The more AI generated images I see, the more I find myself stepping back.

Not because the technology isn’t impressive. It is. It’s fast, technically sharp and endlessly inventive. With a few prompts, entire scenes appear. Light is perfect. Composition is flawless. There’s no waiting, no weather to contend with, no awkward gaps.

But that’s precisely the point.

There’s no waiting.

There’s no uncertainty.

There’s no human exchange.

Real photography asks something of you. It asks you to show up. To stand in the cold. To observe. To make decisions in real time. It demands that you respond to what’s actually happening rather than regenerate something more convenient.

Three weeks ago, I visited Llandudno on a cold Saturday morning. I walked along the promenade with my camera, not knowing whether anything meaningful would present itself.

This black and white image came from that walk.

The seagull swept into the frame without warning. I could hear its wings cut through the air. I could smell fish and chips drifting across the shoreline. The sea was still, the light soft but flat, the buildings watching over the bay as they have done for decades.

I didn’t generate that moment.

I noticed it.

And I committed to it.

That is the difference.

AI can simulate atmosphere. It can mimic grain. It can even imitate nostalgia. But it cannot stand on a beach and feel the wind change direction. It cannot sense the subtle shift in light before the shutter clicks. It cannot read the rhythm of a place.

Photography is not just about producing an image. It is about presence.

There is something else that concerns me. Increasingly, AI images are appearing on business profiles, particularly on platforms where trust should matter most. When an image is presented as a representation of reality but is entirely constructed, what story is really being told? If the visuals are fabricated, what does that suggest about the brand behind them?

In business, trust is currency.

Authenticity builds it.

As AI generated content floods our feeds, I believe something interesting is happening. Real, grounded photography begins to stand out more, not less. People start to look beyond polish. They begin to ask where an image came from. Whether someone was actually there. Whether the moment truly existed.

Because authenticity has texture.

It carries the weight of time, place and decision.

AI can generate images endlessly.

Photography creates meaning through presence.

And quietly, I believe that distinction will matter more and more.

Ray