For the past 15 years, if you’ve looked at a photo on the Barn Light Australia website, there is a very high chance I took it, edited it, and wrote the description for it. or else, took it, edited it, provided credit, and uploaded it…
Being deeply hands-on with our products, means that our photography has been the only way to ensure that what you see on your screen matches exactly what arrives at your door – that means maintaining strict authenticity in size, proportion, and colour.
You wouldn’t be the first person to imply that there are “too many options”, and that there “are so many choices”, that “its too overwhelming” – and sometimes I’ve questioned if I’ve created a website that was just that, minimal in-situ photos and a requirement to visualise to be a truly overwhelming experience.
My origin-story of website villainy was started when I first visited Barn Light USA in 2008, and while I technically haven’t left at 38 years old – I have noticed that as Barn Light has grown over the years, as I have I – in both age and maintenance.
Despite that, Melinda & I have noticed a “gap” in the inspiration we can provide customers. Our point of difference has always been customisation and quality, and by using technology over brawn so, our problem is simple and our solution involves you.
The “Inspiration Gap”
We often hear from customers renovating specific architectural styles like classic Queenslanders, who simply struggle to visualise how our lights fit into those unique spaces. While we have thousands of happy customers, obtaining photos from finished projects can be difficult.
Many builders, lighting designers, and electricians prefer to keep their sources, and work strictly private. Because our lighting is high-quality, yet relatively affordable compared to boutique alternatives, professionals often hesitate to disclose that the “million-dollar look” came from Barn Light. Sometimes those same customers sell their home, yet stipulate that the lights don’t come with the property…
This leaves us with a shortage of “in-situ” images for niche styles, making it harder for you to visualize our lights in your specific dream home. Whilst our competitors offer a discount code for your supply of a high quality, personally curated photo after supplying them with a five star review (and likely your first born son), – neither Melinda or I have historically had time to email, request, follow-up, edit, upload, provide credit, and hit the publish button in-between the other thousand of tasks we manage daily – lets just say that life is short.
Totally Unique Right?!
What’s Changing Exactly?
Enter Generative AI – From ChatGPT’s growth in helping struggling lawyers to prove a point in our despite “lost homework”, to billing the Australian Federal Government for Millions for “hallucinating reports”, through to providing some overworked parents constructive feedback on what to cook for dinner tonight.
To solve our in-situ photography problem, we are beginning to use Generative AI in Late 2025 – 2026 Onwards to create interior design concepts featuring our products.
This allows us to show you how a specific lighting looks in a coastal kitchen, a rustic barn, or a heritage veranda in Dulux Weathered Steel®, without waiting for a customer to design their own, order their light, us to manufacture, and finally install, all to submit a photo for your sole benefit.
Image Created using Generative AI based on Models Created and Supplied by JAM Industrial Pty Ltd©
“I just want milk that tastes like real milk!”
Data-Driven Accuracy, Not Just “Pretty Pictures”
It is critical to note that these images we’re developing aren’t just “imagined” (or rather hallucinated) by a computer. They are derived from our actual engineering data:
Fusion 360 Drawings: We use our manufacturing CAD files to ensure the shape and scale of the light are mathematically correct.
Note: We don’t publish these highly accurate models, as there will be nothing will stop our competitors from making copies.High-Res Photography: We utilize our detailed 300 DPI product photography to ensure textures and finishes are true to life.
For the Photography Buffs – We use a Nikon D3500 Camera in our studio and I barely remember how to use it most days.
The Human Element (Me)
While AI generates the environment, the quality control remains human. As I have for the last decade and a half, I personally review every single image before it is published.
My role is changing from just “photographer” to “curator.” I ensure that the light isn’t just a pretty illustration, but an accurate representation of the physical product. If the proportion looks off, or the “Electro Black Ace” finish doesn’t look like our Electro Black Ace, it doesn’t go on the site.
The Dynacorp Problem.
If the AI starts throwing our extra fingers, eyebrows, or introduces a dog randomly into a photo – you won’t see this here. As we’re providing still generative photography, the possibilities to “go wrong” are quite minimal. The AI is trained on our photographs, product images, shade models, and mountings – not the internet – so it cannot “think” its way into introducing our competitors models :}
What This Means for You
More Inspiration: You will see our lights in a wider variety of architectural settings. You can supply a “prompt” for us to generate if you like ;)
Transparency: Any image created with the assistance of AI will be clearly marked (look for the “Star” icon in the corner). We’re still going to have to Photoshop these “on-top”, but they’ll be just as obvious.
Efficiency: By reducing the massive logistical burden of staging physical photoshoots, we can focus more resources on product development, keeping our prices fair and our lead times short.
- New Products: The irony of technology is that you always need “more”, and that’s why we’ve started looking at new machinery to create new products using the same time I’d otherwise be generating new photos.
We are excited to use this technology to help you visualize your renovations better, all while maintaining the product authenticity you’ve trusted us with since day one. If you’ve got concerns, throw us an email, phone call, message, or carrier pidgins and we’ll do our best to help you understand our products better.
