The Art of the Edit: Using AI the Right Way in Photo Editing

photo of food preparation in a photo editing software on a laptop.

In the not-so-distant past, editing photos meant hours hunched over Lightroom sliders, obsessing over contrast curves and wondering if your skin tone was just a bit too orange. Fast forward to now: Artificial Intelligence has crashed the editing party, and it’s not just hovering awkwardly by the snack table. It’s front and centre, grabbing the sliders for you and asking what you want it to do.

But just because AI can do it all doesn’t mean it should.

Here’s how to wield AI in photo editing like a creative pro.

AI Is a Tool, Not a Takeover

We want to clarify something first: AI isn’t here to steal your artistic soul. It’s here to handle the tedious skin retouching, background clean-up, exposure balancing – so you can focus on the why behind your image. The story. The emotion. The vibe. AI should assist your creativity, not override it.

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Good AI Use: Enhancing Reality, Not Faking It

We all love a dreamy sunset or creamy skin tone, but there’s a strong line between enhancing a photo to look nice and turning it into a dream that looks obviously fake.

Great use of AI:

  • Automatically removing power lines or tourists from a travel shot? Yes, please. Nobody wants to see that!
  • Smart skin smoothing that keeps texture and natural tone? Chef’s kiss.
  • Colour grading to match a mood or brand palette? Yes!!

Not-so-great use:

  • Face-morphing until you look like an elf from a fantasy realm.
  • Sky replacements so dramatic they make your photo look like a superhero movie poster.
  • Removing shadows to the point your subject looks like they’re floating.

AI shouldn’t erase reality – it should elevate it.

Stay In Control

Most modern AI editing tools like Luminar Neo, or Canva’s AI Photo Editor are good at asking you what you want. The key is actually telling them.

Customise. Tweak. Say no. Use those sliders. If AI spits out something generic, take the wheel. You’re the human. You’re the eye.

Luminar Neo: How to use the Enhance AI Tool (Youtube tutorial by Clever Photographer)

Best Practices to Use AI in Editing

  1. Use Layers – Always edit using layers so you can revert those AI changes if it goes rogue.
  2. Stay Honest (If It Matters) – If you’re editing for journalism, product photography, or anything where trust matters, keep it real. AI should clean up, not conjure up.
  3. Know Your Audience – Instagram? Go wild (but make sure your audience are aware it is edited using AI). A documentary project? Tread lightly. Context is everything.
  4. Learn the Tech – Don’t just click “enhance.” Learn what it’s doing and why it works. The best artists know their brushes, even when the brush is made of code.

The Future: AI as Creative Collaborator

We’re heading toward an era where AI won’t just edit photos, it’ll help ideate them. Want to test a lighting setup before the shoot? AI can simulate it. Want to brainstorm five stylistic directions for a brand shoot? AI’s got ideas. The creative world doesn’t end with AI, it expands. Just don’t rely on it to do all the work for you.

So, next time AI offers to “auto-enhance” your photo, pause. Ask yourself: Does this look more like me, or more like what the algorithm thinks I should be? Then trust your gut.

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