Authenticity, AI and the Future of Branding

As a branding photographer, I watch clients wrestle with the same question: Should I use AI-generated images or invest in real photography?

The answer isn't what you think.

In a world where AI can generate flawless faces, perfect lighting, and on-brand personalities in seconds, most people assume the debate is about quality or cost. It's not. It's about whether we've forgotten what authenticity actually means—and why it matters more now than ever.

The Authenticity Misconception

Here's what's happening: brands are being told they need to be "authentic" to connect with consumers. And the advice they're getting is often wrong.

There's a widespread belief that authentic means unfiltered. Raw. Showing up messy on video. Posting behind-the-scenes chaos. The more unpolished, the more "real."

But when I look through my lens at successful brands, I see something different.

According to Edelman's 2025 Trust Barometer Special Report: Brand Trust, 80% of people trust brands they use—more than they trust business, media, government, NGOs, or even their employer. But here's what they're actually scanning for—it's not your rough edges. It's trust signals.

Real authenticity in branding comes from two things working together: delivering consistently on what you promise, and sharing a narrative that aligns with your values. Both. Not either/or.

So authenticity has two faces that consumers are asking:

Is this human or company trustworthy?

Can I relate to this human or company?

What Seth Godin Got Right About Consistency

Seth Godin draws an important distinction about authenticity in This Is Marketing. He argues that while authentic stories matter, authenticity as "showing up however you feel in the moment" isn't what builds trust. He writes that people want to be understood and served—not simply to witness whatever you feel like doing.

What does build trust? Consistency. Making and keeping promises about how people expect you to behave.

Think about the brands you trust most. It's not because their founder posts unfiltered rants or shares every personal struggle. It's because they show up reliably, deliver what they promise, and their values don't shift with trends.

Consistency, not moment-to-moment authenticity, is what compounds trust over time.

This is why trust, consistency, and authenticity need to work together. Changing dramatically your point of view, values, or deliverables makes your brand unpredictable and weaker. Consumers are looking to brands for optimism, education, and a sense of community—and trust is as much of a purchase consideration as quality and price.

The Brand Cake: All Ingredients Required

Business strategist Fiona Killackey, author of Passion, Purpose, Profit and Business to Brand, uses a helpful metaphor: building a brand is like baking a cake. Most businesses only add one ingredient—their visual identity (logo, colors, typography)—and call it done. But a brand needs all the ingredients: mission, values, personality, customer experience, and visual identity working together.

Without understanding your mission (what you do and who you do it for) and your values (what you stand for), even the most beautiful branding falls flat.

This is where many brands stumble when trying to appear "authentic" in response to AI saturation. They focus on how they look or sound without understanding what they stand for.

The Two Mistakes Brands Make

When brands try to look "authentic" in response to AI saturation, I see them make two critical mistakes:

Mistake No. 1: Over-Personalisation

Exaggerating personality to the point where it overshadows your actual message. I've watched businesses try so hard to be "relatable" that they forget to communicate what they actually do or why it matters.

Yes, personality can add connection—but only when it's consistent with your values and mission. When personality conflicts with your core message, the brand feels performative and backfires.

Mistake No. 2: Intentional Underproduction

Not long ago, media was over-polished and people felt disconnected. As a counter-response, brands started presenting themselves unproduced—rough edges, bad lighting, shaky footage—hoping to look more authentic.

Here's what I know from years of creating visual stories: a good story poorly produced will always beat a weak story with high production value. But that doesn't mean you should intentionally underproduce.

The story and message are what create connection. The production quality should serve the story, not distract from it or apologize for it.

What Makes an Image Worth Creating

Even when AI can generate technically perfect images, here's what it can't do: decide why that image should exist.

Most AI-generated images come from previously created work by talented artists. The vision of human creators—their ability to understand the underlying meaning of a pose, lighting choice, subject position, color palette, perspective—remains valuable precisely because it's intentional.

When I photograph a client for their branding, I'm not just thinking about pixels and lighting ratios. I'm thinking: What does this person want to communicate? What feeling should someone have when they see this? What story are we telling about who they are and what they stand for?

