Crowdtaste this !

So.. No idea what to shoot next ? well, why don’t you get your camera to choose?

This company has launched a prototype that can tell you if the image if the image you are about to shoot is aesthetically nice or not . The camera , in itself, is not much. It is actually a camera phone ( Nokia). However, it is linked to a website, Acquine, that permits users to rank images based on their taste. The result is a database of images ranked by “crowd taste”.

Nadia from Andrew Kupresanin on Vimeo.If you look at the result on Acquine, the “Aesthetic Quality Inference Engine” , you will not be surprised. The highest ranking images are  very predictable and …mmm.. boring.. Boats floating in front a Mediterranean looking scene, Landscapes, dull portraits, it’s like a catalog of dull images. But that is what you get when a crowd votes, isn’t it ? You will not see a World press in there.

Acquine

This camera, and even just the site, is a great tool for microstocker or commercial stocker that would like to fill in the blanks of common taste . It is perfect for those who perpertuate the idea that an image has to be composed properly and well lit in order to fullfilits requirement.

However, it is a better tool for those who are to create. What to avoid. How to stay away from banality. What not to shoot. What to avoid.

Technology can sometimes bring us horrible, horrible tools : This is one of them.

Article on Wired here

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Paul Melcher

Paul Melcher is a veteran of the visual media world, with over 15 years of experience at the crossroads of journalism, photojournalism, and emerging technology. A longtime advocate for ethical visual storytelling, he has written extensively on the evolution of imagery, authorship, and truth in the digital age. Today, he is an expert in visual authenticity and image integrity, building forward-looking solutions that address the growing challenges of synthetic media. Paul is the founder of MelcherSystem, where he advises companies, institutions, and creatives on trust in visual content.

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