AI photo retouchers are on the job. A practical test of using GPT to retouch photos: It takes 5 minutes to produce a picture. It's "overdone" but really usable.

Before this test officially started, I thought about many possible outcomes. For example, I thought AI photo editing might be extremely awesome or extremely bad, but I really didn't expect it to be so funny.

The origin of this article is that Xiaolei accidentally found some photos taken at a comic convention before. Looking at the hundreds of photos in the folder, although he was willing to edit them, just thinking about the workload made his scalp tingle.

Thinking of this, Xiaolei suddenly remembered the Images 2.0 feature that ChatGPT launched some time ago. Everyone should be aware of its "creation out of nothing" ability. So, the question is, can Images 2.0 help me edit photos without altering the original images?

As soon as he had the idea, he took action. So Xiaolei immediately selected several suitable photos to see what kind of results ChatGPT could achieve.

AI photo editing can be erratic, but it really works

First, let's take a look at the original photo.

Photo source: Lei Technology

Friends who often visit comic conventions know that it's very rare to find a coser with such quality in the original unedited photos taken by a mirrorless camera. However, due to issues such as the on - site lighting and the photographer's angle, the photos can't really be called "good - looking".

Generally speaking, most people would choose to open Lightroom and adjust parameters such as exposure. In fact, Xiaolei did the same. When he was really lazy, he would directly use the automatic adjustment function. After manually fine - tuning the parameters, you can see that the overall lighting and shadow of the picture have been significantly improved.

Photo source: Lei Technology

It took me about five minutes to edit such a photo. To be honest, I'm not very satisfied. It can only be considered "presentable".

Then, I let ChatGPT take over to see how it would edit this photo.

First, I gave the instruction: Next, I will upload some photos. I need you to act as a professional photo editor and help me edit and optimize the uploaded photos to meet the standards for commercial publication (you can optimize the facial details, but the extent should not be too large).

ChatGPT simply showed an attitude of "I understand" and directly listed a bunch of processing principles:

Photo source: Lei Technology

It seems promising? Next, I uploaded the original photo and told ChatGPT as required that this photo was a "live event photo".

Photo source: Lei Technology. Note: ChatGPT's muttering during photo editing

Then ChatGPT gave me this photo.

Photo source: Lei Technology

Who are you, girl?

Although you can still vaguely see that the face shape is a bit similar to the protagonist in the uploaded photo, the editing effect is so extreme that Xiaolei couldn't help laughing out like a goose. What's even more absurd is that the person in the photo is holding a microphone with the "Toutiao" logo on it. It seems that the reference photo for this image by ChatGPT is from a Toutiao event.

Obviously, when your requirements are too vague, AI can always do something extraordinary. So I continued to give new instructions, asking ChatGPT to only fine - tune parameters such as lighting and shadow without modifying the main subject of the photo.

Then it gave me this (for easy comparison, it was spliced with the previous photo).

Photo source: Lei Technology. Note: The left is manually edited, and the right is AI - edited

To be honest, it looks really good. After AI took over, it directly increased the overall brightness of the person, made the skin tone cleaner, and slightly adjusted the pink color of the hair to make it more pleasing. The person seems to "pop" out of the crowd.

Especially the comparison of the face position is the most obvious. It not only added just - right highlights but also strengthened the originally faint pink face shadow. Coupled with the enhanced hair color, the character's features become more prominent. To be honest, with this AI - edited effect, if you give it to a coser as a retouched photo, no one would complain.

Subsequently, Xiaolei tested another photo.

Photo source: Lei Technology

From the original photo, there are quite a few flaws. The only thing worth mentioning is the coser's extremely high - level good looks. So, how will AI handle it?

Photo source: Lei Technology

As expected, it still did a series of operations such as increasing exposure and adjusting white balance. The difference is that the passers - by in the background were "eliminated", and the person's pose was also slightly changed, making the movement more obvious (note the position of the accessory on the left hand). To be honest, the effect of this photo is even more unexpected. On the basis of simple parameter adjustment, AI also knows how to eliminate the background and adjust the person's pose, and at first glance, you can hardly notice anything wrong.

It has to be said that for photos with decent shooting angles and compositions, AI can basically handle everything. You just need to tell AI your photo - editing direction, and it can achieve a pretty good result. However, the above two photos are not even qualified as practice works for professional photo editors. So, let's increase the difficulty.

ChatGPT, so powerful

The following photo is quite abstract. Because the official stage was crowded with people, Xiaolei could only take the photo from a distance and didn't have time to fine - tune the camera parameters. Being able to ensure that the photo was not blurry was already the limit. Usually, such photos are basically treated as waste. So, what will AI do?

Photo source: Lei Technology

The following is ChatGPT's work:

Photo source: Lei Technology

AI first directly locked in the main subject, then made a super - cut of the photo, eliminating all the surrounding background. Finally, it increased the overall exposure of the remaining main subject, fine - tuned the highlights and shadows, and at the same time highlighted the person's face while ensuring that it wouldn't be over - exposed.

To be honest, by this point in the test, ChatGPT's ability had already exceeded Xiaolei's expectations. I originally thought it would just adjust the photo parameters as usual, but I didn't expect it to make a major crop and modify the photo according to normal human aesthetics and operations. It can be said that if you don't have other photos to replace it, using this photo to fill a "nine - grid" on social media is definitely okay.

Let's take a look at this photo. It's a 100% waste photo. Because Xiaolei saw the coser while passing through a passage during a transition and pressed the shutter without adjusting the camera parameters (the lighting inside the venue was insufficient, and there was direct sunlight in the passage), the coser in the photo looks like she's about to fly away.

Photo source: Lei Technology

Can AI save such a waste photo? First, let's take a look at the result of editing based on the previous instructions:

Photo source: Lei Technology

We can only say that ChatGPT tried to save the photo, but it didn't succeed. The face is no longer dark, but the overall brightness of the photo looks like it's about to shine a "holy light" on Xiaolei.

Then Xiaolei decided to change the prompt: Do your best to make this photo look good. Note that don't modify the face part, try to restore the clothing and accessories, and the background can be replaced.

Then he got this photo:

Photo source: Lei Technology

For this effect, Xiaolei can only say: Lord ChatGPT is so powerful.

In just four minutes, ChatGPT not only completed the body cut - out, redrew the details of the clothing, found a suitable background for replacement, but also made the coser's face look towards the photographer. The effect is comparable to that of "Hua Tuo resurrected".

Not content to be idle, Xiaolei decided to try another photo:

Photo source: Lei Technology

With a simple instruction, the Kamen Rider at the comic convention was directly "teleported" to the center of the battlefield. AI also thoughtfully reduced the highlight effect of the armor according to the scene, making the overall picture look more realistic.

If the above twenty thousand cosers receive Xiaolei's retouched photos, they will probably be surprised and ask: When did I take such a well - edited on - site photo?

Will AI photo editing eliminate photo - editing software first?

By this point in the test, I've already reached a conclusion. That is, human photo editors may really "lose their jobs" in