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Thriller or booster? How AI transforms traditional photography studios

Aug 18, 2023 By Admin in Photography

Traditional photography studios are still expanding and opening more stores, despite the debuts of artificial intelligence algorithms that are claimed to “generate” portrait photos online within seconds.

The opinion that “generative AI will replace offline photography studios ” is groundless, at least in the near future, Shanghai Daily learned at a recent industry exhibition.

Photo & Imaging (P&I) Shanghai 2023 attracted photography studios, camera and accessory vendors, and service providers including AI algorithm developers. The three-day event, held last week in Shanghai, had over 80,000 visitors.

Zhu Shenshen / SHINE

The booth of Naive Blue attracts many visitors in the P&I show held in Shanghai earlier this month.

Naive Blue, which operates more than 100 boutique photography studios to create the “most beautiful ID photos,” did not seem overly worried at the show about its generative AI rivals. These include Miaoya, an Alibaba-owned app which allows users to generate a digital and optimized portrait photo by uploading 20 of their own pictures for a cost of only 9.9 yuan (US$1.36).

“You can clearly see the ‘AI style’ of those digital clones,” a staff member of Naive Blue who declined to be identified told Shanghai Daily. “Obviously, we serve different customer groups.”

Customers of Naive Blue, whose shops are often located in popular shopping centers, are willing to pay at least several hundred yuan, or even thousands of yuan, at the studios. The cost includes clothes, make-up and fine-tuning by experienced photographers and editors, much more than AI offers, the staff member stressed.

Customers are normally young women having photos taken for “meaningful moments and memories,” such as university graduation, birthdays, or a first professional portrait for their LinkedIn profile and resumes. In August, Naive Blue opened its first store on Chongming island in Shanghai.

Ti Gong

EasyFast services cover IDs, birthdays, weddings, and portrait photography, with affordable prices and fast processing methods.

EasyFast, a sub-brand of Naive Blue with over 600 outlets nationwide, was actively seeking more franchise partners at the show. With the slogan, “Make photographers richer,” it received many inquiries and applications at the P&I show.

Comparatively, EasyFast is a community photography kiosk brand, which offers ID and visa photo services at affordable prices, starting from 50 yuan.

It has developed an AI photo optimization system for people to start their own business as soon as possible. This offers seven days of training for all franchise partners, primarily in camera operation and simple make-up services. People without photography editing experiences can rely on the AI optimization system, Shanghai Daily learned at the EasyFast booth.

Zhu Shenshen / SHINE

Many people visited the EasyFast booth to inquire about franchise programs. The company aims to provide good photo services near home.

Portrait photographers and studios are believed to face potential threats from AI algorithm programs like Miaoya, which made its debut in July and soon became a popular service.

Some people even believe that Miaoya could replace the services developed by Himo Photo Studio and Naive Blue, leading to a debate of “It’s a photo of you, but does it capture your true essence?” that was reported by Shanghai Daily previously.

Compared with studio photos, those produced by Miaoya are not parallel in the level of high-resolution, diversification, and there is no chances that studio staffers can provide clothing and makeup, along with a tips session if needed to help people relax in front of the lens.

Earlier this week, officials from Miaoya said that does not intend to replace offline photo studios, but to enrich the service methods to meet demand from those who are unable to access or afford photography studios.

Imaginechina

AI photo service Miaoya helps people generate photos online.

Also facing the trending generative AI wave, Meitu, China’s most popular portrait and selfie optimization app, had its own response.

During the P&I show in Shanghai , Meitu showcased its latest AI processing and finetuning tool Yunxiu Pro for the commercial photography market. It provides high-quality image processing services and shortens the photo preview time to promote the digitalization of the industry

In on-site demos in Meitu’s booth, users could optimize the look of their skin and face with one-click adaptations within seconds. Comparatively, it often takes at least five to 10 minutes to process each photo even by experienced experts in the studios.

Zhu Shenshen / SHINE

Meitu showcases its AI photo processing service Yunxiu at the show.

Currently, Yunxiu helps studios to greatly cut costs and time when finetuning photos, and is used by 30,000 commercial photography organizations, covering career photos and photography services for tourists, children and pets. Annually, more than 500 million pictures are processed by Meitu Yunxiu, the company said.

The cost of each photo processing is less than 0.3 yuan using Meitu Yunxiu. Comparatively, each option, such as a change of background color, costs customers 30 to 50 yuan additionally, which boost profit margins for studios, Shanghai Daily learned.

