Our new Leica M11-P’s come equipped with Adobe’s Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI) software
How safe are your corporate images?
As you know, there will be a general election in the UK this year. While the government hasn’t yet set the date, the odds are shortening on a November ballot.
The UK isn’t alone in holding a general election in 2024. There will also be important and potentially divisive contests in many other countries around the world, where either presidential or general elections are likely to be very strongly contested between highly factionalised electorates.
Countries heading to the polls include the USA, Pakistan, South Africa, Rwanda, Mexico, Uruguay and Venezuela, to name but a few.
In today’s world, every political party and lobby group has embraced digital and social media to reach audiences and influence their opinions. Sadly in the era of populist politics too many politicians seem to think that winning is what counts no matter if it means bending the truth or distorting facts to persuade voters to their side of an argument.
AI will be serving up more and more faked imagery
What makes 2024 different from previous years is that it is the first year when artificial intelligence (AI) will be added to the already highly combustible mix in the competition for people’s attention.
Although it’s been less than a year since ChatGPT was released free of charge to the public, it’s incredible how quickly it has been adopted, and already AI imagery has reached a level of sophistication where distinguishing a true photograph from an artificial one has become increasingly challenging. It doesn’t take much of a crystal ball to work out that voters are going to be bombarded with moving and still images, many deliberately faked to influence their hearts and minds.
Her Majesty The Queen at the Foreign Press Association Awards, photographed with the new Leica M11-P
Software can authenticate images and prevent unwanted manipulation
The influence of AI and fake photography is something we have been thinking about more and more in recent months. Any imagery that has been deliberately tampered with or altered without authorisation has the potential to do enormous damage to corporate reputations, and this should be of great concern to anyone in commercial or public life.
Fortunately, the images we supply to our clients are protected from interference by a combination of different software solutions. We have also invested in a pair of new Leica M11-P rangefinder cameras which come ready equipped with Adobe’s Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI) software that authenticates the authorship of images, enabling us to prove the legitimacy of the photographs we have taken. We are using CAI in combination with our existing Lightroom software for image processing that includes built-in encryption which prevents unapproved manipulation by third parties.
On a personal note, I am pleased that Leica is supporting Adobe’s CAI. If you’ve not come across it before, it is an open-source technology standard that supports encrypted EXIF image metadata. The standard ensures copyright data and timestamps can be locked into processed images, and it also records any edits made to a photo in the file so you have the reassurance of knowing that any changes or tidying up post photoshoot have been actioned only by authorised personnel.
Of course, CAI is very much a professional tool and Leica recognises that not everyone will want it, so if you want to use it too you have to enable and configure it from your M11-P camera menu.
For any professional photographer who wishes to remain a step ahead in the era of AI image fakery CAI will soon be a must-have option. Photographers can show their clients that their images come with digital authentication certificates which should be checked by anyone via a free online tool.
Emily Maitlis in discussion at a Portfolio Exchange Day in London
Douglas takes wonderful photos and puts everyone at ease. Many people liken having their photo taken with a trip to the dentist, but with Douglas it’s pain free and the smiles are genuine!
Nicola Ratchford, Global Head of Corporate Affairs at Marex
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Professional corporate photographer, providing company headshot photography and video for businesses in London, the rest of the UK and Europe. Piranha are commissioned by FTSE100 companies and start-ups alike, for numerous projects, covering a wide range of work and styles. Portraits and office photography for use on websites, events coverage and PR shots for press and publications, as well as Board and location photography for annual reports. Using top of the range Leica cameras and lenses. We process the images promptly and to an extremely high standard.