Google Pics and Tiger Selfies – This Week's Photo News 21/2025

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When tech giants like Google hold their annual developer conferences, it's usually the moment they try to show us what the future should look like. At Google I/O 2026, it was no different – and for photographers and creatives, there was actually something exciting to see: Google Pics, a new AI-powered image editing tool that promises to solve the biggest problem finally with AI image generation.

When AI Images Are Almost Perfect

Anyone who has played with AI image generators knows the problem: you type in a description, wait with bated breath – and get an image that is 90 percent exactly what you wanted. But the person is wearing the wrong color, the dog is looking in the wrong direction, or the text in the image is illegible. And then? Back to square one, new attempt, roll the dice again. Google Pics now wants to change exactly that.

The new tool, based on Google's proprietary Nano-Banana model, allows individual objects in a generated or uploaded image to be selected and edited specifically – without having to regenerate the entire image. You can move objects, change their size, or even transform them completely: a red sweater becomes blue, a cat becomes a dog. Text can also be edited directly in the image or translated into other languages, while preserving font and design. This sounds like real progress – and could actually make the difference between “nice, but impractical” and “I'll really use this.” Google Pics will initially be available only to selected testers, and from summer 2026, it will be available to paying subscribers of Google AI Pro and Ultra plans, as well as to Workspace business customers. Later, the tool is also to be integrated directly into Google Slides and Drive. Whether it lives up to its promise remains to be seen – but the idea of making AI image editing less random and more controllable is long overdue. Also read our commentary on Google I/O.

Tiger Selfies

While Google is trying to perfect images with AI, a video from Thailand [Video on X] shows how far some people go for the 'perfect' photo – and what price others pay for it. A recently viral video shows an American tourist paying over $200 for a photo with a tiger on his shoulders. The scene is disturbing: the man sits visibly frightened on a rock while handlers direct the huge predator towards him. The handlers themselves appear nervous, never leaving the animal alone for more than a few seconds – just enough time for a few shots.

Such photo shoots are unfortunately not uncommon in Thailand. Places like Tiger World Thailand or Tiger Kingdom in Phuket offer tourists the opportunity to pose with tigers for a fee – often with the claim that the money goes to conservation. The reality is different: According to the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), the animals are kept under often cruel conditions. Tiger cubs are separated from their mothers after just two to three weeks so that they can become pregnant again more quickly. The young animals are then passed from tourist to tourist all day long, often hundreds of times a day. Many have their claws removed so they cannot injure paying customers. As soon as they become too big or too unruly, they disappear from the photo business – and end up in cages that are far too small.

Last year, a tourist in Phuket was attacked by a tiger while posing for a photo. No wonder the handlers are so nervous. The EIA strongly advises against visiting such facilities. Even if the photo may look good on Instagram – it is part of a system that exploits and tortures animals. More on this dark side of phototourism can be found in this detailed report [PDF].

Memories from Gaza: Photo Kegham in Marseille

From the present to the past: In Marseille, the Centre Photographique is showing a remarkable exhibition until September. “Photo Kegham de Gaza” presents the work of Kegham Djeghalian Sr., who founded the first professional photo studio in Gaza in 1944. As a survivor of the Armenian genocide, he documented life in the city for almost 40 years – portraits, weddings, everyday life.

His grandson, Kegham Djeghalian Jr., discovered three boxes of negatives and documents in his father's closet in Cairo in 2018. Instead of arranging the photos chronologically or providing detailed captions, he decided on a different approach: the photos are deliberately shown without precise information – as an “unmade archive,” an open, unfinished archive. Visitors are encouraged to let the images speak for themselves without being forced into a particular interpretation by dates and facts. This is the first time this collection has been shown in France, and it is part of the Méditerranée season and the Grand Arles Express. More about the exhibition can be found here and here.

Nan Goldin Returns to London

Also an event for photography lovers: The Hayward Gallery in London announces a major solo exhibition by Nan Goldin for November 2026. “You Never Did Anything Wrong” will be her first institutional exhibition in the UK since 2002. Goldin, who has been documenting the lives of queer communities, relationships, and addiction since the 1970s, has fundamentally changed photography – by dissolving the distance between observer and observed and radically exposing her own life.

The exhibition runs from November 24, 2026, to March 7, 2027, and concludes the Southbank Centre's 75th anniversary celebrations. Goldin is considered one of the most influential photographers of our time, and her work is not only artistically significant but also political – she founded the activist group P.A.I.N., which fights the opioid crisis. More about the exhibition can be found at FAD Magazine and Amateur Photographer.

Discover Southbank Centre

If you are in London anyway – or planning a trip – you should take a closer look at the Southbank Centre's program – skaters shouldn't forget their boards. In addition to the upcoming Nan Goldin exhibition, there are concerts, performances, art installations, and free events throughout the year. A visit is worthwhile even without a specific destination: the architecture, the Thames location, and the lively atmosphere make the center a place where you can easily spend a few hours. More about the program can be found on the official website.

(tho)