It is an industry with great potential as China added 350,000 new commercial photography studios in 2022, with a rapid growing market value expected to reach 700 billion yuan by 2026, experts said at the P&I show.

Downtown Williams Lake Art Walk kicks off at Friday farmers’ market

Aug 18, 2023 By Admin in Art World News

Calliope Galvez, one and a half, was having fun peeking through the photo op cut outs at the Downtown Williams Lake Art Walk booth at the Williams Lake Farmers’ Market on Aug. 11, 2023. (Ruth Lloyd photo – Williams Lake Tribune)

Meya Batty, right, eight years old, and Myles Batty, three years old, were painting at the booth celebrating the grand opening of the Art Walk in Williams Lake on August 11, 2023. (Ruth Lloyd photo – Williams Lake Tribune)

Xavier Vivier, three, was playing a bit of a game peeking through the photo op cut outs at the Downtown Williams Lake Art Walk booth at the Williams Lake Farmers’ Market on Aug. 11, 2023. (Ruth Lloyd photo – Williams Lake Tribune)

Tanis Armstrong is one of the Art Walk artists this year, and was at the Williams Lake Farmers’ Market to help promote the event. (Melinda Mitchell photo – Williams Lake Tribune)

The 2023 Downtown Williams Lake Art Walk was celebrating the grand opening of the month-long community event with activities for all ages at the Friday farmers’ market.

Downtown Williams Lake’s Sherry Yonkman, executive director, and Amanda Fuller, event coordinator, were busy hosting a number of things for farmers’ market patrons on Aug. 11.

From fun photo cut outs to sidewalk chalk art to painting self portraits and colouring pages, the booth was offering up activities along with information in the annual art walk guide.

This year’s art walk includes 30 artists being featured in 30 downtown locations, 11 of those artists are new to the art walk this year.

Art walk is a self-guided tour through downtown venues, where patrons get to stop into local businesses and buildings to see local art displayed. Guide books provide a map, information on the artists and a “passport” to collect stamps which then allows for walkers to enter into a draw to win some art from their favourite artist.

Art walk has been going on in Williams Lake since 1999 and is a beloved annual event which provides citizens with a great way to explore the community, celebrating local businesses and artists.

Do you have a comment about this story? email:
ruth.lloyd@wltribune.com
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Visual Arts Williams Lake

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Aug 18, 2023 By Admin in Native

Artistic abilities flow through Caitlin Irene’s veins. Photography, painting and sketching make up a few of the Tall City native’s talents, but the versatility and therapeutic aspects the Midland High alum found in her college ceramics courses stole her heart.

After graduating from The University of Texas Permian Basin in 2021 with an art degree, Caitlin decided to try her hand at opening a small clay-based business. With just a little more than 10 pieces to her name, the creator headed to local farmers markets to test the waters. Soon, commissioned requests started coming.

“I want to make art that connects people,” Caitlin explained. “For me, some of that comes from if I make two mugs and you buy one for you, one for your friend and then the two of you have coffee together at your house — I want to make art for moments.”

Inline with her community-focused drive, Caitlin often finds herself forming a number of functional pieces. Some may appear simplistic in design while others radiate abstract creativity, but at the end of the day, each piece generates a different set of behind-the-scenes challenges.

“Right now I’m making lamps. That’s been a new adventure for me because I’m having to learn how to wire a lamp and putting shades with vessels,” Caitlin said.

Yet, no challenge seems to deter the innovator away from her craft. Even with misconceptions flowing through the non-artist world about the “starving artist” lifestyle, Caitlin continuously tries to bridge the gap caused by the misunderstanding and encourages fellow artists to do the same.

“I try to help people understand the work behind the process. (Ceramics) is a serious thing, it’s a real skill set, and part of how I’m able to make it look simple or easy is the hundreds of hours I’ve put into it,” Caitlin stated. “When you put your art out into the world, It’s extremely vulnerable. People are going to pass by it, and that’s something you just have learn. You have to continue to show up.”

One way Caitlin gets showcases her expertise is through workshops. Her next workshop (open to the community) will be from 7 to 9 p.m. Aug. 31 at 2200 W. Wadley Ave., suite 206b. To buy tickets and to keep up with Caitlin’s activities around town, check out her Instagram @caitlinireneceramics or her website www.caitlinirene.com.

