AI is transforming the world of photography, with companies leveraging its capabilities to enhance users’ skills. Last year, Google introduced a feature called Camera Coach on its Pixel smartphones, designed to aid users in understanding framing and composition. Similarly, in July, Adobe launched an innovative tool in its experimental camera app to critique photographs and suggest improvements.
In this evolving landscape, former TikTok employees Melody Chu and Jing Liu have unveiled a new iOS app called Superpose, designed to provide AI-driven guidance for posing in photographs.
At its core, Superpose functions as a camera application. Users can take selfies or capture images of friends, and the app produces four alternative poses generated by AI. Some of these poses may appear extravagant, occasionally leading to an uncanny effect.
Users have the option to save their generated poses or employ the match-pose feature to align themselves with the AI’s suggestions.
Before launching Superpose, Chu accumulated experience at companies such as Meta, Nextdoor, Roblox, TikTok, and Slack. Jing Liu, on the other hand, was a founding engineer at a 3D face-scanning startup and contributed to image and video models during her tenure at TikTok.
Chu revealed that the app’s concept originated from personal frustration: her husband struggled to take flattering photos of her.
“My husband just takes awful photos of me. It was a true pain point in our marriage where I don’t understand how he gets me to look just so terrible all the time. And I thought to myself, there has to be a way to solve this problem with advancements in computer vision and generative AI. And I decided to set out on my own,” she shared.
Since its launch in July, Superpose has achieved over 22,000 downloads and users have generated more than 190,000 poses. The app allows five free generations each day, with the option to purchase five additional poses for $2.99 or twenty for $9.99.
While acknowledging the competition in the AI photography arena, Chu emphasized Superpose’s ambition to perfect its utility for portrait photography guided by AI. The startup intends to differentiate itself by not venturing into generating AI backgrounds or images, focusing instead on authentic moments.
“We want to lean into the core of memory capture versus, say, putting you in a fantastical place that you’ve never been. I think there are so many apps that do that well already, but we really want to focus on actually capturing the lived moment and experience,” she noted.
Chu also recognized that some pose suggestions may appear weird, affirming the company’s ongoing efforts to enhance its generation styles and improve user coaching directly from the viewfinder.
Superpose has secured $2.2 million in funding from Khosla Ventures, Chinese smartphone and selfie app maker Meitu, and OVTR VC.
Editor’s Take
This launch represents a significant step forward in making photography more accessible and enjoyable for everyday users. By harnessing AI to assist with posing, Superpose addresses common challenges in taking flattering photos. Its focus on real-life experiences promises to set it apart in a crowded market, potentially influencing how consumers interact with their photography tools moving forward.
Source: techcrunch.com
