“Why pay to hire a photographer?”: Gen Z goes crazy for professionally generated AI portrait photos

With just a few selfie photos, AI can automatically generate portrait photos in the style chosen by the user, featuring highly professional expressions, poses, and outfits, producing image quality comparable to those taken by human photographers

The Gen Z users are currently embracing a trend of using the AI-powered app called Remini to transform their selfie photos into professional portrait images. Notably, this AI application performs so effectively that many young users have raised the question: “Why pay to hire a photographer when AI can do just as well?”

It’s worth mentioning that the AI-powered image enhancement tool Remini has gone viral on the social media platform TikTok, with thousands of users utilizing this technology to turn their smartphone photos into beautiful and professional-looking portrait shots.

In a TikTok video that has garnered over 42.2 million views in the past five days, content creator @Gracesplace demonstrated how she used Remini to transform a “selfie” photo taken in her car into a series of professional portrait shots for her LinkedIn profile.

Since then, this AI photo app has become widely popular. Remini has even dethroned Meta’s Threads app, rising to the top spot on the U.S. App Store rankings by Apple. The hashtag #Remini now boasts over 1.4 billion views on TikTok, with content creators questioning why they should “pay for close-up shots when AI can do them for free?”

Launched in 2019, Remini has the ability to enhance image clarity, making blurry images clearer, for example. However, in 2022, the app added the feature of AI-generated content. Although Remini is available for free download, it requires users to register to access all features. Remini operates very similarly to the AI photo editing app that gained popularity in 2022, Lensa AI. In a TikTok video, Tiktoker Gracesplace demonstrated how to use Remini to create portrait shots.

In this process, users start by uploading 8 to 12 of their own photos and selecting their gender. They then choose a “sample image” to imitate the style and layout they desire, with categories ranging from “casual” and “fashionable” to “travel” and “office style.”

The “office style” category features models in office attire, and Remini generates professional portrait photos based on this selection. Then, there is a swipe function that allows Remini users to choose their favorite images.

While many TikTokers are impressed with the AI-generated portrait photos, some users are concerned that apps like Remini might replace real photographers.

“A message to photographers: You better lower your prices for photo shoots,” one viewer humorously commented in a Remini introduction video.

Some TikTok users agree with this sentiment and commented, “In reality, they (photographers) charge too much for just five photos.” Meanwhile, another viewer argues, “AI can’t replicate the true artistic abilities of a talented photographer. I don’t know if anyone would like to have their wedding photos taken by AI.”

In reality, while AI-generated portrait photos are quite impressive, some images may have body-related flaws. For instance, current AI technology still struggles to flawlessly handle issues like hands with too many or too few fingers. According to Insider, other TikTokers have also noted that Remini seems to significantly alter their body weight to make the photos look better, with one user calling the Artificial Intelligence “fat-shaming.“

According to: Petapixel

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