Camera ReviewRonMartBlog

AI Versus Human Photo Editing - Which Do You Prefer?

I decided to do a quick post on photo editing the old fashioned way (Lightroom Classic and Photoshop with my favorite plug-ins for me) vs just giving ChatGPT or Gemini a simple prompt and seeing what happens.

Table of Contents

1. Observations
2. Before & After
3. Closing thoughts

Observations

• Original Photo Details: Taken with a Sony A1 II at f/11 for 1/125 sec at 70 mm ISO 100 [0 EV, Pattern metering, No flash, Manual with FE 28-70mm F2 GM]
• ChatGPT 5.2: Distorted the head, but didn't really do much to improve the contrast or tones.
• Gemini Nano Bannana Pro: Did a better job at making noticable ehancements, but mars the photo with a huge Gemini logo.
• Ron's Edit's: Still my favorite, both for personal satisfaction and final results

Before & After

Before | After Original vs ChatGPT 5.2

Before | After Original vs Gemini Nano Bannana Pro

Before | After Original vs Ron's Edit with Lightroom Classic, Portraiture & ColorEfex

Closing Thoughts

Are you switching to letting AI enhance your photos? If so, what's your favorite and how has your experience been? If not, why not?

Camera ReviewRonMartBlog

Quick Look at Nik Color Efex 8 + Discount Offer

For more than 17 years, I’ve been a devoted fan of the Nik Collection, with Color Efex remaining my go‑to tool for editing the majority of my photos. It’s actually been since the Google-era Nik days—before the DxO acquisition—that I last did a full review. So now, I’m kicking off a deep dive into version 8.

This series will include both short and long reviews covering the different tools in the collection. To start, here’s an introduction and a quick look at how I use Color Efex, along with some of my favorite filters.

Nik Color Efex 8 with 7 filters applied

Table of Contents

1. Before & After
2. Video review
3. Filters Used and Why
4. Discount Offer
5. Closing thoughts

Before & After

Before | After Heavy processing for effect only using only Nik Color Efex 8.0 by DxO

Video Review 🎥

If the player doesn’t load here, watch on YouTube.

Filters Used and Why

• Tonal Contrast: Adds a bit more depth
• Brilliance/Warmth: Saturatates the image for more color pop
• Pro Contrast: Brightens face and details in shirt
• Color Stylizer: Adds a bronze tone to the image overall but selectively toned down on the face with a U-Point control
• Darken/Lighten Center: Darkens the entire image except the face to draw more attention to it
• Image Borders: Adds a old-schoool deckled-edge effect that simulates peel‑apart instant photos
• Reflector Efex: Simulates a silver reflector at the waist to demonstrate the usefulness of this filter

Discount Offer

Enter the code RONMART, enter your email address, then click the Validate button to apply the discount

If you did it right, this is what it should look like when your code is applied:

RONMART discount promo code successfully applied

For a video demonstration, CLICK HERE

Closing Thoughts

I’ll admit I went a bit overboard with this photo, but I wanted to show how powerful Color Efex can be when you start stacking its filters. You don’t need complex masking or AI replacements—simply combining and experimenting with filters can dramatically transform an image. And once you land on a look you love, you can save it as a Preset for quick reuse.

In future videos, I’ll take a deeper dive into individual filters and highlight some of the creative ways you can use U‑Point controls.

Leave a comment to tell me what your favorite filters are and what you'd like to see me discuss in more depth in a future article.

Scott Kelby iPhone Photography Conference 2026

Camera ReviewRonMartBlog

iPhone Photography Conference is here

The wait is over—the schedule for this year’s iPhone Photography Conference is here! 🎉 I’m so excited about the sessions lined up, from location composition and mobile workflows to video techniques and portrait photography. 📱📷💡 There’s something for everyone, and I’d love to see you there. Don’t miss out—check it out now!

iPhone Photography Conference is here — click to check current price / availability

Learn from some of the best iPhone photographers!

Closing Thoughts

I've always learned so much at Scott Kelby's training sessions and really enjoy the material the provide for after the event. If you haven't been, it's worth it!

👉 Click here to learn more

Related Articles

Scott Kelby's Bloghttps://scottkelby.com/

Has AI Made Photo Editing Obsolete?

Camera Review RonMartBlog

AI Editing: Cheating, Tool, or the New Normal?

AI tools can now transform your images with a single prompt. But just because you can fix it in post with a sentence, should you? Does the 'magic' replace the art of photo editing?"

A simple prompt to transform your image effortlessly!

Before & After

Before | After Canon R6 Mark II Original at f/5.6 for 1/80 sec at 63 mm ISO 8000 vs Gemini Nano Banana Pro Enhanced

✅ Pros

• ✅Simply write what you want in the prompt, and magic happens
• ✅“Good enough” is now ridiculously easy
• ✅Editing time drops from hours to minutes

⛔ Cons

• ⛔Surrenders creativity to the algorithm
• ⛔Output size is frustratingly a different size than the original input
• ⛔Shifts the satisfaction from creating the image to requesting it

Let's Hear Your Thoughts!

Sound off: At what point does 'editing' stop and 'generating' begin? If the AI does the heavy lifting, are you still the photographer, or just the prompter?"

Are you quietly letting AI replace your editing hours? Or is hands-on Photoshop (or Lightroom Classic) still the soul of your photography? Drop your take below."