More than 14 trillion photos are taken annually and most people have no formal training in photography. Most photographs come out subpar and it can easily be fixed with better lighting. Unfortunately, smartphone cameras do not provide sufficient lighting to accurately frame the subject, but Relonch AI changes that. This startup launched its latest product Relonch Alfred, which imitates light sources that don’t exist in real life to give your camera phone photographs look as if they are professional quality. The company is inspired by the great NYC photographer Alfred Steiglitz, who revolutionized photography as an artistic medium.
AlleyWatch spoke with CEO and Cofounder Sergey Korzhenevich to learn more about the recent launch of its product.
Please tell us about Relonch.
Relonch AI imitates cinematic lighting to light up your everyday stories.
How is Relonch different?
With Relonch AI you feel like there is a Hollywood lighting crew in your pocket. There are plenty of filter solutions, but the secret ingredient behind any cinema-grade image is professional lighting
Relonch AI imitates light sources that don’t exist in real life to light up real objects. You probably have a lot of photos or videos in your smartphone where the faces are barely visible or the background is just a white blur. Usually, this is caused by shadows, low lighting, sun in the background, light streaming in from a window, etc. Relonch Alfred App can help you to light up these photos and videos by imitating artificial light and adjusting the color temperature and light intensity to make them look cinematic.
What market is Relonch attacking and how big is it?
Photo and video stories are part of everyone’s life. It’s a huge market.
What is the business model?
A Relonch AI is available to variety of parties: starting from print services to smartphone manufacturers. A demo Relonch Alfred app as a showcase of Relonch AI is available for free now with a basic lighting schemes and is expecting new, groundbreaking possibilities for 3D lighting schemes sponsored by brands, places, events, movies (like Snap’s geofilters and lenses) to be available with combination of Relonch AI with the AR capabilities of smartphones.
What inspired the business?
Our dream was always the same – to let everyone have remarkable photos and videos. Being a New York company, we’ve named our AI honoring Alfred Stieglitz, a New Yorker who revolutionized photography one hundred years ago who claimed photographs have a ‘human taste’ and further established photography’s place as an artistic medium.
Is there a large enough market for this to be a stand-alone business? Could this not just be a feature of a camera phone instead?
Being an expert in light and managing a light during taking photos and videos, Relonch is going to be the #1 brand in visual storytelling. A better camera is a key competitive advantage for smartphones. Relonch is here to add cinematic drama to all personal stories.
What are the milestones that you plan to achieve within six months?
A major milestone coming is the ability to use Relonch AI during shooting. Just select a lighting genre for a current occasion and with simple dimmer light up a scene right in a moment of taking photo or video.
What is the one piece of startup advice that you never got?
Because we never got it – we’re still waiting for this advice.
If you could be put in touch with anyone in the New York community who would it be and why?
Andy Dunn. At Relonch we respect pioneers who challenge a status quo, Bonobos made a big impact on menswear.
Why did you launch on 5th Avenue?
In 1905 Alfred Stieglitz opened one of the first photography galleries in an attempt to shift the paradigm thinking around what constituted serious art. This gallery became known as «291» after its address on Fifth Avenue in New York City. In an era long before Twitter or Instagram, Alfred Stieglitz managed to unite an impressive community of artists and aficionados. A hundred years have passed and we still keep changing the world with cinematic photos and videos.
What’s your favorite restaurant in the city?
We like Sweetgreen.
