only)

Metapicz
Extract Exif (Exchangeable Image File) data from photos. EXIF is a standard for additional data embedded within an image or audio files, which can include date, time, camera settings, etc.

Moment*
Cases, lens, batteries, lights, gimbals, etc. to enhance photos and videos taken with a phone.

Morguefile
More than 300,000 free stock images with a wide range of categories. The site asks that you credit the photographer.

Narrative
Wearable camera that takes a photo every 30 seconds and creates a video at the end of the day (without using the repetitive shots). No work for the wearer. $199. Video explanation.

NASA images
Free use of images.

New Old Stock
Free stock website with vintage photos under the Creative Commons or “The Commons” license from Flickr.

Open Attribute
Plugin that makes it easier to use Creative Commons.

Pexels*
Vast and well-organized, it is one of the best free stock images and video sites. High-quality images under the Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license. 

Pattern Library
Free stock photos of patterns you can use in your own designs (useful for backgrounds too). 

Perfect365
Kardashian-approved photo-editing app. Adjust the intensity of each effect using a slider. Includes celebrity-inspired templates.

Photo Everywhere
More than 3000 free stock photos under the Creative Commons Attribution focused on travel.

Photo Peach
Slideshows with audio and text. Sample.

PhotoRoom
Removes the background from a selected photo and lets you select another background. Free.

ProShot
Photo App that offers grid overlay and custom aspect ratios. Andriod or iOS.
 
PhotoFeeler
Feedback on how you are being perceived in your profile photos. Add a photo in one of three categories – Business, Social or Dating. Vote on photos of other people to get credits or purchase credits with real money. Each credit allows one person to vote on your photo.

Pic Jumbo
Free stock photos in many categories. Attribution is not required though suggested.

PicMonkey
Free photo-editing alternative to Photoshop. No software download or learning curve. Some more advanced options for $4.99 a month.

Pixabay
Creative Commons Public Domain photos so you do not need permission or have to pay any attribution when you use the photo.

Pixlr*
Browser-based and mobile photo editing. Pixlr Express is an option for making small changes when Photoshop is overkill. Pixlr Editor and Pixlr Pro is a step up for professional use. Free for basic tools, $5/month Pixlr Pro.

Preceden (formally Time Glider)
Create web-based timelines using images & videos.

ProCamera*
iPhone app for capturing, editing, and sharing photos. Control over focus, exposure, white balance, and lighting. Compose shots or shoot HD and SD video. Tools can clutter the screen but cold be worth the $5 price.

Public Domain Archive
All images are public domain, free to use. Includes a large collection of vintage images.

the Rasterbator
Make a printable poster out of an image.

Refe
A Tumblr site of free stock mobile photos.

Regex
Helps to verify the authenticity of digital images through its Metadata.

Shorthand*
A visual storytelling tool used by major news outlets that allows users to combine text, images, and video. See exactly how a story will look as it is built. See examples created by the BBC here and here. Free trial then pricing starts at $150 a month.

Shutterstock*
Royalty-free stock photos. With reverse image search, you can use drag a photo or illustration into search in order to find other images with a similar look and feel.

Slow Shutter Cam
Capture beautiful light trails, improves low light photos. 99 cents.

Smithsonian Open Access
Nearly 3 million high-resolution two- and three-dimensional public domain images from the Smithsonian. Not only images but data is available as well. You’ll find it in a GitHub repository here.

Snapseed
Google's Snapseed is a powerful mobile photo tool. Both auto edit and editing controls. Both IOS and Android. Free.

Speaking Photo
Audio note-taking to go with photos. Take a picture of a scene then speak notes on the phone. Free.

Stock Free Images
Nearly a million images donated by the Dreamstime contributors to download for free with registration. Credit must accompany the photo. There are some other restriction options.

StockSnap.io
Large collection of free stock photos and high res images. The photos are under the creative commons public domain (no attribution required).

Stock Vault
More than 46,000 free stock photos. A variety of photographs and various licensing options.

SunCaic
Allows you to see in any given area, on any given date, the direction of the sunrise and sunset.

TechSmith (formally Jing)
A free, easy-to-use screen capture application. Snap a screenshot or record a video, save and share. capture a presentation, lecture, or event.

Thnk Link
Make images interactive. Sample.

TiltShift Video
Create the tilt-shift effect for photos and video. No in-app camera to shoot video and no sharing options. $3.99.

Tineye
This reverse image search engine connects images to their creators. Helps in image verification.

Unbound 
App for simple and pretty viewing experience of your Dropbox photos. Fast with lots of features. $2.99 a month. Mac version $9.99/ a month.

Unsplash
Hi-res photos featuring many random shots. Use their photos however you want under the Public Domain Dedication license. Subscribe and get 10 new photos every 10 days.

Vecteezy
Millions of free stock photos culled from Flickr with the Creative Commons license.

Videolicious*
App for easy photo and video editing on your iPhone. Sort of a stripped-down version of iMovie to make videos with narration and music. Filters, too. Free.

VivaVideo Pro
Lots of features for video editing. Music, filters, etc.

VSCO*
Great start-to-finish photo/video app. Easy to use filters and helpful tutorials. Manual controls like focus lock, exposure lock, and white balance. Edit images and share them on social media. IOS. Free version. $19.99 a year for 170 presets.

Wikimedia Commons
Offers free stock photos under all different licenses as well as sounds and videos.  The link to the CC Creative Common license will tell you how you can use that image.

WowSlider
An image slider with wide compatibility and easy embed.

Why We All Take the Same Travel Photos

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I knew it was silly to join the crowd of tourists clicking away at the Mona Lisa when I visited the Louvre a couple years ago—geotagging has made it all too clear how unoriginal those photos are. But I did it anyway, elbowing through a sea of smartphones and selfie sticks for a tourist-free shot at the front. The visit just didn’t feel complete without it. But why?

Photographing something is a way of possessing it—at least, that's what the critic Susan Sontag argued in her 1977 classic, On Photography. “To collect photographs is to collect the world," she wrote. It confirms your connection to places and objects once distant and remote, making the world slightly smaller and less alienating.

Ironically, though, "collecting the world" might mean also losing it. “A way of certifying experience, taking photographs is also a way of refusing it—by limiting experience to a search for the photogenic, by converting experience into an image, a souvenir,” Sontag wrote.

Laura Mallonee writing in Wired