Neighbors rally as Reagan statue in Balboa Island home patio of its sculptor is defaced

Aug 18, 2023 By Admin in Sculpture

The bronze statue of the former president that has greeted passersby with a smile and a wave for 11 years without incident was sprayed with foam insulation in an act of vandalism last weekend.

New Moon Rising: Rentable artist studios to open in former Junior League building

Aug 18, 2023 By Admin in Printmaking

With 10 spaces already under lease by Springfield artists – and an 11th agreement in the works – the New Moon Studio Space is set to open Sept. 1 in the former headquarters of a local nonprofit.

‘Ground Zero 360’ among three new exhibitions at St. Bonaventure’s Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts

Aug 18, 2023 By Admin in Native

Aug 18, 2023

Photo, top: “Stars and Stripes at Ground Zero” by Nicola McClean
Painting, bottom: “From the Ashes, We Rise,” mixed media on board painting by Rachel Gardner

“Ground Zero 360,” an internationally acclaimed exhibition conveying the chaos, courage and emotion of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on New Yok City’s World Trade Center, is one of three new exhibitions opening at St. Bonaventure
University’s Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts in September.

The other new exhibitions include “Hand and Spirit,” a collection of contemporary Southwestern artwork bequeathed to the Quick Center by the late David Van Buren, a St. Bonaventure graduate, and a companion exhibition of Southwest art titled
“Art and Hand,” which is curated by Gary Keem, a 1969 St. Bonaventure graduate.

All three exhibitions open to the public in Quick Center galleries on Monday, Sept. 11.

“Ground Zero 360” honors the victims of 9/11 and the valor of New York City police officers, firefighters and rescue workers who rushed to the World Trade Center in the aftermath of the terrorist attack. The exhibition features artwork created
by artists from around the world to commemorate the day.

The exhibition is the brainchild of Nicola McClean, a photojournalist who was working in New York City on 9/11, and her husband, Paul McCormack, a retired inspector with the New York Police Department. McCormack, a native of Donegal, Ireland, was
among the many police officers who responded to the World Trade Center, while McClean, a native of Dublin, Ireland, took thousands of photographs of the devastation in and around Ground Zero.

“Our exhibition includes more than 40 original pieces of artwork created by professional artists from all over the world,” notes Evelyn Penman, interim executive director and senior curator at the Quick Center. “It is this stunning artwork
that defines this exhibition and takes it well beyond the factual events of 9/11 at Ground Zero.”

Exhibition visitors will be able to touch fragments of a twisted steel I-beam and broken granite from the World Trade Center. Also featured are small steel crosses that ironworkers created onsite at Ground Zero, as well as an American flag that flew over
the site. Personal effects of two victims of 9/11, police officer Moira Smith and firefighter Kevin O’Rourke, which were graciously donated by their loved ones, will also be on display.

Ground Zero 360 is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to preserving the memory of all victims of Sept. 11, 2001.

The exhibition opens Sept. 11 in the Quick Center’s Paul W. Beltz Gallery on the second floor and runs through Oct. 29.

The “Hand and Spirit” exhibition brings to life the culture of the American Southwest. It features a collection of modern kachinas, 27 paintings and drawings, as well as more than 60 pieces of pottery created by artists whose families have
been creating traditional pottery for hundreds of years.

The collection was bequeathed to the Quick Center by the late David Van Buren, a 1969 St. Bonaventure graduate and longtime criminal justice professor at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. Van Buren fell in love with the American Southwest while
serving as a visiting scholar at Northern Arizona University, researching peacemaking and the tribal courts of the Navajo Nation.

“The Van Buren collection adds a new dimension to the University Art Collection,” Penman said. “It will eventually be integrated into our contemporary galleries so that it can be acknowledged as the exceptional art that it is.”

The exhibition opens Sept. 11 in the Winifred Shortell Kenney Gallery on the Quick Center’s second floor and continues through the fall semester.

“Art and Hand,” a companion to the Van Buren collection exhibition, features contemporary Southwest pottery as well as paintings by Raymond L. Knaub, Don Brackett and the late Buffalo-based painter and sculptor Joseph Orffeo. The exhibition
is curated by Gary Keem, a 1969 St. Bonaventure graduate.

The exhibition opens Sept. 11 in the first-floor Front Gallery and runs through Dec. 15.

The Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts at St. Bonaventure University is presently observing summer hours, which are noon to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Beginning Monday, Aug. 28, the hours will be noon to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Weekend hours,
noon to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, begin Sept. 16.

