Whether you’re the type of person who’s always excited to try out the latest technology, or are happy using the same smartphone or computer until it physically breaks, you’ve certainly heard about how AI has been methodically disrupting almost every industry.
The field of photography is no exception. There has been a mix of concern and curiosity among professional and amateur photographers, as well as across related sectors like advertising and film. AI has the potential to permeate all parts of the creative process, from capturing the perfect photo to creating optimal lighting to editing and post-production. Should industry professionals be concerned that their services will become obsolete thanks to AI?
It’s probably too soon to panic. While AI photography has grown exponentially in the last few years, and given rise to AI photo-generators like Portrait Pal, the technology still has a long way to go before it completely takes over the industry. Let’s take a look at what AI photography is, the best way to use it, and the limits of what it can accomplish at this point.
How Does AI Actually Work?
We can’t get into a thorough analysis of the potential for AI in photography without first breaking down the basics of AI. As “intelligent” as it may seem, AI is still far from having all the varied capabilities of the human brain in a single system. It is a general term that is used for many individual programs, each of which uses a similar method to mimic one aspect of human intelligence.
One thing all AI models have in common is that they use machine-learning algorithms, which allow them to take in large amounts of data, then complete tasks or produce results based on that data. That task could be as simple as writing a two-page summary of a 200-page document, or as complex as creating a realistic image of a person in a specific location wearing a particular outfit.
Most AI models have one main function, and are trained to become highly specialized based on one or more types of data. For example, the text-based AI models such as ChatGPT or Gemini are continuously training or “learning” from all the documents that have been uploaded by users, as well as a lot of the data that exists on the internet. Every time you give it a command or “prompt,” they can quickly access all that information, and use it to complete the task or project as required.
How AI Works in Photography
AI can be used in many ways in photography. Both amateur and professional photographers can use it as a tool to enhance or edit real photographs, rather than create them from scratch. As mentioned above, AI uses existing data to create a new image or add to an existing one. AI photography-editing tools and image-generating services need to be trained using real photographs in order to produce the image exactly the way you want it.
For some forms of AI art, like animation or film, AI draws from existing films to create a piece of art or film that brings your ideas to life. If you ask Midjourney to create an animated character like a superhero chef who saves the world by baking a giant cake, it will create a visual representation of that character. The more details you include in your prompt, the more likely it is that the AI image will reflect the vision you had for the piece.
The data used to train AI to produce original images that mimic the qualities of a traditional photograph are, of course, photos. This is where AI in photography differs from other types of AI art. When you want to create photo-realistic images of a particular person, the AI needs more than a text prompt to produce an accurate representation.
No matter how detailed your written prompt is, if you instruct an image generator to “create a photo of a man of average build, with brown hair, an angular face, blue eyes, and a short nose,” there’s almost zero chance that photo will look anything like the real-life person you had in mind.
This is because every human face has so many unique angles, lines, measurements, skin tones, and textures that even twins with the same DNA don’t always look exactly alike. There are just too many variables for the AI to guess what a person looks like from a text prompt alone.
If you want to use an AI service to create a family portrait that you can use on your annual Christmas card, for example, it can easily create this image, including all the details you envision, down to the matching pajamas. But first you’ll have to upload various photos of each member of your family, so the AI can use them as a guide to create the most accurate representation of you for the photo.
Traditional Photography vs. AI Photography
The difference between a photograph and other types of visual art is that a photograph is an image taken with a camera that captures a real moment in time. The quality of the photo can vary depending on many factors, including the type of camera the photographer used, the size of the lens, the lighting, and many other settings that can be programmed into the camera to achieve various stylistic effects.
What Is a Photograph?
While the simple definition of a photo is a still shot of a real moment in time, that isn’t the whole story. Ten different people can take photos of the same subject at the same time and place, and each photo will be unique. What you see in the photo isn’t just whatever happens to be in front of the camera. The photo is a reflection of how the photographer sees that moment, and the viewer only sees what the photographer chooses to share.
For any photo, a professional photographer has to make many small decisions before taking their shot, such as:
- Choosing a focal point: If you’re taking a photo in a crowded place like a street market, there are infinite options for taking photos. Whether you focus your lens on one of the vendors, a collection of handmade items for sale, or money changing hands, the subject of your photo conveys a mood or emotion, or even tells a whole visual story to the viewer.
- Framing the photo: The photographer has to decide how to frame the shot. A wide shot that shows an overview of that chaotic street market is very different from a close-up of one customer haggling with a vendor. If you’re taking professional headshots, the framing should include the person’s head and shoulders, and your choice of background.
- Lighting: How you decide to light your photos can make the difference between a bad shot and a stunning shot. For outdoor locations, you have the best light source possible, but the sun moves throughout the day, so you need to plan accordingly. The light you’ll have at sunset is different from light at high noon—and a rainy day could ruin your whole plan. For studio shots, photographers have to decide what kind of lights to use, and exactly where to place them to get the lighting right for each shoot.
