Pixel 10s AI Camera Coach Improves Your Photography Skills

At its recent Made by Google event, Google unveiled a suite of new AI camera features, including an incredible 100x zoom capability. However, one feature stands out by assisting the photographer before the shot is even taken. It’s called Camera Coach, an AI-powered guide that aims to perfect your pictures at the source rather than fixing them with software later. For those who are still cautious about AI-generated images, this feature presents an ideal partnership between human creativity and machine intelligence.

How Google's Camera Coach Works

Not everyone is an expert in photography fundamentals like the 'rule of thirds' or optimal subject framing. Camera Coach is designed for anyone who has ever struggled to explain to a friend or family member how to take a decent photo.

On a Pixel 10 device, you can point your camera at a subject and tap a button in the app to activate the AI cinematographer. An interface appears with several potential shots generated by the AI. When you select one, the app provides real-time guidance, instructing you on how to move your phone to achieve the perfect composition. Once you snap the picture, it saves exactly what you see through your lens, with no generative AI altering the final result.

Get Inspired with AI-Generated Photo Ideas

While most of Camera Coach focuses on improving framing and zoom, it also includes a creative feature called "Get Inspired." These suggestions, highlighted in blue, use generative AI to imagine what your photo could look like from a completely different angle or by including more of the surrounding environment. The AI can only guess based on what it has seen through the lens, so some of these creative shots might not be physically achievable. If you're not happy with the suggestions, a refresh button provides a new set of ideas.

What to Expect When Using Camera Coach

Using Camera Coach is an active experience. The AI might give simple instructions like moving the phone up or down, but it can also be quite specific. During a hands-on demo, achieving the suggested shot required crouching and moving several feet to position the subject exactly where the AI wanted it. Be prepared to move around to capture the ideal image.

Understanding the AI and Security Behind the Coach

Camera Coach operates on a hybrid AI model. The real-time guidance you receive on-screen is handled by on-device AI, meaning that data never leaves your phone. However, to generate the initial set of suggestions, the feature relies on cloud-based AI. A Google spokesperson confirmed that Camera Coach sends a single frame to the cloud at the beginning of a session for advanced processing. This frame is deleted afterward and is not used for training Google's AI models. While this process is secure, it does mean that Camera Coach requires an internet connection to function.

The Potential and Limitations of Camera Coach

Despite a healthy skepticism of AI, the suggestions from Camera Coach are genuinely impressive. While it won't turn you into a professional photographer overnight, it does an excellent job of helping you see the compositional potential in a scene. For anyone who has received a poorly framed, overexposed photo from a family member, this guidance is a welcome addition.

A key benefit is that your final photos contain no generative AI, so you can share them without worrying about authenticity. Google's photography team trained the machine learning algorithm by feeding it 'good' and 'bad' photo examples, ensuring significant human expertise is behind the AI's recommendations. However, the usual ethical questions surrounding AI training data still apply. Additionally, the feature isn't practical for capturing fast-moving subjects, as it requires time for the AI to analyze the scene and for you to follow its instructions.