A business owner without visual storytelling training might use AI to create pixel-perfect images that don't align with their brand message. The images might be beautiful, but they won't do the work of building trust and recognition.

We can connect through an image whether it's human or AI creation. But knowing images are real connects on a different level. We all want and need authentic human connection. If you have the budget to produce real photographs and videos, you have an advantage in a market flooding itself with generic generated content.

The Analog Comeback (And What It Tells Us)

Something interesting is happening in response to AI image saturation. Some brands—particularly larger ones with sophisticated marketing teams—are returning to analog aesthetics. Film photography. Grain. Soft focus. Imperfections left visible.

Take recent campaigns from brands like Patagonia and certain fashion houses. They're intentionally leaving in the grain, slight blur, and imperfect lighting—not because they can't afford better production, but because those imperfections signal "this is real."

Consumers are now trained to spot AI's telltale perfection. When everything looks too flawless, too ideal, people start scanning for signs of manipulation. It creates mistrust, as if someone is trying to deceive them.

The mistrust of AI images is real, though it varies by industry and audience. Research your specific market before committing to AI-generated visuals. And consider being transparent about the extent of AI use in your brand imagery—it may actually build trust rather than erode it.

What Will Win in 2026

The brands that win in 2026 won't be the loudest, the most polished, or the most automated.

They'll be the most emotionally recognizable.

Audiences want brands that make them feel good: happy, confident, inspired, safe, and calm. 68% of consumers globally say it's very or extremely important for brands to help them personally feel good.

This is why video (followed by photography) is becoming essential for branding—these mediums generate emotions that words alone cannot achieve. Brands are investing in mini-documentaries showcasing the good they do, the communities they support, the change they're creating. It's in that emotion-driven message that we connect to a brand and choose to follow it.

But here's the key: the emotion has to be genuine. It has to stem from consistent action and real values. You can't AI-generate your way into emotional resonance if your actions don't back it up.

Two Questions Before Your Next Post

When I work with clients on their branding photography, I always start with two questions :

1. What change do you create for the people you serve?

2. How do you want people to feel when they experience your brand?

Everything else—your visual style, your tone, your content strategy—should flow from these answers.

Authenticity is not about being raw all the time. It's about sharing a relatable story that is consistent, that provides a perspective, and that gives people a reason to choose your brand over another offering the same service.

What You Should Do Instead

Here's what would instantly benefit your brand: stop thinking that oversharing personal information or looking messy in a video makes you more authentic.

Instead, share stories about:

The impact your business has on customers

• The process behind developing your product or service

• The values that guide your decisions

• The challenges you've solved and how

These stories build trust because they demonstrate consistency between what you say and what you do.

The Choice Ahead

In a world shaped by AI, the most powerful brand currency won't be technology or automation or even perfect imagery.

It will be the ability to tell a consistent, human story without losing your values—or your boundaries.

Yes, AI can enhance photographs and videos created by humans. It can improve details, refine elements, reduce production costs. The technology isn't the enemy. Many productions will become smaller and more efficient because of these tools.

But the vision—the why behind the image, the story you're telling, the values you're demonstrating—that still requires a human who understands what they're trying to say and why it matters.

Tools will evolve. Platforms will change. AI capabilities will expand.

Trust will remain the currency.

Claudia Martinez is a Melbourne-based branding photographer specializing in human-led visual storytelling. She works with businesses to create images that genuinely represent their values and connect with their audience.

📸 Ready to strengthen your visual brand story? Let's talk: www.claudiamartinez.com.au/contact

References: Edelman — 2025 Trust Barometer Special Report: Brand Trust | Godin, Seth. This Is Marketing. Portfolio/Penguin, 2018. | Killackey, Fiona. Passion, Purpose, Profit. Hardie Grant Books, 2020. | Killackey, Fiona. Business to Brand. Hardie Grant Books, 2023.

This article was written using my original ideas and the assistance of AI to refine structure and clarity. Header image, originally created by Claudia Martinez and intentionally modified with the use of ChatGPT to replace sky and clothing.