So… end of the world? End of all creative jobs? Or a useful tool that can expand your capabilities? My take is that it’s definitely a disruptor and will eventually change many fields - but it will also expand options. I’ve been through this before when photography went digital - remember when Photoshop was considered cheating? I believe it’s important to not be afraid of what’s coming - which is why I started exploring AI to see what it was and whether it could be useful to me.
Image-Making with MidJourney
Because I want to create my own images, I thought I’d see if it could be used as a brainstorming tool. Midjourney is one of the best AI for making images - I chose the $30 level because it’s got faster processing times. The method is fairly simple, you create a “prompt” for the image with the following elements:
Medium (photo, painting etc.), Style (artist, time period, B&W/Color etc.), Subject, Activity (what they’re doing), Environment (where they’re doing it), Art Direction (cinematic, color palette), Composition (camera angle, long/wide shot etc.) and Aspect Ratio.
In general, I found it has a “woman” problem… can you see it? They all look like models! I did find the use of 1920s prompts helped reduce the bust size…but let’s face it, these are amalgamations of what’s online - they’re beautiful, sleek and polished. There were so many times I felt like asking “did you READ the prompt?”
Next I tried making “pieces” that I could use for my composites. For the set below, the first is part of an image I’ve been working on, where I thought it would be interesting to have a lighter horse added to the group and I didn’t have any in my library. Below that is one of the (many) variations I tried creating that, unfortunately just didn’t have the right feeling for me.
In general, I found, that the visual style/mood/imprint of Midjourney was too strong to use either in brainstorming or as parts. Additionally, it takes a LOT of time to get even halfway decent imagery. Before you know it, you’ve spent hours upscaling and adding new variations to your prompts, and this just adds to the time I already spend on the computer compositing my images.
Finally, I actually love using only my own imagery and while some of what I got was interesting…it wasn’t me or my process. I do know several very good artists who have been working quite successfully with AI and they tend to be people who often use outside source materials, mixed media and/or love working with technology.
Art Marketing with ChatGPT
So…here’s what I have found AI to be quite useful for: one of my goals for this year was to put together an overall social media and marketing plan that I would actually use. ChatGPT can answer questions, create written content, translate languages etc. I had already been playing with the free version, using it for things I needed help with:
Prompt: “write a letter declining a position because I already have too many commitments to participate. Make sure it sounds friendly and warm.”
Prompt: “what are 10 art-related places between santa fe, nm and los angeles that I could visit?”
Prompt: I uploaded my doctor’s notes from a visit and asked it to “explain it to me as if I was an 8th grader.”
Then I decided to upgrade to the paid version, which gives you better software. MasterClass had a series on GenAI that gave me a good foundation and taught me how to make a custom ChatGPT for more personalized responses to my prompts. Here are the essential elements to create a customized GPT:
Who the GPT is: “You’re a marketing professional that specializes in mid-career artists….”
Who you are: You want to give it the relevant facts - but also a sense of your written voice. I created and uploaded a PDF that had a wide range of my written materials: artist statements from three bodies of work, my bio & CV and several curatorial essays from my Thinking About Photography site.
What you want it to do: “I want to create a gpt that can work with me to create a marketing plan for my fine art photography.”
Once my “Art Marketing Assistant” GPT was created, I worked with it to make a year-long marketing plan. By the way, I usually do my input verbally - it’s just so much easier than having to type everything - you get a transcription and then a written answer. Here’s the first steps I took with my Art Marketing GPT:
Purpose (what do you want it to do): “I am a mid-career fine art photographer specializing in narrative, cinematic composited photos printed in alternative processes. Design a marketing strategy that includes a social media component.”
Expand on your ideas by having it ask you questions: I used this approach multiple times, telling it “I'd like to start each one of the phases with you asking me questions that will help us develop solutions that will be relevant for me. I'd like you to ask at least four questions and feel free to ask follow-up questions as well.”
Fine Tune with limitations: one of the problems with AI is it can give you unlimited answers - so I generally limit it to 4-5 and often limit the word count as well.
Urgency: This last one is a bit strange for me - but apparently chats are influenced by a sense of how crucial this is for you. So… “This is life or death for me” might give you better results. I’m not that extreme, but I do emphasize how important it is for me.
So that’s how I’m starting to find AI a useful tool to work with. I am continuing to develop my marketing plan - to get an idea of what it’s like communicating with a GPT, I’ve uploaded a sample from the plan I’m working on. I do want to stress that working with AI, whether it’s imagery or business, is never just “push a button and boom, it’s done.” It takes time and commitment to get good results. Please feel free to leave a comment on how it’s worked for you!
Thank you Ann for helping me start my new marketing chatgpt:-)