It seems everyone is talking about AI. Listening to tech pundits, you’d think you were in the Dark Ages if you haven’t already created a personalized AI agent to manage your business operations, write your legal documents, read bedtime stories to your kids …

OK, we may be getting ahead of ourselves, but the AI Age is here. What does that really mean? Is AI a threat or a benefit?

Honestly, it may be some of both. More than anything, it’s a tool. The photographers who embrace it can work smarter, not harder, and find new levels of efficiency in their businesses. To learn how photographers can leverage these tools, we compiled advice from three guests on different episodes of the “Professional Photographer” podcast. These photographers and tech experts are using AI without diminishing creativity or sacrificing authentic connections with clients.

CUSTOMIZE CHATGPT

In “How Photographers Should Really Use ChatGPT in Business,” Tallahassee, Florida-based portrait and headshot photographer and AI consultant Kira Derryberry, M.Photog.Hon.M.Photog.Cr., CPP, shares how to customize interactions with ChatGPT. “It’s an amazing tool for people who don’t have employees or who are wearing all the hats,” she says.

• Provide context for more complete answers. Instead of asking for a quick result, educate the AI about your specific goal. Start with the end in mind by explaining what you want to achieve. For example, state, “I want to book 10 headshot sessions from new clients as part of a new promotion that I am running to business owners in a specific area.” Then ask ChatGPT for a plan. Pro tip: Also ask the AI chat, “What else do you need to know from me to get the best results?”
• Use custom instructions for consistency. Save time by setting up global custom instructions in your ChatGPT settings (Settings > Personalization > Custom Instructions). This allows you to define your personality type, voice, and specific preferences, so you don’t have to repeat these requirements in every new chat. You can also use these settings to give context to future conversations.
• Organize with project folders and file libraries. “These are a game changer,” says Derryberry. In the left-hand sidebar, under Projects, click the +New project button to create a new project folder. Then use folders to create dedicated workspaces for different parts of your business. Within these folders, you can upload up to 20 reference files, such as your pricing guides, brand story, and email templates, so the AI can pull from them during future chats. This saves you the time of re-uploading that information or reminding the AI about the specifics of your business.
• Leverage Agent Mode for task execution. Available on ChatGPT Plus plans and up, Agent Mode can perform tasks on different online platforms. Agent Mode allows the AI to log into cloud-based platforms to do things like organize your Gmail, set up Zoom meetings, or even automatically draft reminder emails.
• Crunch your numbers. Use the Data Analysis tool to upload sales and marketing data to identify trends, see which products are underperforming, and plan where to allocate resources. To upload a file, click the + in the chat message box, upload your file, and then ask for the analysis you want.
• Talk to your AI. To stay productive on the go, use the ChatGPT voice mode to have a back-and-forth conversation. On a mobile device, click the headphone icon in the bottom right corner. On a desktop, click the microphone icon in the message box. This is useful for brainstorming marketing ideas or project concepts while driving or doing other tasks, and the transcript remains available later.
• Use AI to write social media posts. Stuck on how to caption your images for social media? Ask the AI to write you a caption for a picture using hashtags that are best for organic reach to get better engagement on a particular platform (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.). You can do this in batches if you connect your Dropbox or Google Drive with well-organized social media images labeled appropriately.

USE AI FOR EFFICIENCY

In the episode, “How AI Can Transform Your Photography Business,” St. Louis-based portrait and commercial photographer, filmmaker, and AI expert Garon Cooper explains how AI can help with administrative and strategic tasks.

• Use AI as a pocket business coach. Use AI chat as a sounding board for your business strategy. Because these systems have access to global information, they can help identify blind spots, brainstorm ideas, and even suggest appropriate pricing. “It’s kind of like having a mini business coach in your pocket,” says Cooper.
• Conduct in-depth market research. Use the Deep Research feature (left-hand menu, under … More) to analyze new markets. For example, this tool can compile data on wedding trends, venue pricing, and what local clients are paying, which saves you hours of manual Google searching.
• Implement an AI receptionist. Missing phone calls often means missing leads. Cooper recommends using human-like AI voice assistants to answer FAQs and book consultations directly on your calendar when you are unavailable. “The company that answers the phone first is generally the one that’s going to get the sale, or at least has the first chance at it,” says Cooper. There are multiple voice chat services available, including NextPhone, Dialzara, Smith.ai, Goodcall, and ChatHawk, which Cooper founded.
• Streamline shopping and gear comparisons. Use AI chats to research products and equipment, make comparisons, and find the best camera for specific needs. Ask the chat a question like, “What is the best camera for shooting a nighttime outdoor wedding reception, which is also compatible with Godox flash units?”
• Pre-qualify leads. Use AI to conduct initial conversations with potential clients and only pass on leads that answer within certain parameters. For example, an AI chatbot can ask a potential client what their budget is for wedding photography and, if their amount aligns with your prices, can pass their contact information to you for a human follow-up.

SUPERCHARGE IMAGE EDITING

In the episode, “Photoshop AI Tips Every Photographer Should Know,” Julieanne Kost, principal digital imaging evangelist at Adobe Systems, shares features, tips, and tricks for streamlining image editing.

• Implement AI-powered image culling. One of the most significant time-savers is the assisted culling feature in Adobe Lightroom. It uses AI models to identify technical flaws across thousands of images like closed eyes or out-of-focus photos. Use this as an assistant rather than a replacement for a human editor, says Kost. The tool deletes the obviously unusable images so you can focus on working with the best ones. “I think it’s going to save people a lot of time, especially wedding, portrait, and event photographers,” she says.
• Accelerate local adjustments with AI-powered masking. With this action, you can instantly detect and isolate elements like sky, people, backgrounds, or landscape features. You can create a preset that generates these masks without applying actual adjustments, which provides a ready-to-edit file without the tedious manual selection work. “I made a preset that says, ‘Look at this image and show me all of the masks that could be applied,’” says Kost. “With one click I’ve got all the masks for all eight different categories of landscape.”
• Harmonize composites non-destructively. When combining images in Photoshop, the Harmonize feature uses AI to match the lighting, tone, and color of a subject to its new environment. It creates non-destructively on a separate layer, adjusting scene lighting and generating elements like contact shadows and drop shadows.
• Leverage Generative Fill for clean-up and composition. Generative Fill is highly effective for removing unwanted people (like at a crowded tourist spot) or expanding a canvas when an image was framed too tightly, according to Kost. “This allows you to shoot when the light is perfect, regardless of distractions, because you can pop them out later using AI,” she explains.
• Use Generative AI as a sketchbook. Use tools like Adobe Firefly to test ideas or generate objects (like wings or clothing) that would otherwise take hours to source and extract. “It lowers decision fatigue,” Kost says, “and keeps you in a creative flow by allowing you to try multiple variations in seconds.”
• Optimize workflow with Raw Defaults. Set your AI-based presets to apply automatically upon import using Raw Defaults. This ensures that lens corrections, chromatic aberration removal, and your preferred profiles are ready the moment you open a file.

Rather than fear or resist AI, small business owners like photographers should embrace the parts that can truly help them succeed, or risk being left behind, explains Cooper. “It surprises me how little people are really leveraging AI in their businesses for their productivity,” he tells podcast host Pat Miller. “They’re leaving money and efficiency on the table that they could be capturing with the right AI tools and software that they’re just not thinking of.” 

Jeff Kent is editor-at-large.