Artificial realism
AI images generated with OpenAI DALL-E et al


Some space is reserved on this website for photo-like images generated with mainly OpenAI DALL-E and Stable Diffusion [1]. This is a completely artificial process without the use of a camera. DALL-E and others can be used to generate a diverse range of graphics but on this website it is mostly photorealistic, hence my designation 'Artificial realism' [2]. However, some work is also abstract.

The process of creating fine art images with AI is surprisingly similar to photography with a camera. In both cases the photos are taken or selected from an abundance of footage, which involves an assessment of aesthetics, composition, lighting, and originality, among other things to sort the best of them out. The post-process for finishing and correcting details is almost identical. It is possible to create imagery that is mostly on par with 'real' photos in a style that is similar to your current work on film or digital.

An AI image generator is also an excellent tool for prototyping or modeling. For example, it can be used in architecture, or in general to assist creating fine art. Since the dawn of photography, photos have been used as a model for paintings and of course the same is possible for AI generated images. A tip for abstract painters: it is much easier to generate abstracts with AI than with a camera.

Of course there remains a number of categories in photography that cannot be replaced by AI, like documentary, portraits, and real-life events like weddings and sports etc. This is because a camera makes copies of the real world around us, while AI images stem from a virtual world.

Moving into the realm of AI image generation is a logical step for photographers because, notably for digital shooters, there is barely any change needed for existing workflows. By posting my own results here on this website I hope the reader is stimulated to start his/her own experiments.


Artificial realism
In this list all the pages with AI generated images and with 'Artificial realism' as page title, they are more or less the demo pages for AI. Other pages with AI generated images are not listed here, they can be found via Photos and Archives.

All years | Last page at the bottom of the list | = new

Artificial realism 1 - Views of desolate surroundings
Artificial realism 2 - Solitary villas in the desert
Artificial realism 3 - How brutalist churches could look
Artificial realism 4 - Shop windows late at night
Artificial realism 5 - Crumbled rocks
Artificial realism 6 - A savannah without wildebeest

[1] OpenAI DALL-E is one of several applications for converting a text prompt to graphics, two other popular apps are Midjourney and Stable Diffusion. DALL-E can be used via its homepage or via Bing Image Creator from Microsoft.

[2] The style or art movement 'Artificial realism' suggested here by me (Billy Axeman) is similar to photography but it uses a subcollection of AI generated imagery with photo-like properties instead of photos from a camera. The 'Artificial realism' phrase can be used by anyone who agrees with this definition.