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Key Insights
- Some AI photo editing tools are beneficial, while others can be completely ineffective.
- Manual adjustments can often save you time compared to using AI.
- Certain AI tools can blur the line of authenticity, so it’s essential to use them judiciously.
I’ve experimented with several AI photo editing features to determine their effectiveness in my workflow. While some like noise reduction are fantastic, others fall short. In this review, I’ll cover the AI editing tools I find the least useful.
1 Sky Replacement
Numerous AI applications allow you to swap out the sky, but I’ve never grasped why this is necessary. I’m all for editing photos, but altering elements that affect the overall atmosphere—like replacing a gray sky with blue—feels excessive.
Sky replacements often appear unrealistic, and honestly, I don’t find them aesthetically pleasing. If you’re editing for fun, go ahead and use it, but I wouldn’t recommend sky replacement for anything more serious.
That being said, using AI to identify the sky in your image for adjustments like brightness and color is quite useful. It may alter the sky, but it maintains the general ambiance of the photo. Ultimately, it’s crucial to recognize when creative software benefits from AI and when it doesn’t.
2 Enhancing Skin and Eyes
The aim of AI in editing software is to streamline your workflow, yet I’ve found that the tools for brightening skin and eyes often miss the mark. Usually, it’s quicker for me to make these adjustments manually. The exception is when utilizing the Auto feature in my editing software, which is quite hit-or-miss as well.
If you intend to use AI for editing, I’d advise choosing retouching tools found in Photoshop and similar software. However, for most editing needs, it might be best to skip AI enhancements altogether.
For an interesting comparison of AI retouching to manual methods, check out my experience using AI to retouch photos.
3 AI Blurring
One of the first AI features I experimented with was blurring, and frankly, I prefer manually adjusting the aperture on my camera instead. Post-production blurring usually feels obvious, and while you could argue I’m not skilled enough, my photos look fine without it.
AI blurring can be beneficial if the tool accurately detects backgrounds, but that isn’t always guaranteed. If you lack a high-quality camera, there are ways to achieve background blur naturally, such as getting closer to your subject.
4 Altering Body Shapes
Some AI tools allow you to alter the shape of people’s bodies, but I strongly oppose this practice for various reasons. Primarily, it’s a technique I believe is easier to accomplish manually. Beyond that, I find it ethically problematic to modify body shapes to create unrealistic representations.
In my view, using these features can be misleading when shared online. While some might argue that any editing is deceptive, I disagree. Adjusting lighting and colors while keeping a person’s shape unchanged is vastly different from altering their physical form.
Additionally, it’s important to be aware that some countries may require you to disclose when you’ve retouched images. For instance, Norway has laws mandating the indication of altered body shapes and skin appearances.
You may disregard my opinions if you find these tools helpful. Yet, personally, I believe the AI photo editing options discussed here aren’t particularly relevant. I’m always eager to explore new technologies, but if they don’t perform, I’m more than happy to stick with methods that work.