Aftershoot Promises to Develop AI That Works for, Never Against, Photographers

AI-powered post-processing platform Aftershoot has published what it describes as binding public commitments, outlining three key pillars for how the company will develop, implement, and utilize artificial intelligence as part of its product offering.


Given that one of Aftershoot’s primary competitors, Evoto, ruffled photographers’ feathers earlier this year with how it approached generative AI in the broader photo workflow, it is perhaps unsurprising to see Aftershoot take the opportunity to clarify its use of AI and plans.

Aftershoot, which says it is used by nearly 250,000 photographers worldwide, says it will “never build” features that “undercut your business, reduce your creative control, or misuse your data against your will.”

The company’s first public commitment concerns its product and development scope. Aftershoot says it builds tools for the post-shoot workflow, which includes culling, editing, and retouching. Aftershoot says it will “not build features that compete with the creative work clients hire photographers for.”

The next commitment concerns data. Aftershoot has processed nearly nine billion photos across its platform, and the company promises that none of these images have ever been sold or shared with third parties. The platform does have user learning features that require images to be moved off the local device, but these can be turned off during the import process. Photographers who have enabled these features before but now wish to have their data removed can submit a deletion request.


”You’ve spent years, maybe decades, building a business on trust,” Aftershoot says on its new transparency page. “The last thing you need is your software doing something shady with your images behind your back.”

Aftershoot’s third commitment relates to future product plans. The company, which was co-founded by working photographer Justin Benson, says it will always involve photographers in refining its product roadmap.

“We have in-house subject matter experts: experienced photographers who vet features before we ship,” Aftershoot says. “And our co-founder Justin has been a working photographer for over 20 years, which keeps us grounded in what actually matters to a photographer’s workflow.”

“I got into photography because I love it. Post-processing was eating the time I had to actually shoot. That’s still why we’re here — not to replace what you do, but to protect the time and energy it takes to do it well,” Benson says.

For the sake of photographers everywhere, those who use Aftershoot now and even those who don’t, hopefully Aftershoot stays true to these commitments. There are understandably a lot of concerns in the industry surrounding the use of artificial intelligence and whether companies that once served photographers may one day chase new business opportunities that work against photographers, or worse yet, aim to replace them. For its part, Aftershoot says it will never be that type of company and will remain committed to helping photographers work more effectively and efficiently. It’s up to every photographer to decide what they believe and which companies they want to support.

Image credits: Aftershoot