Hey it’s LENSEL. The email news keeping you ahead in the wedding photographer world. Here’s what is on today:

Let’s get into it ⬇️

Using AI to edit photos is divisive.
Some photographers are fully in. Some are sceptical. Most are quietly watching… BUT one thing is clear. It isn’t going away.

So we are coming in HOT with the big questions that EVERY photographer is asking about it:

What is AI actually doing when it edits your photos?
Can it/will it edit better than me?
Do I loose my style and edge by using AI?
What is the future of photography using these AI tools?

And photographers don’t just want hype answers that promise the world.
We care deeply about our edits. So we want transparency, honesty and to know the reality the situation! Where does AI editing work well? Where does it still struggle? What is actually going on when an AI brain edits your images?

TODAY we dive into those BIG questions. And go straight to the source. We talk with the co-founder of Aftershoot (AI photo workflow platform) himself, Justin Benson. We ask for the honest, real take on where AI editing is right now, where it’s going, and how photographers can best think about it all.

Lensel: There’s still a lot of mystery around AI editing. Some photographers think it’s magic. Others think it just applies presets. What’s actually happening under the hood?

Justin Benson, Aftershoot Co-Founder:
“AI editing is really all about patterns. And once you start thinking in patterns and partnering with your AI, it changes everything.

Aftershoot’s AI doesn’t “see” images exactly the way a photographer does. It learns patterns from how you’ve edited in the past. It compares the RAW file to your finished edits and starts learning to predict what you would do in similar situations. our exposure adjustments, your red/orange hue changes to skin tones, your contrast etc.

That’s why Aftershoot can feel like magic. If you consistently mute greens or add extra skin tone saturation, the system learns those behaviours and starts to apply them automatically in comparison to the RAW file. And with the right amount of data from you, it can get very very nuanced in what it adjusts.

It doesn’t edit ‘better’ than you by changing how you edit. It can edit better than you by helping you be more consistent. We always say it’s like an assistant that’s been watching you edit for years and knows you well. But just like a person, you need to train it. You need to give it the data and show it how you edit. Once a profile is dialled in, it will handle most situations very accurately. And when something totally new comes up, it still leans on what it already knows about your style to get you most of the way there.”

Our take:
Ai editing CAN feel like magic when you train it well and can help you actually edit more consistently. It learns patterns and you need to teach it. THIS understanding is the key to unlocking all the benefits from AI editing right now. It does take work, but it’s worth it.

Lensel: Some photographers worry that using AI editing disconnects them from their work. Others think it frees them creatively. From what you’re seeing, where is all this AI editing/workflow actually heading?

Justin Benson:
“Honestly, if there’s one goal for Aftershoot in building all of this, it’s keeping photographers in love with photography.

Taking over the boring parts of the task so they can focus on the good things.

The ideal workflow is coming home, popping a session in, and then spending a fraction of the time reviewing and polishing the photos. And that’s the key part. The freedom to do the good parts.

And longer term, I think our AI tools just get better at understanding you. Your style, your tendencies, how you treat colour, exposure, contrast across different situations.

The goal isn’t to replace your decisions. It’s to get you very close to your final look automatically, so editing becomes refinement rather than boring bulk work. That’s where it starts to feel less like automation and more like a genuine assistant.”

Our take:
Ai editing shifts the whole of editing workflow from ‘heavy lifting’ to refinement. A CRAZY industry change if you think about it… The future is looking bright.

Lensel: We hear from photographers that using AI feels like cheating or like it’s not them making the photos. From your perspective, does AI editing preserve personal style or risk diluting it? Is it still honest and true to yourself?

Justin Benson:
“For me, and at Aftershoot, personal style is everything. Our AI isn’t trying to replace that. We have a tool designed to help you get there faster.

In my own photography, even when my edits come back looking spot-on, I still find myself nudging exposure by -.5 or making small tweaks. My style is still very much my style, it’s just that now, I can get way closer to my look than I ever could with a preset, before I even look at an image.

And honestly, correcting an AI edit isn’t a wrong or a problem. Sometimes it gets something slightly off, sometimes your own preferences shift. But knowing that I am so much closer to my final look is amazing.

At the end of the day, AI isn’t inventing a look. It’s focused on replicating yours, just with less manual input than you had to give before.”

Our Take: You still make images in ‘YOUR STYLE’. You just don’t do the annoying part. Infact, the AI can help you apply your style in more scenarios, more accurately. Kinda cool. Perhaps it’s even more honest than just applying your normal presets and trying your best each time.

Announcing…
AI editing is a new crazy development in wedding photography. DON’T BE SCARED, learn a little about it and have a dabble… because it’s not going away.

Lensel is partnering with Aftershoot because they are going about it the right way. They’re building tools to support photographers, and help them be their best.

We’ve also put together a SPECIAL deal for the Lensel community to TRY Aftershoot.

Big thanks to Justin Benson from Aftershoot for the transparent answers!

Come behind the scenes and see how Kasey Powell concepted, planned, shot and create this unique look on this editorial in Venice, Italy. All film of course.

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