Why I - as a Food Photographer- Welcome AI
As a food photographer, I'm always looking for ways to enhance my creative process. So when artificial intelligence (AI) tools become available, I don't shy away, instead I embrace them!
Recently, I conceptualized and created this imaginary magazine cover featuring ice cream. I proudly used AI in my workflow to generate the magazine title "SUMMER SCOOPS", the cover article headlines and mood boarding.
The AI is an asset that helped me bring my vision to life. But make no mistake, I'm still the artist driving the creative direction. The AI is simply a tool to aid me, not to replace me.
After deciding on this ice cream theme, I sketched my Idea roughly on photoshop then I made some ice cream cones floating in a blue background. I wanted to to give it a depth effect by putting some of the cones in the foreground and some in the background to show anti-gravity effect.
sketch for my initial idea
After that, I put it in Midjourney to describe it and to test ideas
/describe result for the sketch I used
and then I started generating many ideas till I found my spark
results in the left half is generated just with mid journey /decrebtion above. the one on the right I did put my sketch in the reference along with the prompt.
this is one I settled on as my reference for the shooting.
I prepared for the shoot with Melody -the food stylist- , then I used this upscaled generation above as my reference for the shoot. but I put my initial style in mind harsh sunlight rays and summer vibes all over with vintage retro feel.
I used AI to quickly generate engaging title options to choose from. This allowed me to test out different avenues and finalize the right vibe.
From there, the cover design was all my own ideation and execution. I selected the fonts, colors, layout and whimsical ice cream illustrations that establish this quirky mood. AI played no role in this crucial stage.
So AI generated the text, the creative concept and aesthetics stem from my distinct photographic style and artistic identity, in addition to merely helped speed up the early phase of idea generation.
I believe AI can actually empower food photographers by automating routine tasks. More time can then be dedicated to pushing our imaginations and producing impactful imagery.
Rather than fear AI, I embrace the opportunity to have an extra set of hands to boost aspects of workflow. But make no mistake, the creative vision and direction always comes from my artistic human eye.
So fellow food photographers, let's welcome AI as the tool it is, while we continue doing what we do best creating mouthwatering visual magic.
Production House LEAP STUDIOS
Concept, design, photography and retouching : Badr Sfeeran
Food styling : Melody
