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Mourya Dandu and Manvi Gandotra explore how AI is reshaping photography, from skill shifts and “AI slop” to the enduring value of human storytelling.
AI is transforming photography—but as Mourya Dandu and Manvi Gandotra explain, the human eye and emotional storytelling remain irreplaceable.
Artificial Intelligence is reshaping photography at a pace few could have imagined. From generating hyper-realistic visuals to automating edits in seconds, AI is challenging long-held notions of what makes an image “real.” Yet, while its influence grows, so too does the debate over what photography means in an age where reality can be endlessly reconstructed.
A Post-Truth Medium
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“The impact of AI on photography is manifold. For the longest time, photography as a medium was regarded as an extension of truth, or at least the idea of truth, though even in its earliest stages, some form of manipulation and moulding of reality was always present. AI now supercharges this, fuelling a post-truth world where everything we consume becomes a constructed illusion. The consequences are powerful: images can no longer be relied upon as objective observations of the world. Our very image of self is changing too, as we increasingly ‘catfish’ ourselves to the outside world,” says Mourya Dandu, Celebrity Photographer, Creative Director, and Founder, Mode Studio.
For Dandu, the concern isn’t just what AI can create, but what it erodes, our trust in images themselves.
Skill vs. Storytelling
Both Dandu and Manvi Gandotra, Founder & Creative Director of 1Plus1 Studio, agree that AI is shifting the definition of skill. Technical mastery once separated professionals from amateurs; now, algorithms can simulate lighting, fill in missing pixels, or generate entire compositions at the touch of a button.
“Another impact of AI on photographers is the shifting value of skill. Technical ability may no longer be as heavily rewarded, while those with strong ideas could have a greater edge. AI enables both skilled and unskilled creatives to achieve desired outcomes; yet, the real artistry remains in the curation, in the taste and choices of what to include and exclude,” notes Dandu.
Gandotra frames this shift differently: “Because photography, at its essence, has never been the pursuit of flawless images; it is the pursuit of meaning. AI excels at pattern recognition, but it does not experience anticipation, empathy, or cultural resonance. It cannot sense the tremor in a father’s hand as he performs a ritual, or the unspoken tension between two people in a crowded room.”
In other words, AI may perfect the technicalities, but it cannot feel. And without feeling, images risk becoming hollow replications.
The Weight of Memory
Nowhere is this distinction clearer than in weddings, says Gandotra. “A wedding is not just an event; it is a tapestry of histories, rituals, and fragile emotions unfolding in real time. AI might replicate the look of a bridal portrait, but it cannot feel the weight of silence before vows, or the unguarded laughter when friends break into song. To photograph a wedding is to bear witness, to translate a family’s collective memory into images that will outlast generations. No algorithm, however sophisticated, can intuit those subtleties.”
Here, the photographer’s role is not simply visual but deeply human: to interpret, to hold space, to transform moments into memory.
The Counter-Reaction
Meanwhile, Dandu observes another side effect of AI’s ubiquity: oversaturation. “Though we are still in the early stages of AI, we already see an ‘AI slop’: an overabundance of generated content. This saturation is likely to trigger a counter-desire for the tangible, for images that feel familiar, authentic, and grounded in real-world observation. We’re already witnessing a shift, with many photographers and filmmakers returning to film as a deliberate counterpoint to the ubiquity of AI-created visuals.”
Ironically, the very flood of machine-made content may make the imperfect, analog, and raw all the more valuable.
Affordability and Access
Still, Dandu acknowledges AI’s practical benefits: “Another key change lies in the speed and affordability of image-making. What once required significant resources can now be produced quickly and at minimal cost. In a market like India, where cost often outweighs quality, AI is fast becoming an important tool for photographers to meet demand. Whether this approach proves sustainable in the long run, however, remains to be seen.”
For many professionals, this creates both opportunities and tensions: AI helps meet budgets and timelines, but risks reducing photography to commodity.
The Way Forward
Despite their different emphases, both Dandu and Gandotra arrive at a common conclusion: the future of photography is not about resisting AI, but redefining the role of the human eye.
As Gandotra puts it, “The danger lies not in AI replacing photographers, but in confusing replication for interpretation. A synthetic sky may be beautiful, but it is also devoid of the memory of the evening it was meant to hold. In this distinction lies the irreplaceable role of the human storyteller: to feel before framing, to translate emotion into image, to hold space for the lived moment rather than its simulation.”
And perhaps this is the symbiosis to embrace: let AI take on the mechanical burdens of retouching and rendering, while humans remain custodians of memory, testimony, and meaning.
Because, as Gandotra reminds us, “Ultimately, what gives a photograph its power is not how perfect it looks, but how profoundly it remembers.”
About the Author
Swati Chaturvedi, a seasoned media and journalism aficionado with over 10 years of expertise, is not just a storyteller; she’s a weaver of wit and wisdom in the digital landscape. As a key figure in News18 Engl…Read More
Swati Chaturvedi, a seasoned media and journalism aficionado with over 10 years of expertise, is not just a storyteller; she’s a weaver of wit and wisdom in the digital landscape. As a key figure in News18 Engl… Read More
September 28, 2025, 09:39 IST
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