Conceptual Art Photography: From Photoshop to AI
Exploring the evolving tools of visual storytelling — where creative concepts meet digital manipulation
Concepts communicated through art, a unique communication tool an effective way to create messages, powerful, yet subtle. In this article, I explain the art form as it relates to photography, dispensing several ways to create it, an awesome process for critically thinking photographers.
While in my favorite city in Mexico — San Cristobal de las Casas, I took a painting class, not your everyday acrylic or watercolors, but pigments — natural ones — that were used to paint the stucco on old colonial buildings in the city.
I was given a selection of surfaces to paint on. I chose a brick. I had to think for a while what I would put on it. I opted for an American flag, or a facsimile thereof. Above you see the result. What I didn’t realize was that I painted a powerful symbol of a country that wasn’t Mexico. People around me stopped to look at it because of how and where it was created. Make of it what you will, as there are many implications. To be sure, it was a clever choice because of its conceptual nature. I made conceptual art.
As an art form that is created in any genre from sculpture to photography, conceptualism is more than telling a story. It’s that with a heavy dose of symbolism, communicating multiple powerful messages.
Over the years, conceptual photography has transformed the world of photography as advertisers devour the medium to sell products and services. “Conceptual photography is understood as the art of creating images that evoke emotions and abstract ideas as opposed to creating images that exist purely for aesthetic value” (Anthony, 2023).
Conceptual photography often juxtaposes elements that usually don’t go together well. The process can be long and laborious — setting up and photographing a vase of flowers blasted by a pellet gun, for example.
Take a picture of conceptual art and you have concept photography, a fine art form anyone can create. Creating a conceptual art photo can be pursued in three ways other than creating the art and taking a photograph of it:
Found Concept — The world of happenstance concepts can appear anywhere and anytime. While walking the vast Huntington Library and Gardens near Pasadena, California, I spotted three stalks of bamboo wrapped together with a bright red and white polka dot shawl. Go figure. It appeared as if the stalks wore clothes — personification (attaching human qualities to inanimate objects) as a concept at its best.
Photograph combinations — Juxtaposing one part of a photo over another is as easy as copying and pasting in Photoshop. Layers are important here, so you can work with each photo one at a time and flatten your image at the end of the process. In the photo above, I created a collage from various windows I’ve shot.
Then I noticed an opportunity to put someone in one of the windows. The someone was a woman in a Coastal Alaska town who was dressed smart outfit containing several articles of clothing stitched together. Ah ha, then I saw the opportunity for selective color (colorization) of the photo, leaving the woman in color and the windows in black and white.
Adding AI elements. You can use Photoshop’s generative fill tool to add what you think would be a good concept to the photo. The photo above began with an image of three stacks of newspapers bundled tightly together. I thought what would happen if I put a man reading a newspaper sitting on top of the stack.
Viola! I went to work and cordoned off a rectangle selection to let Photoshop know where to place my request. I got lucky because usually, placing a described item inside a photo is not a task the Generative Fill Tool in Photoshop does well. I filled in the prompt for the Generative Fill Tool with the following: “place a man sitting on top of the newspapers. Then the luck arrived, not only was the man proportioned ideally for the photo, he also looked real. Usually, invented AI images look plasticy. Yet this one didn’t.
In addition to conceptual art photography’s use in advertising, it can also be used in protest. You can send some heavy-handed messages using this genre. Above is image of eggs for sale with an added element of how the birds can be treated.
Tips of the Trade
When you have a couple of hours to blow, look around you for found conceptual shots.
Sort through your pictures to find ones that can send unique, strong messages and combine them. If you find a few photos that work well together, create a collage. Then add a concept, such as a woman peering out a window.
If you’ve got some photographs lying around that you want to jazz up, now’s the time for AI.
Conceptualizing the mundane, while seemingly simple, takes thought and perseverance. Challenges come up frequently during the process from being unable to shoot a found conceptual scene to AI not working correctly, or just not working at all.
References
Anthony, J. (2023). Conceptual Photography — The Story Behind the Shot. Art in Context. Link
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