VSCO has published a new report exploring how photographers are using AI, based on responses from both professionals and enthusiasts. Here’s what the report shows.
Photographers seem cautiously optimistic, despite concerns over ethics and loss of creative control
Over the past few months, VSCO has been adding multiple tools to its AI Lab platform, including upscaling, dehazing, and restoring.
And while these tools are aimed at photographers looking to streamline their editing and post-production workflows, efforts like this also tend to draw pushback, particularly online, from the “nobody wants more AI” crowd.
So, VSCO set out to explore how actual photographers have been perceiving, adopting, and applying AI across their work.
The company consulted 401 professional photographers and photography enthusiasts specialized in a variety of genres, including portrait, fashion, real estate, travel and lifestyle, and commercial photography, and published the results in a report titled “Photographers + AI: Industry Report.”
According to VSCO, 68% of working photographers use AI weekly or daily, compared to 34% of enthusiasts. Overall adoption, however, is much higher, reaching 83% across all photographers, including 76% of enthusiasts.
Interestingly, less than half of respondents reported feeling excited, hopeful, or inspired by AI, while 5% said they feel threatened, and 17% described themselves as skeptical. The largest single group, 32%, said they feel curious.
Concerns haven’t vanished. Loss of creative control (42%), ethics (39%), and fears of looking unprofessional (34%) are real. Working photographers hold more concerns in this regard than enthusiasts.
When it comes to where they want AI’s help, both pro photographers and enthusiasts favor post-production first, with interest easing off into creative partnerships like shoot planning, then business administration, such as emails and scheduling, and finally coaching and mentoring.
Finally, the report found that there is still plenty of opportunity for photography-specific AI tools, as fewer than 20% of respondents use “AI tools designed for photographers.” 63% reported using platforms such as ChatGPT and Claude, while up to 39% reported using design-centric tools such as Canva, or Adobe products.
In summary, VSCO concluded that:
Photographers aren’t resisting Al. They’re adopting it with intention, applying it where it matters, and holding the line where human judgment matters most. The fear narrative is fading, replaced by a more grounded reality: thoughtful, pragmatic adoption of tools that improve how photographers work and live.
To check out the full report, which also includes data on where photographers reinvest the time they save with AI tools, and their AI wishlists, follow this link.
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