After more than 20 years as a photo retoucher and photographer, I’ve started to see that my skills are starting to be devalued. Retouching is increasingly getting outsourced overseas or replaced with AI for things like skin smoothening. Photography has been going through rapid changes for several years. The push towards AI-generated model shoots and CGI products is only going to accelerate as the technology improves.
With that in mind, I’ve been looking for a way to help future-proof my career. Some time ago, a friend recommended UX Design as a possibility. I started to look into the career, and I think it looks promising. Upon researching the attributes and skillsets one would need to succeed, I was pleasantly surprised at how much of my previous experiences would translate.
At the core of UX Design, is understanding what the customer wants and problem-solving a solution while remaining within the realm of what is possible. For years, I have been describing photo retouching with those exact same terms. For example, Better Homes and Gardens always wanted the white walls of an interior photo to be neutral, bright white with a touch of yellow to add some warmth. Of course, my managers didn’t want me to spend hours masking out the walls for every interior image in the entire magazine. So I needed to solve the problem of how to give the magazine the look they wanted while also figuring out how to do it quickly. I loved that part of the job.
Of course, there is a lot of learning in front of me. It’s going to be a long road. Thankfully there are a number of resources available online to help me on my way. I’m always open to hearing feedback and recommendations from others. Anyone reading this in the UX field, I’d love to hear from you!
I’ll continue to post updates as I go.
