“What’s your opinion on AI?”

That’s something I’ve been asked so many times, especially in job interviews.

And honestly, I’m finding it almost impossible to answer “correctly.”

As a creative, what is our opinion on AI?

It feels like something that has advanced so quickly, so suddenly. One minute it wasn’t really part of the conversation, and the next it’s everywhere, on the news, on social media, in job interviews. We’re told it’s a threat to creative jobs, that it has environmental impacts, and at the same time, it’s being integrated into almost everything we use daily.

It feels overwhelming.

When I think back to when I was born, technology was still transitioning from analog to digital. There were bulky monitors, early digital cameras, and phones that could barely do more than text. Social media didn’t exist in the way it does now, we had things like MSN Messenger, and that was enough.

And now, everything feels accelerated. So much so that even I can’t keep up, and if I’m honest, sometimes I don’t even want to. It almost becomes exhausting to think about.

Talking about AI now feels similar to talking about money or politics, it’s sensitive. Everyone has an opinion, and no matter what you say, it can feel like the wrong answer.

So what is the right answer?

I don’t think there is one.

As a creative, I think the only way to approach it is with an open mind. You don’t have to fully agree with it, and you don’t have to like it, but there’s also no real way of avoiding it. It’s already embedded into the tools we use every day.

Even something as simple as searching on Google now brings up AI-generated answers first, whether you want them or not. What used to take time, researching, reading, exploring, is now instant.

And that changes things.

I’ve even searched my own name before, and AI can summarise who I am, my work, and what I’ve done. That in itself is strange, seeing something so personal reduced to a generated response.

During my final year at university, I created a project exploring AI. I made a video to show that as a photographer, AI can’t recreate my ideas, my perspective, my way of seeing. But the response to that project was intense. A lot of people reacted purely to the word “AI,” without really engaging with what I was trying to say.

There was a lot of negativity. A lot of fear.

And I understand that.

But since graduating, the question has stayed with me, especially in interviews. It’s no longer a hypothetical conversation. It’s something that directly affects how we’re seen as creatives.

Even writing this now feels slightly uncomfortable, knowing how divided people are on the subject.

But maybe that’s the point.

AI isn’t something we can ignore. It’s something we’re all trying to understand, in real time, with no clear answers.

And maybe instead of trying to “get over it” or fully accept it, it’s about learning how to exist alongside it, figuring out where we stand, what we value, and what makes our work human in the first place.

AI in Fashion Photography

When it comes to fashion photography, AI feels even more complicated.

On one hand, it’s opening up possibilities; generating campaigns, creating visuals without full teams, removing the need for locations, models, or even physical garments in some cases. For brands, especially smaller ones, that can be seen as efficient and cost-effective.

But at the same time, it raises a lot of questions.

Fashion has always been about collaboration. Photographers, stylists, models, makeup artists, designers, all bringing something different to a shoot. It’s not just about the final image, it’s about the process behind it. The energy on set, the problem solving, the unexpected moments that you can’t plan.

That’s the part AI can’t really replicate.

It can generate an image, but it doesn’t experience anything. It doesn’t respond to a model’s movement, or the way light changes naturally, or the feeling of being on location. It doesn’t build relationships or creative trust.

And I think that’s where a lot of the tension comes from.

Because while AI can produce something that looks like fashion photography, it doesn’t carry the same depth, intention, or human connection behind it.

At the same time, I don’t think it’s as simple as rejecting it completely. Like everything else, it’s becoming part of the industry whether we like it or not. So maybe the question isn’t whether it should exist, but how we choose to use it, and where we draw the line.

For me, it makes me reflect more on what I bring as a photographer. Not just technically, but creatively and emotionally. The ideas, the direction, the collaboration, the parts that can’t be generated.

When It Becomes Personal

There’s also another side to this conversation, one that feels a lot more personal.

As a fashion photographer, you hear stories about work being used, altered, or taken and changed through AI. It’s one of those things you don’t think will ever happen to you, until it does.

And unfortunately, I’ve experienced that.

Seeing your work used and then changed through AI to the point where it no longer feels like your own is a strange feeling. It still holds something of what you created, but it’s been reshaped into something else entirely.

Part of the reasoning behind it is often cost. AI is seen as “cheaper” than hiring a photographer, a model, a full creative team. And from a business perspective, I understand why that conversation is happening.

But for me, it wasn’t just about the use of AI, it was about the lack of communication.

If I had been told beforehand, it might have been a different conversation. But not being informed, and then seeing my work altered in that way, didn’t sit right with me. And because of that, I chose to step away.

I think as creatives, we all have to decide where we stand. What we’re comfortable with, what we’re not, and what we’re willing to compromise on.

For me, I want to stand by my work, my process, and the people I collaborate with. That won’t always be the easiest route, and I know not everyone is in a position to make the same decisions, and that’s completely understandable.

I just hope that those reading this never have to experience that feeling.

But the reality is, in a digital world, once we put our work online, it becomes part of a much bigger system. Images, ideas, styles, they all circulate. AI learns from them, whether we like it or not.

And in some way, there will always be small traces of human work behind what it generates.

So where do I stand with AI?

I’m still figuring that out.

I don’t think it’s something we can fully accept or completely reject. It’s already here, already part of the way we work, create, and consume. But at the same time, it’s made me more aware of what I value as a creative.

The process. The people. The ideas that come from experience, not generation.

Maybe there isn’t a right answer.

Maybe it’s just about learning where you stand, and staying true to that, even as everything continues to change.