I’ve made mention in previous posts about using the Generative AI feature in Lightroom (similar functions can be found in other post-processing programs). Up into the introduction of Generative AI, Lightroom had the Clone and Heal functions to help reduce unwanted elements in an image (they are still available). Here’s what that portion of the LR Develop screen now looks like:
Clicking the highlighted pencil eraser begins the process. You brush over the offending object in your image like the banana sticking out from where it’s been tucked into the log (turning that area red) and then click the remove button on the right.
Our original picture goes from this…
To this. It’s as if the banana was never there. The Red-headed Barbet is unchanged but the image looks a bit more “natural” in its AI altered state.
The best place to get a BIF Shot of a hummingbird, like this Black-throated Mango, is by hummingbird feeders but they often show up in the shot. Apply Generative AI and the image does not include the feeder.
In the previous two examples it looks like the Generative AI has simply removed the objects (banana and feeder) but if you think about it the program had to “generate” something to fill in the area where the objects were. When you apply the Remove button the Generative AI actually presents you with three alternative replacements for the objects. Thus far I have been happy with at least one of those alternatives. They don’t alter the bird (see exception below) and usually do a good job of “guessing” what would look good in place of the offending object.
In the photo below a female Peruvian Racket-tail leans over to sip nectar from a flower. However a closer flower obscures the area where the bird’s bill touches the (hidden) flower. In this case I brushed over the big purple blob flower and couldn’t avoid including some of the bird’s bill. This didn’t present a problem for the program as it envisioned what the obscured purple flower and its stalk looked like as well as the end of the bird’s bill.
I feel OK about using the Generative AI function in certain cases: removing a branch or leaf that passes in front of a bird’s body, removing a man-made object from the frame, and displaying a small part of a bird that was otherwise obscured. I wouldn’t enter pictures with significant AI changes in a photo contest, but for my enjoyment (and yours) I see nothing wrong with making these small improvements. How do you feel about it? Do you think pictures altered using AI should be noted as such on GreatBirdPics.com? Members can reply to this email or write back in the Comments portion of the blog post. I’d like to hear your thoughts!
If you enjoy seeing beautiful pictures of birds from around the world and reading about them Click Here to sign up for our mailing list. Members can post their own GreatBirdPics and learn more about bird photography techniques.
Pretty cool!