I had coffee with a buddy last week who asked me, half-joking and half-not, "So… is AI going to put you out of business?"
I've been getting that question a lot lately. And honestly, with our baby due next month, I've been thinking about the future a whole lot in general — not just "will I still have a job in five years," but "what kind of world are we about to hand this kid?" If you're a soon-to-be parent, or a parent at all, I've got a feeling you know exactly what I mean.
So here's what I actually believe, for anyone out there wrestling with the same thing.
The short version: AI is going to change a lot. I'm not going to pretend otherwise. But if we're willing to grow with it instead of brace against it, I think it becomes one of the most powerful creative tools we've ever had.
What my week actually looks like
If you'd peeked over my shoulder this week, you'd have seen me using AI to draft a restoration proposal for a client, work through the headline for a blog post, sanity-check a pricing decision, sketch out a shot list for an upcoming session, and think out loud about how to structure a new page on my website.
None of that replaced the work. It cleared out the noise around the work so I could focus on the parts that actually matter — the creative choices, the client relationships, the craft itself. Before AI, I spent a lot of hours staring at blinking cursors and half-written emails. Now I've got a collaborator that helps me get past the blank page so I can spend my time on the stuff that only I can do.
The honest part
I don't want to wave past the hard part. There are real jobs and real industries that are going to feel this shift, and some of it is going to be painful. If you're worried about where your work fits five years from now, that's not paranoia — that's paying attention. Anyone promising you AI is "just a tool" and nothing's going to change is either not looking closely or selling something.
I think the people who do best are the ones who stay curious and keep learning. Not the ones ignoring it, and not the ones panicking. Somewhere in the middle.
What about photography?
This one I've thought about a lot. Yeah, AI can generate something that looks like a wedding photo. What it can't do is stand in a bride's parents' living room while she's getting ready and her dad walks in for the first time. It can't read a reception. It can't earn a family's trust over a six-month engagement. The actual job — being present, being human, being there for someone on one of the biggest days of their life — isn't something a model can do. I don't think it ever will.
What AI can do is help me be a better version of the photographer I already am. It helps me communicate with clients more clearly. It helps me plan sessions more thoughtfully. It helps me see angles on a creative or business problem I might've otherwise missed. It's a sharper tool in an already well-stocked toolbox — not a replacement for the person holding it.
Where I've landed
When someone asks if I'm worried, the honest answer is: I'm paying attention, I'm learning, and I'm staying curious. I think that's the real move here. Not fear. Not hype. Just a willingness to grow with it.
And selfishly — with a little one on the way — I want to model that for my kid. Curiosity in the face of change instead of dread. That feels like one of the most important things I can pass on, honestly more important than any specific skill or career path. The world they're going to inherit is going to look different than the one I grew up in. I'd rather teach them to meet it with wide eyes than braced shoulders.
If you're a fellow creative, a small business owner, or just someone trying to figure out where all of this is going — y'all, I'd genuinely love to hear how you're thinking about it. I don't have all the answers. Nobody does yet. But I'm convinced the folks who approach this with curiosity instead of dread are going to come out the other side with something close to a superpower.
And honestly? That's a pretty exciting place to be standing.