AI photography studio highlights how robots are slowly hijacking nearly every profession

By Dyllan Furness February 22, 2017

Intelligent robots may soon be among the finest fashion photographers. Developed by Dutch company StyleShoots, the StyleShoots Live system is a “smart studio” that simultaneously captures still photos and live action videos, taking care of all the technical tasks — from lighting to setting up shots — and using algorithms to edit videos in a matter of minutes.

It’s an all-in-one solution to a problem few of us realized existed.

“We identified a few key bottlenecks for brands wanting to create both stills and videos of live models,” Anders Jorgensen, head of product and marketing at StyleShoots, told Digital Trends.

Jorgensen explained that fashion brands typically have separate studios for photo and video shoots. “[This] means twice the equipment, twice the space, twice the people to operate it, and that models literally have to tip-toe through buildings to get from one set to the next,” he said. After the shoot, a crew of humans have to edit footage to produce clean, consistent, high-quality clips.

The machine combines of a motorized camera head, a Canon DX Mk I, and a computer engine that controls the camera and lights. The stylist can use an interface to decide on details like video styles and lighting configurations. “The variables all add up to an infinite amount of possibilities,” Jorgensen said.

StyleShoots Live is just the latest example of AI’s application to everything. And, although some creatives may be concerned that the machine will take their, Jorgensen insisted we not worry.

“To run a fashion shoot, you need a creative eye to compose the shot, pose the model and style the clothes,” Jorgensen said. “A robot can’t do that — yet. So no, we’re not replacing a photographer as much as we’re fully giving those with that creative eye the ability to execute on their vision with speed and ease.”

The crew, however, may be shown the door of the studio and editing room as systems like these become more prevalent. “It’s essentially a cameraman, a crane operator, and a video editor built into one machine,” Jorgensen said.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Dyllan Furness is a freelance writer from Florida. He covers strange science and emerging tech for Digital Trends, focusing…

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