“It’s not just about how it looks anymore”
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It’s the biggest change in photography’s history:
There is no longer any reliable connection between a photograph’s appearance and its trustworthiness.
Viewers can no longer tell “just by looking” what they most want to know about “Wow” photos they encounter: “Can I believe my eyes?”
This change is such a massive reversal from “the way things have always been” that it could take decades for our culture to fully absorb its implications.
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And “trustworthiness” isn’t the only thing you can’t tell
Ironically for a “visual” medium, in the digital age you can confirm almost nothing about a photograph just by looking at it.
The only thing you can confirm “just by looking” is how the photograph looks to you right now.
• You cannot confirm “just by looking” how the image was made (with a camera, with a computer, with a camera and AI, etc.).
Even if you know that the image was made with a camera:
• You cannot confirm “just by looking” whether you’re seeing what the camera lens (or the photographer) saw.
• You cannot confirm “just by looking” the direction in which the camera was pointed.
• You cannot confirm “just by looking” how much of the photograph was in focus when recorded.
• You cannot confirm “just by looking” whether multiple exposures were combined to produce the photo you’re seeing.
• You cannot confirm “just by looking” that the photographer did not add any AI-generated elements to the photo.