07/24/2026
One drone photo. Three moods. And a major shift in how I edit.
I captured this aerial image over Mansfield, Texas, on May 20, 2026, using my DJI drone.
I have been manually editing photographs for more than 20 years. That has meant carefully adjusting exposure, color, contrast, skies, and overall mood one decision at a time.
Now, AI can help me explore different creative directions much faster.
For this image, I tested two AI assisted edits:
A: AI Sky Replacement
Bright, clean, and polished.
B: Dreamy AI Edit
Warm, soft, and cinematic.
AI did not fly the drone, choose the composition, determine the altitude, or decide when to press the shutter. The original photograph still began with my experience, timing, and creative vision. AI simply made part of the post production process more efficient.
There is one important limitation, though.
The AI generated output I received was a compressed web image. That works well for Facebook, websites, email marketing, and other digital content, but it may not contain enough image data for a high quality professional print.
For print, I would return to the original high resolution file and recreate or refine the edit through a print quality workflow.
Great for the web? Absolutely.
Ready for a large fine art print? Not without additional work.
Which version tells the better story to you?
Comment A or B, then tell me what influenced your decision most: the sky, color, lighting, realism, or emotion.
AI disclosure: I captured the original photograph with my DJI drone. ChatGPT was used during post production to assist with the sky replacement and dreamy creative treatment.
