AI Photo Coaching/Judging
I’ve been playing with ChatGPT to see how it compares to the monthly Camera Club judges, & it’s been surprisingly good. Not that it doesn’t say things that I don’t agree with, but it often has useful suggestions for improvement.
I give it a prompt like:
‘If the following image were submitted to a photo contest meant for expert level photographers, please critique it as as judge would. Please score as following: 3: no huge flaws; 4: very nice image but still room for improvement. 5: really stunning & virtually ready for an exhibition.’
You can upload a .jpg or do a screenshot & paste it in. It will help, as per Butch’s talk last night, make sure to give the image a meaningful title, which can be in the filename, ie: Title.jpg
I use ChatGPT daily in my work & pay $20/month, but a free account will most likely give similar results. Make sure to use the official link since it’s easy to end up at a spoofing site: ChatGPT: https://openai.com/
There are other AI’s as well, such as Claude: https://www.anthropic.com/claude
Keep in mind that AI is infinitely malleable. So if you compare images you’ve submitted for judging & find that the AI is scoring too high or low, just give it feedback, it will apologize profusely, and adjust.
I hope you find this useful, & have fun (with this technology that might be the end of us all..)!!
Jay
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Or for comparison, an 'Improved' version of the above from ChatGPT:
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Exploring AI for Photo Coaching and Judging
I've been experimenting with ChatGPT to see how its critiques compare to the feedback we receive from our monthly Camera Club judges, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised! While I don’t always agree with everything it says, its suggestions for improvement are often insightful and useful.
Here’s how I’ve been using it:
I provide a prompt like this:
“If the following image were submitted to a photo contest for expert-level photographers, please critique it as a judge would. Score it on the following scale:
3: No major flaws but lacks standout qualities.
4: A very nice image with room for improvement.
5: Truly stunning and virtually exhibition-ready.”
You can upload a .jpg or take a screenshot of your image to share with ChatGPT. As Butch highlighted in his talk last night, make sure to give your image a meaningful title! You can include the title in the filename, e.g., Title.jpg.
I use ChatGPT daily in my work and subscribe to the Pro plan for $20/month, but a free account should produce similar results for photo critiques. Just make sure you’re using the official ChatGPT site to avoid spoofing: ChatGPT.
There are other AI tools worth exploring as well, such as Claude by Anthropic: Claude.
Adjusting AI Feedback
One of the great things about AI is how adaptable it is. If you find that its scoring feels too high or too low compared to your expectations or past critiques, you can simply provide feedback. It will adjust and refine its approach accordingly—usually with a very polite apology!
I hope you find this tool helpful as a supplement to your photography journey. It’s a fun and innovative way to get fresh perspectives on your work.
Enjoy experimenting (with the technology that might just change everything)!
Jay
Hmmm. Are you thinking this might replace the judges altogether? Would certainly be easier than finding people as judges each month.
No! Great judges can give unique and interesting insights. AI can be an additional way of getting feedback, and an interesting learning tool. Submitting to a competition can be daunting, and AI is far less threatening, especially for those new to the competitions. But as we've all seen, not all judges are Great Judges.. Running some AI in parallel with judging might be interesting, something for the Executive Committee to discuss.
Tony, Jay has captured the feeling among those of us who have discussed this so far: run the same photos that a judge has evaluated through AI, see the similarities and differences, and learn something from it. At some point, however, we very well may try AI alone to see what members think about it, and AI could also serve as a backup if a judge cancels on short notice.
Some folks might like to use AI as an aid - in addition to our Photo Review sessions - to see what points a judge might pick on. Those items could then be adjusted prior to submission for the competition. Note that I do not see the use of AI as a replacement either for Photo Review sessions or for judges, except for the kind of situation Gerry mentioned.
Jay and I are both scientists, and the comparison looks to us like a great experiment to conduct. It will be interesting.