AI Camera vs Fashion Photography

Photography is experiencing a paradigm shift as the AI Camera is changing the game. Midjourney v5 has caught my attention.?

Before diving into the AI camera, let's acknowledge the importance of discussing AI. I feel we are at the dawn of Artificial General Intelligence. The implications and potential outcomes are topics for another day.

Here we will explore The AI Camera in action potentially disrupting Fashion Photography.

We will go deeper into hypothetical brands, niches, and categories in the area as we experiment.

Let's go!

Following are our experimentations with Dresses, T-shirts, and Sarees:

We experimented with creating snapshots of Dresses, T-shirts, and Sarees. Not only did it allow us to appreciate the design detail of the fabric, but Midjourney v5 was also able to bring even the minute creases and fabric wrinkles to life!

Dresses: Florals

The floral dresses looked even better with the attention to intricate print and flow of the fabric.

Let's look at this portrait and the incredible level of detail, the visual sensibility here is astounding:

The vibrant colors, visible fabric textures, and varying opacity of the fabric made the images completely true to life. This Image will pass the test for a luxury brand in any board meeting in 90s LA. The pretty model helps the cause.

Here are some more photographs:

The above florals are imagined to be shot in the 90s LA.

Here is the prompt we used:

“Imagine you are a fashion photographer in 90s Los Angeles, capturing the essence of a vibrant dresses collection, through glamourous lifestyle photography. Your task is to create a compilation of glamourous photographs of models adorning glamourous dresses with floral patterns, capture their personality and the dresses in a unique style in a photo-realistic way. Show us the vibrancy, colour in the photographs of 90s Los Angeles' Glamour through your lens, and bring these real-life people to life in stunning fashion photography. --v 5 --s 750”

With slight variations, we generated these additional images:

Though the models don't seem overly happy, maybe prompt engineering could resolve that. lol.

Now speaking of Dresses, let's see another use case.

Let's consider monochrome, minimal dresses for a hypothetical minimalist luxury brand.

Future shoots may be conducted by prompt engineers, instead of artists who understand light and camera. Maybe the cameraman becomes a prompt engineer.

Let's delve deeper into Fashion Photography.

T-Shirts: Hypothetical Classic T-shirt brand in India

These were intended to have a touch of glam. Although if you look closely you might observe extreme neck bending at play.

However, with the same classic T-Shirt positioning, we achieved strikingly realistic DSLR-like results:

Also, respect to this AI-generated uncle, I don't know why... but he is quite badass:

Let's take another use case in T-Shirts. A fast fashion brand that makes printed T-Shirts.

I understand that it's cherry blossom season in Bangalore, maybe a topical campaign is required for the brand. Yesterday, a shoot had to be planned 2 months prior. Today, a first draft of a shoot that never happened can be generated in minutes.

Suppose a brand plans to launch black T-shirts featuring cherry blossom designs. They can first create designs that resonate well with a focus group and then use that feedback to guide production.

Steering away from T-Shirts and exploring Sarees.

Sarees:

Midjourney's ability to render the delicate draping, elaborate patterns, and vivid colors of sarees is next level.

As we reach here, we see sparks of brilliance compared to the previous Midjourney model and although it's not perfect with hands, it's a massive improvement. There is no doubt that Midjourney v 6,7,8 will overcome it very soon.

Even though the current version is not perfect but it can generate images with an accurate representation of hands, fingers, faces, and light with intricate details in the saree. This image blew my mind.

I love how brandable the following image is, the light and aesthetics are at par with the best in the business of fashion photography.

IP on generative AI is an area of concern, as visible in the non-comprehensible watermark at the bottom left of the above image. More on this in the Ethics section below.

AI Camera will help fashion startups differentiate. In the long run, many fashion startups will now not be dependent on expensive shoots. It's possible. We would need a new job stream here, AI Photographers, I am not even kidding, going through this experience I am certain there is value in the skill of making images as per a marketing brief.

Why would a designer choose this path over stock imagery? is another topic.

Here is another Saree brand with different positioning. They did not spend $$ in a photoshoot, hypothetically speaking.

The use cases are endless. The AI Camera is a tool to do more with less.

Early adopters who would operationalize it will reap benefits.

The astounding level of detail and realism in AI-generated images not only saves time and resources for startups but also opens up endless creative possibilities.

From classic T-shirts and sarees to floral dresses and monochrome minimalism, AI Camera can capture a wide array of styles and aesthetics.

Ethics

An ethical process would involve a true representation of the garment, along with a responsible human layer between generating and publishing content.

There are valid concerns about the generation of an AI human, a person that never was, so to speak.

As we move forward, we can expect advancements in AI technology to overcome existing limitations, such as an accurate representation of hands, fingers, faces, anatomy, and visual perspectives.

The potential implications of AI-generated images on intellectual property rights and the role of traditional photographers in the industry are also important considerations.

Conclusion

Well yes, some photographers will lose their jobs. Sorry to be blunt.

But like any other trade, there will be room for experts.

Fashion photography is expensive, you need expensive cameras, lenses, setup, teams, post-processing, and models. Production is extremely chaotic and requires an extreme amount of planning and resources. So if you are a starter maybe re-consider.

I feel the current trends show AI photography can be a thing that businesses will embrace. Fashion is one use case, there are many others that I will be sharing in my subsequent monthlies.

This doesn't necessarily mean we are at the end of traditional photography.

The expert will always make a living and meaningfully so.

Largely as the world is shaping up The AI Camera offers an opportunity for photographers to adapt and embrace creativity with technology.

Exciting times ahead, we will very likely witness a harmonious blend of human artistry and AI-generated content, working together to create striking and memorable images very soon.

If you read the last line then do engage.