Profoto sets a challenge for photographers, Chris Knight and Lindsay Adler, to orchestrate a portrait shoot with some limitations: the color theme of the shoot is the Pantone Color of the Year and although each photographer can use as many lights as they like, they have to use hard reflectors.

I often preach the value of going behind the scenes of photoshoots to learn how top photographers work and what their setups look like. Well, what’s better than one photographer’s shoot? This video is, of course, advertising for Profoto under a thin veil, but that doesn’t mean it’s not highly useful content.

Both Knight and Adler have been given the same brief and it’s interesting to see the routes they each take. The lighting and color restrictions mean that the results are bound to be high-contrast and similarly toned, but the directions are vastly different. Adler falls back on high-end fashion and Knight leans more toward an editorial style. Both photographers opt for complex lighting setups, but thankfully, they talk you through their decisions. It’s worth noting that magenta can be a tremendously difficult color to work with when it comes to portraiture!

Which images do you think were the best? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

A photographer has stirred up fresh controversy and debate after his AI image won first prize at one of the world’s most prestigious photography competitions. He has since declined to accept the prize while the contest has remained silent on the matter.

Berlin-based “photomedia artist” Boris Eldagsen participated this year in the World Photography Organization’s Sony World Photography Awards, a leading photo contest that offers prizes that include $5,000 cash, Sony camera equipment, a trip to London for the awards ceremony, and/or worldwide publicity through a book and exhibition.

Eldagsen submitted an image titled THE ELECTRICIAN to the Creative category of the 2023 Open competition. It picture appears to be a portrait of two women captured with a photographic process from the early days of photography.

The photo is part of a series titled PSEUDOMNESIA: Fake Memories that Eldagsen has been working on since 2022.

“PSEUDOMNESIA is the Latin term for pseudo memory, a fake memory, such as a spurious recollection of events that never took place, as opposed to a memory that is merely inaccurate,” the artist writes on the project page. “The following images have been co-produced by the means of AI (artificial intelligence) image generators.

“Using the visual language of the 1940s, Boris Eldagsen produces his images as fake memories of a past, that never existed, that no one photographed. These images were imagined by language and re-edited more between 20 to 40 times through AI image generators, combining ‘inpainting’, ‘outpainting’, and ‘prompt whispering’ techniques.

“Just as photography replaced painting in the reproduction of reality, AI will replace photography. Don’t be afraid of the future. It will just be more obvious that our mind always created the world that makes it suffer.”

1st Prize in the Creative Category

The photo went on to not only be shortlisted in the Creative category, but judges selected it as the overall winner of that category.

When the winners in the Open Competition were announced on March 14th, Eldagsen took to his blog to share his views of the win and of AI.

“I am very happy that I won the creative category of Sony World Photography Awards 2023 / Open Competition / Single Image,” he wrote last month. “I have been photographing since 1989, been a photomedia artist since 2000. After two decades of photography, my artistic focus has shifted to exploring the creative possibilities of AI generators.”

“The work SWPA [Sony World Photography Awards] has chosen is the result of a complex interplay of prompt engineering, inpainting, and outpainting that draws on my wealth of photographic knowledge. For me, working with AI image generators is a co-creation, in which I am the director. It is not about pressing a button – and done it is. It is about exploring the complexity of this process, starting with refining text prompts, then developing a complex workflow, and mixing various platforms and techniques. The more you create such a workflow and define parameters, the higher your creative part becomes.

Eldagsen says that he calls his work “images” and not “photographs” since they are “synthetically produced, using ‘the photographic’ as a visual language.” He also says that he is trying to bring this distinction to the forefront in the photo contest industry so that separate awards can be created for AI images.

“Participating in open calls, I want to speed up the process of the Award organizers to become aware of this difference and create separate competitions for AI-generated images,” the artist says.

Eldagsen’s win has been controversial, with photographers bemoaning the fact that an image created without any camera or light managed to take a top photography prize over actual photographers.

Refusal of the Prize

Eldagsen added a note to his website yesterday announcing that he was refusing the award and prize of Sony camera equipment. In an open letter to the contest’s organizers, the artist explained that the whole thing had been an experiment and effort to accelerate the conversation about this subject.

“Thank you for selecting my image and making this a historic moment, as it is the first AI-generated image to win in a prestigious international PHOTOGRAPHY competition,” Eldagsen writes. “How many of you knew or suspected that it was AI generated? Something about this doesn’t feel right, does it?

“AI images and photography should not compete with each other in an award like this. They are different entities. AI is not photography. Therefore I will not accept the award.”

