AI assists great photography
Artificial intelligence has become a much talked about feature in photography.
Artificial intelligence has become a much talked about feature in photography, from smart phones to cameras, with software programs used for post capture processing.
Artificial intelligence, or AI, is used to improve a captured image. Face recognition, both human and animal faces, is now possible on many smart phones and cameras. This has made its way into post capture software.
AI is used in many fields of photography from security cameras to law enforcement. It is changing how cameras function and how they can be used.
As with all evolving technology, sometimes it is rushed to the market and not quite fit for the intended purpose. One area of note has been in the ability to apply AI in post capture software to provide an enhanced or improved image. AI can and does provide a worthwhile solution for images that are not captured in the most ideal situations, such as low light and no tripod situations, and drone photography.
AI should be recognised as surgery to rescue an image, and not the best option to produce an image. Skill and photographic knowledge remain the best option to capture quality images.
Personally, I have used AI software in the form of Topaz Labs De Noise AI for drone photography and for milky way photography. In both instances, the images were captured in less-than-ideal situations, so De Noise AI to the rescue.
The tripod mode in DJI drones does a great job, but shooting in low light or with any breeze does not produce the best image.
On1 Software has released On1 NoNoise Standalone 2021; however, the program has major bugs, which are acknowledged by On1. The company says the bugs will be addressed in a future update release. At this moment, it was not possible for a comparison.
Adobe Photoshop Adobe Lightroom Classic has released an Enhance plug in as part of Adobe Camera Raw (ACR). Essentially this allows a super resolution photo to be created, in effect doubling the size of the original image.
The best camera is the one in your hand and for many people that’s a smart phone. AI on a phone can produce a photo that is capable of being printed.
With the release of the iPhone 11, Apple switched the photo format from .JPG to HEIC (high efficiency image format) to save space and to produce a better-quality image as HEIC supports 16-bit colour.
So, in the real world, how does this measure up? To analyse the result, I used the following photo taken with an iPhone 11 at a marina and ran the image through both Adobe Enhance and Topaz De Noise AI.
The original boat photo produces a reasonable photo quality and has a native image size of 10.08 inches.
Click on the following photos to view them in full screen.
The boat photo edit enhanced was edited using the enhance plugin in Adobe Lightroom Classic and the photo has a native image size 20.16 inches, double the size of the original image.
There is noticeable noise in the image when enlarged to 100 per cent. Taking this image and applying Topaz Labs De Noise AI produces a noticeable improvement at 100 per cent.
This image can now be printed.
Drone photography
Drones have opened a new dimension to photographers and videographers and the image quality is simply amazing. To illustrate just how good this can be, look at the two images Trinity Marina and Fennell Bay.
Both were taking as the sun was setting with an exposure of 1/10 of a second, ISO at 100 on a DJI Mavic 2 Pro. The images measure 18 X 12 inches and is very suitable to print, frame and hang on your wall.
Both images were processed using Topaz De Noise AI and by any measure the result is stunning.
Astro photography
Many people have become hooked on capturing the night sky, in particular the Milky Way in all its magnificence. There is something very special standing in a remote location and staring up at the galaxy of stars that greets you.
The beauty of capturing the Milky Way and star trails is that just about any DSLR or mirrorless camera can do an excellent job with some basic knowledge.
Milky Way photography is done at a high ISO, sometimes 6400 and above and with the camera as wide open as you can make it. An aperture of f2.8 or larger and an exposure of 15 seconds being is normal to capture the night sky.
The photo of the Canowindra vineyard and the Walcha homestead both benefit from being processed in Topaz No Noise AI
In summary, Topaz De Noise AI does a superb job in removing digital noise from photos, regardless of whether you use a smart phone, DSLR or mirrorless camera.
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