______________

About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure University is a community committed to transforming the lives of our students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a lifelong commitment to service and
citizenship. St. Bonaventure was named the #5 regional university value in the North in U.S. News and World Report’s 2022 college rankings edition.

Mike’s adventures in art: Titanish, COSMOS, Dream, Night Market

Aug 17, 2023 By Admin in Art World News

If you’re looking for tips on how to experience art in the Seattle area, you’re in the right place. In this weekly post, KUOW reporter Mike Davis has suggestions for what to do around Seattle over the weekend so you can have your own adventures in arts and culture.

Theater

Titanish, is playing at Seattle Public Theater. This theatrical parody of the classic movie “Titanic” is a hilarious farce. Presented by The Habit, the award-winning comedy troupe behind “A Very Die Hard Christmas,” this 60-minute production is a whirlwind of comedy, music, and pop-culture references.

The pacing is so fast, that I missed a joke here and there, but the story being told had a nice flow that carried throughout. I enjoyed the mix of original and cover music that ensured the audience got plenty of classic Titanic sprinkled throughout, while also providing numbers we haven’t heard that were delightful.

If you head to Green Lake to catch the performance, be sure you are mindful of which tickets you purchase. If you sit in the First Class Deck, you will find yourself in the action of the show! The folks in that section on opening night seemed to have a blast, and the theater was rocking with laughs and cheers all night.

This is a great change of pace from a lot of the theater in town tackling tough issues, but this production still manages to provide a critique of class, wealth, and patriarchy, while still finding room to poke fun at submersibles and Super Mario.

caption: Titanish promo Kooper Campbell and Justine Stillwell

Titanish, showing at Seattle Public Theater until September 17.

“Dream!” is showing at Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute. This is the 27th installment of Seattle’s Teen Summer Musical. Presented by Acts on Stage, in partnership with Seattle Parks and Recreation, this latest production from writer and director Isiah Anderson, Jr., follows the story of a group of teens who are overcoming societal obstacles as they chase their dreams. With a cast of talented youth, this is a chance to get an early peek into the upcoming talent in the region.

“Dream!” at Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center Aug. 18-20 and 25-27.

Music

COSMOS, is playing a reunion show at Madame Lou’s. For one night only, the former Sound Off! champs will take the stage. Back in my days as a music reporter, I had the chance to cover this band and catch their performances, so I must say, this show excites me. With a blend of hip-hop, funk, and rock, that comes together with strong vocal performances from frontman Campana, this is a show that music lovers will enjoy.

To get ready for this show, you can go back and listen to the COSMOS record, “Moonshine“, which was produced by four of the five members of the band, and which allowed for the individual songs to showcase the tastes of the talented individual musicians in the group. Saxophonist Daniel Leong was a stand out with his solo riffs, but the powerful, often social justice inspired lyrics of Campana was the glue that brought it all together.

COSMOS, playing at Madame Lou’s Thursday Aug. 17.

Arts Events

Columbia City Night Market, is this Saturday in Columbia City. This event, located in South Seattle, features food trucks, performing artists, vendors and makers, live music, fresh produce, and lots of fun for the whole family. It’s similar to a farmers market, except, this happens at night, and includes a beer garden.

Columbia City Night Market, Saturday Aug. 19, 6-10 p.m. at 3702 S Hudson St Seattle, WA 98118.

YSAC seeks artists for Live Oak mural project

Aug 17, 2023 By Admin in Native

Yuba Sutter Arts & Culture is seeking artists to create murals in Live Oak as part of its ongoing Murals of Live Oak project.

The first set of murals in this multi-year project were created in 2017, and the project has since established 10 large-scale murals throughout Live Oak. Additional murals will be added to the area thanks to funding from the city of Live Oak and match funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, officials said.

The Art Angle Podcast: Why the Art Market’s Struggles Spell Opportunity

Aug 17, 2023 By Admin in Art World News

Welcome to the Art Angle, a podcast from Artnet News that delves into the places where the art world meets the real world, bringing each week’s biggest story down to earth. Join us every week for an in-depth look at what matters most in museums, the art market, and much more, with input from our own writers and editors, as well as artists, curators, and other top experts in the field.

So… how is the art market doing these days?

If you want to know the answer, you’re in luck, because the latest issue of Artnet’s biannual Intelligence Report just dropped. It’s a special edition, marking the five-year anniversary of the report, which we debuted back in 2018 as a way of fusing Artnet’s unparalleled market data with the industry-leading abilities of our market journalists.

