'A wake-up call': Shocking AI survey finds clients of most photographers don't notice any difference in AI-edited work - and that's making these professionals less stressed (www.techradar.com)

A global survey of more than 1,000 professional photographers in the 2025 Aftershoot Photography Workflow Report finds AI-driven editing is quietly remaking the industry: 81% of adopters report better work–life balance, 64% say clients “didn’t notice any difference” between AI and manual edits, and just 1% received negative feedback. Speed is now a competitive baseline — 28% of respondents deliver full galleries in under a week (double 2024’s rate) — and many professionals use time saved on creative projects, skills development, client relationships, or simply reducing burnout. Technically, the shift centers on automation of repetitive post‑production tasks rather than wholesale replacement of artistic decisions: photographers target bottlenecks while retaining human creative control. About 32% are reinvesting saved hours into growth, but only ~50% currently apply AI to marketing and administrative work, signaling a major untapped productivity and business-opportunity vector. The findings matter because they reshape client expectations (speed + consistent quality), business models (efficiency as capital), and debates about authenticity — suggesting mainstream acceptance of AI-enhanced images even as practitioners emphasize strategic, controlled adoption.