I’ve been using AI to edit my brand photos.

Not to hide. Not to fake anything. But to extend the life of professional images I’ve already invested in, different backgrounds, adjusted lighting, new contexts that serve my message better than the original shoot could capture.

And I’m completely at peace with it.

Here’s what I’m not at peace with: the double standard.

The Selective Outrage Around “Authentic” Images

We’ve accepted decades of Photoshopped magazine covers, airbrushed billboards, and heavily filtered Instagram content without batting an eye. Those tools were reserved for people with big budgets and studio access. Entire industries were built on the foundation of edited, enhanced, manipulated imagery.

Nobody questioned it then.

Now AI puts that same power in the hands of solo founders who can’t afford 10K shoots every quarter, and suddenly everyone’s concerned about “authenticity.”

So why are we clutching our pearls now?

The real issue isn’t whether AI is “authentic.”
The real issue is whether you have clear enough boundaries to use it without losing yourself.

The Pattern We’ve Seen Before

Remember when Canva templates first dropped?

Everyone jumped on the speed and accessibility. Finally, professional-looking graphics without hiring a designer. Finally, visual content that didn’t require a steep learning curve.

But here’s what happened:

The businesses with clear brand boundaries? They used templates as a starting point and made them their own. They knew their colours, their fonts, their visual language so deeply that even a template became an expression of their unique identity.

The businesses without boundaries? They all started looking the same. Generic. Forgettable. Lost in a sea of pastel gradients and sans-serif sameness.

AI will do the exact same thing to your brand if you don’t know who you are.

^ here’s a peek at one image I edited with AI, original on the left which I love the pose but the room never felt quite me, it was taken at an event and the hotel room was lovely but not really very me… and the image on the right is the edited version in a room much more like the room im typing this from right now!

What AI Actually Revealed About My Brand

Here’s what surprised me when I started experimenting with AI-edited imagery. Some of these images felt more aligned than the originals. Not because they were “better” in some objective sense. Because I was directing the outcome.

During a professional shoot, you’re working within constraints:

• The photographer’s vision
• The location’s limitations
• The weather that day
• Your energy in that specific moment
• The styling options you brought

Sometimes those constraints create magic. Sometimes they create compromise.

AI gave me something different: creative sovereignty. I chose the aesthetic. The colours. The scene. The exact vibe I wanted to communicate. I didn’t have to filter my vision through someone else’s lens or hope they saw what I saw.

This isn’t about avoiding the work of showing up. It’s about extending my essence between real, in-the-room moments.

Should AI-generated images come with a disclaimer?

Maybe. I’m open to that conversation. But if we’re going there, let’s talk about heavily Photoshopped images too. Filtered content. Facetuned “reality.” Strategic angles that show one version of truth while hiding another.

Where’s the line between enhancement and deception? And more importantly: Who gets to decide?

Because I’ll tell you what I think the real answer is. The line is wherever you draw it.

Not where someone else draws it for you.
Not where the internet mob decides this week.
Not where your guilt or fear or imposter syndrome whispers it should be.

You get to decide your standards.

And once you do? Every decision becomes simple.

Why Most People Will Spiral (And How to Avoid It)

The businesses that spiral with AI aren’t the ones using the technology. They’re the ones without clear brand boundaries. When you don’t know who you are:

• Every new tool feels like a threat
• Every trend pulls you off course
• Every decision becomes an identity crisis
• Every “should I?” becomes paralysis

But when you know yourself?

Tools are just tools.
Trends are just options.
Decisions are just filters against your non-negotiables.

You can use anything when you know exactly who you are.

What This Means For Your Business Right Now

AI is offering some huge opportunities right now. Before you decide where you stand. I’m challenging you to get crystal clear on your own standards. Ask yourself:

• What’s non-negotiable for your brand?
• What’s a tool you can bend without breaking your integrity?
• Where’s your line?
• Can you articulate why that line exists?

Because the people who win in this new era won’t be the ones avoiding technology. They’ll be the ones who know themselves so deeply that no tool, AI, Canva, whatever comes next, can pull them off course.

If you’re still guessing at your answers? Every new trend will feel like an existential threat.

Get Unshakeable Before 2025 Hits

This is exactly why I’m opening the ByDeesign MiniMind this December. Not for people who want to “figure it out together.” For people who are ready to decide.

4 weeks. Private. Intensive. Uncompromising.

Inside the MiniMind, you’ll decode:

• Your brand identity at a depth that makes every decision obvious
• Visual + verbal boundaries that filter everything (including whether to use AI)
• A cohesive system that moves with you as tools evolve

You’ll walk away with clarity sharp enough to cut through any noise, now and in whatever comes next.

Secure your place with a £500 deposit.

You’re not looking for another course.
You’re not looking for someone to validate your choices.

You’re looking for clarity powerful enough to make you unmovable.

The MiniMind isn’t about teaching you what to think. It’s about giving you the structure to decide.

Tools will always evolve.
Your standards don’t have to.

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What are your non-negotiables? Drop a comment and let me know where you draw the line.

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