24/01/2025
Here’s an edit of my partner’s dog Fundy from 2017 that I initially deemed too time-consuming to attempt to remove the harness. You can see just how much editing programmes have advanced, especially with the judicious use of AI. I’ve included the unedited file to demonstrate what is possible and to show that it is, in fact, a captured image.
Sometimes it’s unavoidable for a dog to be in a harness or wear a large collar that can’t be safely removed for a photograph. This isn’t a common issue for me, as I typically use just a collar and lead, which are easy to remove nowadays. However, on those rare occasions when a full harness is left on, it has previously been either very difficult or simply too time-consuming to remove and achieve an acceptably clean look on the dog.
With the advent of AI tools in editing programmes like Adobe Photoshop, we’ve reached a point where it’s possible to replace the pixels of selected portions of an image (like the harness) with fur that’s duplicated and extrapolated from the surrounding areas of the dog. Since these pixels are generated rather than directly copied, this technique works even on larger areas with minimal visible fur.
While it’s still preferable not to have to do this in the first place, with a bit of care and maybe a few attempts, it’s now possible to remove a harness from a dog in a very convincing way.
There is considerable controversy surrounding the use of AI-generated images and videos, especially as the technology becomes more realistic, making it increasingly difficult to be a commercial photographer. It can feel like a step too far to create an image from scratch without the necessary skills and time to capture and edit it properly. However, when used judiciously to perfect a memory captured under less-than-ideal circumstances, I’m fully in favour of it.