{"id":1179382,"date":"2026-08-31T18:48:22","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T18:48:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1179382\/"},"modified":"2026-08-31T18:48:22","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T18:48:22","slug":"ai-cant-do-what-we-do-say-royal-navy-photographers-in-epic-new-featurette-life-through-the-lens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1179382\/","title":{"rendered":"“AI can’t do what we do,” say Royal Navy photographers in epic new featurette, ‘Life Through The Lens’"},"content":{"rendered":"

The UK\u2019s Royal Navy has released a new short feature film on YouTube<\/a>, throwing us right into the action with its official photographers.<\/p>\n

Life Through The Lens documents what it\u2019s like to be a camera operator in the British Royal Navy, from documenting the split-second chaos of combat to the drawn-out, somber funerals of those lost in the line of duty.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Much like Capa, McCullin and other famed war photographers of the past, the interviewed Navy personnel tell gritty stories of documenting some of the most emotionally and physically challenging moments of their lives.<\/p>\n

But unlike the famous photojournalists of conflicts gone by, they face a new challenge \u2013 one they say will never be able to create something as \u201cvisually strong\u201d yet \u201cauthentic to military life\u201d as they can: artificial intelligence (AI).<\/p>\n

The Royal Navy’s Photographers | Life Through The Lens – YouTube
\n\"The<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n

ABOVE: Watch <\/strong>Life Through The Lens<\/strong><\/p>\n

You may like<\/p>\n

According to former Royal Navy photographer Sean Clee: \u201cAI can\u2019t replicate what we do. It can\u2019t go out on the ground. It can\u2019t search out human interest stories.\u201d Clee served for a quarter of a century in the Navy, the latter 15 years with a camera in hand.<\/p>\n

While on deployment in Afghanistan, he captured the immediate aftermath of a rocket-propelled grenade explosion close to his unit. \u201cThere\u2019s gotta be a face out there,\u201d he said, adding that \u201cAI can\u2019t find these things.\u201d<\/p>\n

The best camera deals, reviews, product advice, and unmissable photography news, direct to your inbox!<\/p>\n

And it would appear that, at least for now, the UK military forces have no plans to replace their photographers with AI in any way. Wording in JSP 936<\/a>, the Ministry of Defence (MOD)\u2019s principal policy framework, states that the UK armed forces reject the use of AI that risks harming institutional credibility.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Leading\n<\/p>\n

Leading Hand Birkett, Royal Navy photographer, at work (Image credit: Royal Navy)<\/p>\n

Credibility is what Chief Petty Officer Hoare \u2013 also interviewed in the featurette \u2013 says is at the heart of Royal Navy photographers\u2019 work.<\/p>\n

\u201cImagine using an AI image of made-up sailors instead of sailors that are actually doing the job,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re capturing real life [\u2026] we don\u2019t lie about what we do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Life Through The Lens, the new photography mini-documentary from the Royal Navy, is now available to watch on YouTube (embedded above).<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not only a visceral insight into what these photographers endure to capture their images, but also a real-world refute of AI \u2013 demonstrating the limits of the technology through a unique line of photography.<\/p>\n

You might also like\u2026<\/p>\n

Hate AI but love editing real images? Here\u2019s our pick of the best photo editing software<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The UK\u2019s Royal Navy has released a new short feature film on YouTube, throwing us right into the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1179383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3939],"tags":[4021,4020,4022,77,16,15],"class_list":["post-1179382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/117191620829014662","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1179382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1179382"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1179382\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1179383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1179382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1179382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1179382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}