Culling is an essential process in photography, where you select the best photos from a photoshoot to edit and deliver to clients. With advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), many culling software options now use AI to assist with the selection process. But should you use AI culling software to cull your photoshoot? In this article, we will explore the benefits and drawbacks of using AI culling software to help you make an informed decision.
Benefits of AI Culling Software
Time-Saving: AI culling software can analyze and select the best photos from a large collection quickly, saving you time and effort.
Consistency: AI culling software is consistent in analyzing and selecting photos, ensuring that all photos are analyzed equally and fairly.
Accuracy: AI algorithms can analyze photos more accurately than humans, identifying factors such as composition, focus, blinks, emotions and exposure.
Improved Workflow: AI culling software can integrate with other editing software, making your workflow smoother and more efficient.
Drawbacks of AI Culling Software
Cost: AI culling software can be expensive, requiring photographers to invest in the technology.
Lack of Personal Touch: AI culling software lacks the personal touch that comes with manual culling, where a photographer can analyze photos based on their unique preferences.
Limited Creativity: AI culling software can be limited in its ability to identify unique and creative photos that may not follow conventional guidelines.
Potential for Error: AI culling software is not foolproof and can make mistakes sometimes, leading to the wrong selection of some photos.
Should You Use AI Culling Software?
The answer to this question ultimately depends on your unique needs and preferences as a photographer. If you are short on time and have a large collection of photos to cull, AI culling software may be a good option for you. AI culling software can save you time and effort, providing consistent and accurate results.
However, if you value the personal touch and creative freedom that comes with manual culling, then fully automated AI culling software may not be the best option for you. Instead what you need is an AI assistant to help in your manual culling, for e.g. show you face closeups while browsing photos so you dont need to zoom in just to see face details.
Introducing OptiCull - Automated culling + Assistant in manual culling
While AI culling software has some drawbacks, I am addressing many of these issues in upcoming versions of the OptiCull.
Cost: As OptiCull runs AI algorithms locally on machine, there are no server costs associated per cull. Because of this pricing can be cheaper than other options available in market.
Lack of Personal Touch and Creativity: OptiCull will allow for more personalized preferences and greater creativity through customizations, allowing photographers to tailor the software to their individual needs. For e.g. how much it should be sensitive to focus and should it reject photos with closed eyes always or should detect and treat strong emotions as exceptions.
Be an Assistant in Manual Culling: While OptiCull will have fully automated AI Culling workflow, it will also assist you if you choose to do manual culling. Features like face closeups, duplicate photos grouped into scenes, layout modes to show duplicate photos side-by-side and zoom modes to compare same face or regions of similar photos in one go can help save time while doing manual culling also.
Conclusion
AI culling software can be a useful tool for photographers looking to save time and effort in the culling process. However, it is not a one-size-fits-all solution, and photographers should weigh the benefits and drawbacks of using AI culling software before making a decision. Whether you choose to use 100% Automated AI culling workflow, 100% manual culling workflow or manual culling with AI assistance, the goal is always to select the best photos for your portfolio and deliver quality results to your clients.