Photography Today: Take the Photograph — or Use AI to Generate It?

Photography is at an interesting crossroads.
On one side, we have the traditional act of making a photograph: choosing the lens, controlling the light, waiting for the moment.
On the other, we now have AI-generated images: created from prompts, not photons.

So which matters more today — taking the photograph, or generating it?

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📷 The Case for Taking the Photograph

When you take a photograph, you are capturing something that actually existed at a particular time and place.

• Light physically hits a sensor or film

• Decisions are made in real time

• Chance, error, and skill all play a role

• The image has context and provenance

For education, science, documentary work, and storytelling, this matters enormously.
A photograph can be questioned, analysed, and traced back to reality.

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🤖 The Case for AI-Generated Images

AI doesn’t record reality — it invents plausible visuals.

That’s not automatically a bad thing.

AI excels at:

• Visualising ideas that don’t yet exist

• Creating concept art, illustrations, and placeholders

• Rapid experimentation without equipment or locations

In teaching and communication, AI images can be powerful illustrations, as long as they are clearly labelled as such.

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⚖️ The Real Question: What Is the Image For?

The debate isn’t photography versus AI.
It’s intent.

• Documenting reality? → Take the photograph

• Teaching a concept? → Either, but be honest

• Marketing a service? → Authentic photos build trust

• Visualising the impossible? → AI is ideal

Problems arise when AI images are passed off as photographs — especially in science, journalism, or education.

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🧠 A Useful Rule of Thumb

If the image claims “this happened”, it should be a photograph.
If the image says “this helps explain”, AI may be appropriate.

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🔍 Final Thought

AI doesn’t replace photography — it changes why we make images.

The craft of photography still matters:

• seeing light

• understanding optics

• choosing the moment

AI is another tool — powerful, creative, and dangerous if misused.

The responsibility still sits with the person pressing the shutter…
or typing the prompt.