AI has become a pretty controversial subject in the photography world, and I understand why.

Photography is an art. It takes time to learn how to use a camera, understand light, pose people naturally, and create something meaningful for the people in front of your lens. There is a lot of work behind a finished photograph, and I don't think that work should be dismissed.

Recently, I shared a mockup for my upcoming Christmas minis at the Roadhouse. I was transparent about using ChatGPT to create it, but I know some people believe photographers should never use AI at all.

So I thought it was worth having an honest conversation about it.


First, let's talk about September in Pennsylvania.

I created this mockup in September.

If you live in Pennsylvania, you know that September doesn't exactly look like Christmas. The leaves are still on the trees, the weather can still feel like summer, and the holiday season is months away. Creating and photographing a convincing Christmas scene outdoors at that time of year is, to put it simply, quite a challenge.

But photographers have to plan ahead. Christmas minis need to be advertised and booked well before December, which means I needed a way to show families the vision I had for this year's experience before I could photograph the actual scene.

I had an idea for something warm, nostalgic, and a little bit magical. I wanted to capture the feeling of coming home to the Roadhouse at Christmas, with its old barn, natural textures, and the charm of a simpler holiday season.

I could have tried to explain that vision entirely with words, but I wanted people to be able to see it.

So I used ChatGPT to help me create a visual mockup.

I shared it as a mockup, not as a photograph of a finished set. I wasn't claiming I had already built and photographed the scene, and I wasn't presenting an AI-generated image as an example of a real client session. I was showing people the direction I was planning to take.

To me, that distinction matters.


I understand why photographers have concerns about AI.

There are legitimate conversations to be had about AI and the creative industry.

Artists have questions about how their work is used to train AI models, whether they have given meaningful consent, and how their work is valued when technology can generate images in seconds. Photographers also have concerns about clients being shown beautiful images that don't accurately represent what they can expect from an actual session.

I understand those concerns, and I don't think we should brush them aside simply because AI is a new or convenient tool.

If a photographer advertises an AI-generated image as a photograph they personally took, that creates a problem. If a client books a session expecting something that the photographer cannot realistically deliver, that is a problem, too.

Trust is important in this business. When someone invests in photography, they deserve to know what they are buying.

But I also think we need to distinguish between different uses of AI rather than treating every use as though it is exactly the same.

Using AI to generate a mockup of a concept is not the same as claiming a generated image is a photograph of your work. Those are two different things, and I believe we can acknowledge that difference even when we disagree about whether the tool should be used at all.


So, why did I choose to use it?

Because I had an idea I wanted to share, and AI gave me a way to communicate it before the season arrived.

My Christmas minis are not just about taking a quick Christmas card photo. I want to create an experience that feels special, with a setting that has character and a little bit of nostalgia. I want families to look at their photographs years from now and remember more than what everyone was wearing that December. I want them to remember the season of life they were in and the people gathered around them.

The mockup was one small part of planning that experience.

It helped me communicate the atmosphere I was envisioning while I was still working out the details. It gave prospective clients something visual to respond to when I was advertising sessions months before Christmas.

I didn't use it to replace a photography session. I used it to help explain what I was planning for one.

I don't believe every tool a photographer uses to plan, communicate, or run a business has to be a camera. At the same time, I don't believe every possible use of AI is automatically a good one. The purpose, the context, and the honesty surrounding its use all matter.

For me, this was a practical creative decision. I wanted to share a vision, and I wanted to be clear about what people were looking at.


But isn't photography supposed to be about real life?

Absolutely. And this is where the heart of my business comes in.

My work is about real people and the relationships that make up their lives. I photograph mothers holding their babies, children reaching for their parents, grandparents with their grandchildren, and families who want to preserve a season they know won't last forever.

I create heirloom artwork from those moments.

A generated image cannot give a grandmother a photograph of herself holding her new grandchild. It cannot preserve the way a little girl reaches for her mother's hand or the way a toddler curls up beside his dad. It cannot document the personalities, relationships, and little details that make one family different from every other family.

Those moments have to happen. They have to be noticed, experienced, and photographed.

That is the work I do, and it is not something I am looking to replace.

The value of a photograph isn't simply that it is a beautiful image. It is that the moment actually happened. The people in it are real, the relationships are real, and the memory belongs to the family who will keep that photograph for generations.

That is why I care so much about printed artwork and heirlooms. I want families to have something tangible that tells their story long after the season has passed.

Using AI to illustrate a concept for a Christmas setup doesn't change what I value about photography or why I do this work.


Transparency matters more to me than pretending this conversation doesn't exist.

I don't expect every photographer to agree with my decision. Some photographers will choose not to use AI at all, and I respect that. Others may use it for planning, brainstorming, or other parts of their business.

We can have different convictions about the tools we use without assuming the worst about one another.

What I don't want is for AI-generated concepts to be confused with actual photographic work. I don't want clients to be misled, and I don't want to create expectations based on something I cannot deliver.

That is why I was transparent about my mockup.

I also think it is worth asking ourselves what responsible use looks like. We should consider the artists whose work may be affected, be thoughtful about how we use these tools, and be willing to reconsider our choices as we learn more. Being transparent about one use of AI doesn't mean every concern surrounding the technology has been resolved.

I am not asking anyone to abandon their convictions about AI. I am explaining mine.

For this particular project, I made a mockup to communicate a Christmas vision in September, when I couldn't realistically photograph the finished scene in Pennsylvania. I was honest about what it was, and I believe that context matters.


What this means for Roadhouse Photography

When you book a session with me, you are not hiring me for an AI mockup.

You are investing in an experience, in photographs of the people you love, and in artwork that will become part of your family's story.

You are trusting me to guide you through the process, help you feel comfortable in front of the camera, notice the little things that make your family yours, and create something worth keeping.

The Christmas mockup was simply a way to share a little of what I had in mind before I could bring it to life.

The real magic will happen when families come to the Roadhouse, settle into the experience, and make memories together. The photographs we create will be of real families, in a real setting, during a real season of their lives.

And those are the moments I want to spend my time creating.

AI will continue to be a conversation in the photography industry. I imagine our opinions, our practices, and the technology itself will continue to evolve. I don't think we all have to reach the same conclusion, but I do think we should be able to talk about it honestly and thoughtfully.

For now, I am comfortable with the decision I made for this mockup. I understand that others may have made a different choice, and I can respect that while standing by my own.


I'd genuinely like to hear your thoughts. Do you believe there is a place for AI as a planning and creative tool in photography, or do you feel photographers should avoid it altogether?



I think it is a conversation worth having, and I hope we can have it with honesty, curiosity, and respect for the work we all care about.