흐린 날 찍은 여행 사진, AI로 화창하게 바꿔볼까 김성주의 AI 레시피

A decade-long journey's most romantic experience was a six-day, seven-night Mediterranean cruise. Each morning brought a new port of call, and the feeling of arriving in a foreign harbor as if falling in love anew was overwhelming. However, this novelty often proved to be a drawback. With only a few hours to spend in each destination, the beauty of the location was frequently missed. Add to that, inclement weather, and one could find themselves regretting the necessity to hurry along the shoreline.

A particularly overcast day at Marseille, France, left one feeling gloomy. The city of grey skies seemed to drizzle rain continuously throughout the day. Upon reviewing the day's underwhelming photographs, a decision was made to seek the assistance of artificial intelligence. The images, though capturing the melancholy atmosphere, could be transformed into something more vibrant.

The first step was consulting ChatGPT. The prompt provided was, "I wish to improve the weather in the photos taken during my travels. Please analyze the scenes and enhance the atmosphere with clearer skies, a warm sunset, and more pleasant surroundings. Replace the altered sky and harmonize the surrounding landscape. Output the modified images at the original resolution and present the changes in a table format."

After uploading the images, ChatGPT analyzed the weather and time of day, determining the location of each photograph. The results surpassed expectations, going beyond merely changing the sky color and adding clouds. Buildings and reflections on the water were also generated, creating a more cohesive image. The artificial intelligence did not produce the typical artifacts associated with image editing, resulting in a seamless transformation.

However, there were downsides. In some cases, the artificial intelligence generated images that altered the original, reducing the clarity of the original photograph. This issue was addressed by providing additional prompts to improve the outcome. The use of AI-based image editing programs, such as Adobe Photoshop, offers a more efficient alternative.

These programs allow users to replace the sky or background, with options ranging from clear skies to night skies, sunsets, and galaxies. The level of detail in the synthesized images can be customized, and additional features like light reflection control and the addition of sun rays are available. While early versions of AI-based image editing had issues with artifacts, continuous advancements in artificial intelligence technology have steadily improved the quality of the results.

Prominent programs include Lumina Neo and EboTo AI. Even smartphone photography apps have begun incorporating AI technology, with Picnic being a notable example. The potential for further refinement is evident, as artificial intelligence continues to evolve at an unprecedented pace, promising to breathe new life into previously unnoticed travel photographs.