Unfortunately, the findings this time around are less than festive—in fact, the art market has taken a major hit this year.

To quickly review a few bracing data points collected between January 1 and May 20 of this year—auction sales of trophy lots $10 million dollars and above plummeted 51 percent compared to the equivalent period last year; the fine-art auction market as a whole tumbled 14 percent, to $5 billion dollars worldwide; and, tellingly, the much-speculated-upon Ultra Contemporary art sector of work by artists born after 1974 fell down by 26 percent.

After years of steady growth in the market, these are very troubling numbers—and if you’re an auction house, or an auction consigner, you may be a little freaked out right now.

So hat does this mean? Should art professionals be panicking in the streets? Or should they be doing something else… and maybe making a lot of money in the process?

Recently these questions were at the heart of a live conversation, exclusive for Artnet Pro members, that editor in chief Andrew Goldstein conducted with the Art Detective columnist herself, senior reporter Katya Kazakina, based on Katya’s tour-de-force cover story on the state of the art business in the new Intelligence Report, available to read in full here.

Listen to more episodes:

The Art Angle Podcast: The Pleasures and Paradoxes of Seurat’s Iconic ‘Sunday Afternoon’

The Art Angle: How Surrealist Artist Leonora Carrington Carved Her Space in a Male-Dominated World

The Art Angle Roundup: Frieze’s Expansion, Pollock’s NFTs, and Barbenheimer’s Impact

The Art Angle Podcast: A Security Guard’s Love Letter to the Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Art Angle Podcast: How Meow Wolf Turned Into an Unlikely Art Juggernaut

The Art Angle Podcast: The Stunning Fall of Lisa Schiff, Art Advisor to the Stars

Follow Artnet News on Facebook:
Want to stay ahead of the art world? Subscribe to our newsletter to get the breaking news, eye-opening interviews, and incisive critical takes that drive the conversation forward.

Coming Oct. 11-15: New Concert and Event Series Bellingham Exit

Aug 17, 2023 By Admin in Art World News

Submitted by Bellingham Exit

Bellingham Exit, a multi-day, multi-stage, multi-sensory experience will be held in downtown Bellingham from Wednesday, Oct. 11 through Sunday, Oct. 15. The festival will feature music, art, comedy, dance parties, art vendors, and curiosities on the fringe of expectations.

The line-up includes Deltron 3030 (reunited hip-hop project), The Hu (Mongolian metal legends), Monet X Change (RuPaul’s Drag Race), Marc Maron (stand-up comedian and screenwriter), Joe Pera (stand-up comedian), The Pharcyde (classic hip-hop artists), Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway (bluegrass Grammy winner), The Funk Hunters (funky electronic duo) and many more.

Exit the Ordinary

Familiar downtown music venues will transform into living, breathing art installations. Bellingham Exit draws comparison to other events that take over cities like South By Southwest, Treefort Music Festival, and Iceland Airwaves but it’s set apart by its art-forward approach, themed this year after Bellingham’s “natural world.”

Exit’s Core Venues — Wild Buffalo (The Nest Stage), The Shakedown (Mush Room Stage), The Blue Room (Moon Emporium Stage), New Prospect Theater (Deep Sea Comedy Stage) — will be brought to life by WWU professor Mark Kuntz and the team at Bellingham Theatreworks.

The inaugural Bellingham Exit includes free concerts in unexpected spaces supported directly by local businesses. Community partners are scheduled to host these DIY, pop-up style shows around the city and will include Ritual Records, Black Noise Records, Red Rum Tiki Bar, Champlin Guitars, Culture Cafe, Bantam, Mallard Ice Cream, Gruff Brewing, and The Upfront Theatre.Attendees will also find treasures and culture at Bellingham Bazaar, a two-day indie art market with more than 30 PNW vendors and craftspeople, produced by BE.

Ticketing/RSVP

A limited 200 festival passes will be available for Bellingham Exit offering fans priority access to all events throughout the week. Individual tickets will also be available, as well as various “free with RSVP” events throughout downtown.

Learn more and get tickets at www.bellinghamexit.com.

Who is Bellingham Exit?

A team of local and regional industry professionals compile the Exit team. Hunter Motto is the music director for Bellingham festival Northwest Tune-Up, creative director at legendary Seattle venue the Crocodile, and a Western Washington Alumni. Off the heels of this year’s successful second Northwest Tune-Up festival, Hunter and his team aim to grow and elevate the local music and arts community through Bellingham Exit.

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