An Australian photographer’s work has been disqualified from a photo competition after it was mistakenly believed to have been generated by artificial intelligence.
Suzi Dougherty, an actress from the Sydney suburb of Waverly, had entered a photo competition organized by the Charing Cross Photo printing company seeking to reward the best local fashion photographs. She said she was ‘shocked’ when she found out her photo had been disqualified on suspicion of being created with AI
Dougherty called the confusion an “honest mistake” and said she was still an “avid fan” of the print shop, which she said is a “great little store”. Still, the case is the latest test of AI’s impact on artists, and shows how photo experts seem to be grappling with the technology’s capabilities.
In an interview with Artnet News, Dougherty said the image she selected was one of many she took during a mini photo shoot with her 18-year-old son, Caspar, in “Archetypes of Gucci Gardens” in Sydneyan immersive exhibition, now completed, that explored the fashion giant’s advertising campaigns.
“I did a few different setups. So there were a lot of setups in the room. I was in the room for about 10 minutes and I felt bad because people were lining up,” she said “There were different photos but I preferred this one.”
A variation of the Dougherty photo submitted to the photo contest. Photo courtesy of Suzi Dougherty.
In the image she selected, Caspar is wearing a red Lacoste sweater over a white T-shirt and black pants with a large chain necklace. He appears to be halfway there, looking stoically to the left of the frame with his left hand reaching back to grab that of a male model behind him.
“I got this story that they were his two friends in the nightclub bathroom. I had the whole story around it and it was definitely the most narrative,” Dougherty said, describing his shooting process.
A variant, reminiscent of Matisse’ Dance, shows Caspar apparently holding the hands of the female mannequin being led by the male mannequin as reflected in the bathroom mirror. Another shows a wide shot of the bathroom with Caspar at the hand dryer and the woman looking at the camera.
One variation shows a wide shot of the bathroom with Caspar at the hand dryer with the woman looking at the camera. Photo courtesy of Suzi Dougherty
“I can’t legitimately think why they thought it was AI,” Dougherty said of the photo she chose. Artnet News has contacted Charing Cross Photo for comment.
“I was like seriously shocked because I’m not really into AI – not into it and I can’t do it. I always thought it would be something space and digital,” he said. she said, “So I was really kind of confused in a naive way, now that I know a little bit more after this week.”
Dougherty, who is not a professional photographer, added that she took the photo with her phone and has since learned that AI processes are already increasingly used in cameras and phone cameras. . She added that her son had since tried to recreate the photo with AI with poor results.
Suzi Dougherty’s son Caspar attempted to recreate the disputed photo using artificial intelligence with poor results. Photo courtesy of Suzi Dougherty
She decided to enter the photo contest after a friend came to her house and saw a copy of the photo she had made for her late mother who loved fashion but couldn’t go to the exhibition.
“I found out all on Instagram that I got disqualified,” Dougherty said. “I thought it was pretty funny…and then I talked to them and they really apologized and said they were paranoid about the AI”
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