- Creating depth: To create more visual interest in the photo, photographers should find ways to create depth, especially for wider shots. That means showing different elements in the foreground, the middle, and the background of the photo. For a headshot, you can create depth by having the person sit on a chair or cross their arms, or use various poses to create visually appealing angles.
The Basics of AI Photography
AI photography shouldn’t be seen as completely separate from traditional photography. In some cases, photographers will use AI programs or services to streamline the production process for their photos, taking advantage of the speed and efficiency of AI to enhance and improve their work.
For example, photographers who have a specific idea in mind for how they want their photo to look can simply use an AI editing tool to change the background color or add more mountains to a landscape. In the past, these kinds of enhancements would take hours for even the most skilled editor, and would require plenty of technical knowledge to get right.
But an AI model can instantly detect the exact colors and images needed, blending them seamlessly into the photo. For the average person who is not a photographer and doesn’t want to mess around with AI editing tools, an AI service like Portrait Pal is a great way to generate high-quality headshots without having to sit through an entire photo shoot.
Best Use Cases for AI Photography
While the technology used for AI in photography has advanced at a rapid pace, it’s nowhere near the stage where it could take over the industry completely. In 2025, here are three of the most popular and practical ways to use AI photography that are equivalent, and in some cases better, than the traditional method.
Professional Headshots
A headshot is the most common type of professional photo, and is something almost every working person needs at some point in their career. Even before you start working, you need a good photo of yourself to post on recruiting platforms like LinkedIn, your personal website, or other social media profiles. While it’s possible to take your own headshots at home, most people want to get this task done as quickly and cheaply as possible.
AI headshot generators like Portrait Pal have exploded in popularity because they streamline the process of getting high-quality professional headshots, at a fraction of the price you’d pay for a traditional photo shoot. Once you upload several of your own photos, the AI generates the perfect headshots for you.
AI photography works well for professional headshots because this style of photo has a strict set of rules that are easy for the AI model to follow. There’s no need for artistic styling or creating a certain mood for the photo. It just needs to add a background, professional outfits, and maybe clean up your hair and makeup to create a standard headshot with your image as the focal point.
Portrait Photography
A headshot is just one style of portrait, but not all portraits are headshots. Portrait photography is a more general term for any kind of artistic photo focused on one or more people, and it is often taken for a specific purpose. For this reason, there aren’t really any hard and fast rules for how portraits are shot.
The portrait can be an artistically styled photo that portrays a certain mood or tells a story about the person or people for the audience. It could be used as the cover photo for a magazine, an ad for a product or service, or a visual addition to a feature article. Portraits can be framed close up like headshots, or they can be full body shots, and the poses can be as unique as the subject of the photo. They can be sitting, standing, lounging across a couch, or even lying down.
AI is a useful tool in portrait photography. For example, you can easily swap out the background of an existing photo to show the person in a specific location or setting. You can also generate new photos from unique angles or photos that show the subject striking different poses that weren’t captured in the original shots. Stylistically, you can easily change the clothing, add props or objects to create depth, or adjust the lighting to change the entire mood of the portrait.
Post-Editing
As mentioned earlier, AI tools are widely used by both amateur and professional photographers in the post-production stage. You no longer need to know the ins and outs of Photoshop or other types of editing software to adjust and enhance your own photos.
AI tools can be used for simple fixes like adjusting the brightness of the photo or airbrushing out small blemishes. But they can also be used to swap out the entire background of the photo, change the color of your eyes, or straighten your teeth. As technology advances, we’ll have even more options to get creative when using AI to edit our photos.
The Limitations of AI Photography
While the adoption of AI photography seems to be growing by the day, there are still a few things AI hasn’t quite mastered. One of the easiest ways to determine if a portrait or a group photo was created by AI is to look closely at any visible hands and feet. For some reason, even the best AI photo tools can’t quite create realistic-looking fingers or toes. This is something to keep in mind for portrait photos, but headshots and other types of photos don’t usually include hands or feet.
Overlapping or complex images and well-known brand logos can also be a problem for AI to generate correctly. This is something to keep in mind when you’re adding different background images or intricate objects to your photos with AI. If you want a specific logo in the background of your headshot, for example, it’s best to upload the exact image that you want, rather than just describing it with a written prompt.
Final Thoughts
The use of AI in photography is groundbreaking and exciting, but it has a long way to go before it can change the industry completely. Many creative people who wouldn’t have dreamed of trying to edit their own photos are having fun with new AI tools that add a professional touch to otherwise mundane shots.
AI technology has made great strides in some areas of photography, proven by the increased demand for AI headshot generators like Portrait Pal. Contact our specialists today if you’re ready to join the future of AI photography—and jumpstart your career with a new set of headshots.