Mark Mann
PHOTOSNACK #799
I regularly contact photographers who have been featured on PHOTOSNACK and ask them to share their spontaneous thoughts, observations, reflections, or advice.
Today, I am sharing the message I received from Mark Mann.
Mark Mann
Technology gives us sharper glass, and now AI can build a ‘person’ out of a prompt. But a machine can’t sit in the light with someone and wait for them to finally show up. I’m better because I’m actually in the room—watching for the shift in a look or the way someone breathes when they stop performing. It matters because a generated image is just a math equation, but a portrait is a record of a real moment. AI can make something look perfect, but I’m looking for the one that’s actually true.
Mark Mann was featured in PHOTOSNACK #782.
Through Sunday Editions, I occasionally connect you with photographers whose work you previously explored through PHOTOSNACK.
I want to reveal some authentic parts of the people behind the cameras. I don't ask them any specific questions. I ask them to share whatever comes to mind when they think about YOU, the newsletter readers. It makes their responses genuine and personal.
Until next time,
Tomasz
This resonates. The distinction between something that looks perfect because it was refined through prompts and something that is simply true, feels more important than ever. Being present in the room, waiting for what is real to emerge, and then having the instinct to capture it, is something no algorithm can replicate.
Robert Levy
I'll add: I’m better because I’m the work of God, but 'a generated image is just a math equation' is the work of me. In this, there’s a tremendous difference.