Once upon a time, it took an hour to capture a single photograph. If the photo wasn’t quite right, you had to complete the entire process again. Now, if things aren’t captured perfectly by our super fast digital cameras first time, we can look to artificial intelligence to fill in the blanks.

Artificial intelligence is already having a huge impact on the world of photography. It's making it easier to get the shot during, before and after the event. But where does that leave photography as a skilled art form? That’s perhaps a question that deserves a blog post all of its own. For now, let’s  look at some of the way artificial intelligence is improving images.

Snapping better selfies with smartphones

The latest smartphones from manufacturers such as Huawei and Apple use AI to help you get more from your phone cameras, without serious skill levels. The technology not only has the ability to recognise facial features but can consult a photo databases to help you get the perfect shot. Whether it's a self portrait or a landscape snap, the technology takes into account factors like skin tone and light conditions to give you a helping hand.

Turning black photos bright again

Discovering your images have been ruined by low light can be super annoying. It's therefore good to know that researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have been working on AI that could help. It compares data from low-light photos and corresponding images with longer exposure to brighten things back up. It is hoped that in the future the technology can be used to process extreme low-light images as they’re taken. This would make the light conditions photographers shoot in less relevant. Could we see the end of talk about the golden hour?

Un-blurring images and aging people

Chinese tech company, Tencent, has reportedly developed an AI system for removing blur from an image. This again uses datasets to refine images. While there's already tech around to do this job, the claim is that this tool is smarter and faster. The firm has also been working on technology that can make faces in your photos look younger or older, all without the need for processing in Photoshop!

Cloud based batch photo editing

This nifty AI tool is still in development with photo software company, Skylum. The company says the ability to batch edit photos online with their software will save time, but won’t take any skill out of photography. Skylum CEO, Alex Tsepko told Digital Trends: “Our A.I. won’t make you any less of a photographer and will help many people see big improvements in their images and less time spent editing. A.I. won’t decide when, where or how to take the decisive image, or what is the best composition, framing option or lighting situation. It can’t ‘take over’ or take away our artistic decisions either”.

Adding colour to black and white photos

Uncovered some old black and white family photos that you’d like to share with your nearest and dearest? Upload them to Google Photos and you can use the platform to add colour to the images using AI before you share. And if Google recognises a person in the image, it’ll suggest you share the photo with them.

Getting the shot has always been a collaborative affair between the photographer,  camera and post processing methods used too. Artificial Intelligence is already helping photographers to fix issues more quickly. However, right now, the photographer still ultimately decides where to point and shoot. What do you think about the use of AI In photography? Comment below or head over to our Facebook page to join the discussion.