The war is internal, not technical.

Lessons From a Terrible Photographer is a book for creatives who feel stuck, burned out, or disconnected from their work, even though they know what they’re doing.

It’s not about gear or technique. It’s about the internal stuff no one talks about, and focusing on why we make work, not just how.

Preorders help determine the first print run. Copies ship once printing begins.

Preorder here:

https://www.terriblephotographer.com/the-book

This is the episode I’ve been avoiding.

Not because I don’t have an opinion about AI — but because I have too many feelings about it. Gratitude. Fear. Anger. Wonder. All tangled together.

AI has become my external brain — a tool that helps me function, organize, even parent. And at the same time, it’s the thing that might end my career.

In this episode, I talk honestly about what Adobe’s new AI tools mean for photographers, artists, and the humans behind the craft. About the moment when “photo editing” turns into “people editing.” And about what we lose when images no longer require someone to be there — to see, to choose, to feel.

Because when everything becomes generated, the rarest thing left might just be the real.

This isn’t a tech breakdown. It’s a gut check.

In This Episode:

• The paradox of AI as both accessibility and threat
• Adobe’s new AI tools and what they mean for photographers
• The difference between CGI in film and AI in photography
• Consent, ethics, and the human line in image manipulation
• The fear of becoming irrelevant — and the deeper truth underneath
• Why the practice of photography still matters more than the product
• How to reclaim your craft in the age of automation

Featured Voices:

A few members of The Terrible Community share how AI makes them feel — not what they think about it.

“AI is lazy… it’s not intelligent, it’s just reflecting us — all our bias, all our noise — and pretending it’s something new.”

Light Leak:

Go make something where the practice is the point.

Shoot something you’ll never post.

Feel the weight of the camera in your hand — that’s what real still feels like.

Because that’s the thing they can’t generate.

That’s the thing they can’t take from you.

Listen If You’ve Ever Thought:

• “AI is helping me — and that scares me.”
• “What’s the point of creating when machines can do it faster?”
• “I’m grateful for this tech… and I hate that I’m grateful.”
• “I miss when photography still felt like something.”

Credits:

Written & Narrated by: Patrick Fore

Produced by: The Terrible Photographer

Community Voicemails: Members of The Terrible List

Music & Sound Design: Blue Dot Sessions
Robots by Flight of the Concords (1-minute)

Connect:

• 🖤 terriblephotographer.com
• 🎙️ Leave a voicemail for future episodes: terriblephotographer.com/voicemail
• 📰 Join the newsletter: The Terrible List
• 📸 Instagram: @theterriblephotographer