Yesterday, I received some worrying news. I only launched my portrait photography business a month ago, and I discovered AI is already threatening to wipe me out. There's a new headshot generator, www.aragon.ai, which promises to 'Turn your selfies into studio-quality headshots in minutes. Save hundreds of dollars and hours of your time.'
Well, I charge $111 for an hour-long shoot, so Aragon is already undercutting me by $80, AND doesn't require the subject to pose for 60 minutes in the freezing cold (because that's what the weather's like right now, I don't ask clients to sit in a cryogenic chamber).
So I decided to test out my new rival to see whether it's really a viable competitor to a portrait photographer. Who knows, maybe it would do that AI thing of giving me four arms, like Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth and beauty. (Could do with some of that wealth and beauty if you're reading this, Lakshmi.)
Next I had to upload at least six suitable photos. Warning: the AI does not want to see your nudes. It told me it only accepted clothed photos, because it's no fun. It also only accepts high-res shots, and needs at least one photo from the waist up. I gave it a selection of pictures from 'hot' to 'natural but still wearing makeup', because I am very vain. The AI rejected over half of my pictures, for reasons best known to itself.
Aragon kindly gave me a free trial of their product. The process takes around 1 hour 45. For the first 45 minutes, the AI asks you questions: age, gender, hair length, hair colour, ethnicity, etc. It wanted to know whether I was slim, regular, large or plus-size, so I lied and said regular, because I couldn't bear it generating photos of me like I was 'Yo Mama' in a Yo Mama joke. Then it asked me if I wanted professional photos but didn't give me any alternative (I want amateur photos, dammit!) – and ditto when it came to choosing backgrounds.
I'm one of those people who looks different in every photo, so I was curious to see the results. However, it insisted on making me wait an hour for them, despite (I suspect) being able to generate them instantly. Perhaps it wanted to build the antici... antici... pation?
My editor, Adam, pointed out that AI sometimes does take time. Fair enough. He also noted that I'd accidentally uploaded a photo of me with a halo on (the AI insisted I shouldn't include 'accessories', though whether a halo counts, who knows?). 'What if it gives me a halo?' I fret to him. I told myself a halo was easy to clone out, while simultaneously cursing my lack of attention to detail.
Anyhow, an hour wasn't long to wait, and before long, I received an email saying my headshots were ready. I downloaded the zip file, perused the 100 photos (they'd clearly given me a free trial of the $75 option) and my immediate response was: a version of 'Oh dear' starting with the letter 'F' which Digital Camera World won't print.
For the kind of use most people have for a headshot, the images were actually really good – extremely convincing and flattering – and there wasn't a halo in sight. Some of the catchlights looked a little fake, and the AI had made my hair frizzier than I'd like. It had also made my skin slightly darker than it is in reality, probably because I ticked 'South Asian' instead of 'Middle Eastern' or 'multi-racial' (I'm mixed-race Indian and white).
But overall, I'm sorry to say that portrait photographers' jobs are definitely at risk (don't shoot the messenger, even if you are a shooter). There were no extraneous Lakshmi hands in the photos, and absolutely nothing except the handful of unrealistic catchlights to suggest that I hadn't posed for a session.
Of course, there are many things portrait photographers can do that Aragon.AI can't (yet). It can't put a nervous client at their ease, or reassure them that they're photogenic, or advise them on how to pose and correct them if the pose is unflattering. It can't have a cup of tea with them beforehand to relax them, and chat through why they want the photos and what kind of vibe they're after. And it can only work with the photos you give it, so if your existing photos are rubbish, who knows what your headshots will look like?
It also can't use props or accessories yet. My last client wanted to pose with a coffee cup for her 'Buy Me A Coffee' site profile photo, whereas Aragon would reject that shot. The headshots provided were also weirdly low-res – around 896 x 1088 pixels and 56K at the lowest.
But overall, Aragon.AI's proficiency is frightening, and it's only going to get better as time goes on.
Who knew I'd get my P45 (that's British for "pink slip") from a robot?
