I used to finish writing a blog post, then get stuck on the photos.
Making one photo look nicer meant using Pixelmator or Photoshop. Creating a collage meant opening yet another app. Each one came with its own layers, controls and export settings.
I don’t use them often enough to remember everything, so I would spend part of the evening learning the tools again. I wasn’t trying to become a photo editor. I just wanted better photos for my blog.
My Idea, With Help From AI
For my Gold Coast and Brisbane family vacation post, I asked ChatGPT/Codex to turn our photos into a consistent set of travel images.
I had the idea to insert Bluey into some of them. So, art direction still came from me: which photos to use, what they should feel like and whether the result looked right.
The image generator helped execute it effortlessly.
Here is one of the original photos from our Airbnb:
And the travel card made from it:
See the crop and image enhancements? Done without asking!
The image generator also combined our photos into a collage. Some results needed another attempt, but asking for a revision was much easier than rebuilding the layers myself.
A Better Tool for Me
Pixelmator and Photoshop are powerful tools, enabled for users to make better images, but they are made for professionals.
With an AI agent, I can describe what I want instead.
I still provide the idea, taste and final approval. The tools handle the execution.
That’s all users like me want: polishing our content & photos without effort.
It’s real personal productivity with AI!