Eldagsen writes that this whole incident has shown that the art world has been ill-prepared for the rapid advancement of AI image generation technologies, which has exploded onto the scene this year through projects like Midjourney and DALL-E.

“I applied as a cheeky monkey, to find out, if the competitions are prepared for AI images to enter. They are not,” he states. “We, the photo world, need an open discussion. A discussion about what we want to consider photography and what not. Is the umbrella of photography large enough to invite AI images to enter – or would this be a mistake?

“With my refusal of the award, I hope to speed up this debate.

“Having been a photographer for 30 years before I turned to AI, I understand the pros and cons of this debate and will be happy to join the conversation.”

The World Photo Organization has yet to make a public statement about Eldagsen’s win and the ensuing controversy — PetaPixel has reached out for comment and has not yet heard back — but all mention of Eldagsen’s image and win have quietly disappeared from the competition’s website and from the exhibition.

The gallery page for the Creative category no longer lists any entry as the “Winner”.

Update: Eldagsen actually traveled to London from Berlin on his own dime to visit the exhibition that is being held at Somerset House and to attend the awards ceremony put on by the Sony World Photography Awards.

“I paid [for the] flight, hotel, and a rented tuxedo,” the artist tells PetaPixel. “A €800 [~$800] bill to say no to $5,000 [worth of] Sony gear.”

Not only did Eldagsen attend the ceremony, but he also crashed the main stage uninvited and spoke briefly to the audience to deliver his statement in person.

“As I have never been to a SWPA award ceremony, I expected to have a short moment on stage, as an open competition category winner,” the artist explains. “But I didn’t.

“They only asked the overall open competition winner on stage. Then they had dinner break. After dinner break before the 2nd part of the show started I went straight to the host. Told her that my image was selected as a winner for the creative category / open competition and if I can say something.

“As she was taken by surprise I did it anyhow. That’s it. No response. The 2nd part started, the show must go on.

“I stayed until the end. No one from SWPA or CREO approached me, no one was interested in communicating with me.”

Only after his Kanye West-style interruption of the ceremony did he find that he had been scrubbed entirely from the website and exhibition.

The World Photography Organization has not yet responded to PetaPixel‘s request for comment.

With SCAD’s senior fashion show right around the corner, The Connector decided to reach out to Shan Shi, a recent SCAD photography M.F.A. graduate, for some insight into fashion photography. Shi is from China but has been living in New York since 2020 as a professional photographer.  

How would you describe your photography style? 

“As an artist, I’ve had the privilege of exploring various styles and techniques in my photography. My educational background includes a degree in commercial photography, and my graduate studies were focused on fine art photography. However, my true passion lies in fashion photography. Through 8 years of professional experience, I’ve honed my skills and have become adaptable to various environments. I thrive on pushing the boundaries and am constantly seeking out new challenges. For me, creativity is about exploring new avenues and avoiding the monotony of repetition.” 

How would you describe your fashion photography collaboration process?

“When collaborating on a fashion project, my process begins with establishing the desired style and conducting thorough research. I then create a mood board, paying special attention to the location where the shoot will take place. I always visit the location beforehand to ensure it fits the vision.

After that, I identify a stylist who can source appropriate clothing and a makeup artist who understands my vision. Finally, I select models who fit the theme and will bring the vision to life.

For designers who wish to collaborate with me, I review their designs and concepts and create a mood board to ensure alignment with the overall vision. In addition, I carefully consider makeup and model options to complement and enhance the designs.”

If you had to choose 3 ‘holy grail’ tips for photographers when collaborating on a fashion photography project, what would they be? 

1. “Do the research! You need to do enough research to determine the style, lighting, location, makeup, hair, and accessories. It’s important to have a clear concept in mind before starting the project and to communicate it effectively with the designer to ensure everyone is on the same page.”
2. “Manage the team. As a photographer, you need to be on set early and to make sure the makeup, styling and lighting are what you want.”
3. “You need to focus on all the details and make sure everything is correct. If you made a big mistake the first time you worked with the designer, there won’t be a second time.”

Shi will be at the Savannah campus from April 13 – 15 as an alumni mentor to teach workshops and share what she has learned at SCAD and through her own professional career.  Follow Shi on Instagram to see more of her work.

The Sony World Photography Awards 2023 has just announced its overall winners at a special gala ceremony in London. 

The Photographer of the Year title was awarded to Edgar Martins (Portugal) for his moving series, ‘Our War’, paying homage to his friend, photojournalist Anton Hammerl, who was killed during the Libyan Civil War in 2011. 

With over 200 prints and digital displays from winning and shortlisted photographers, the Sony World Photography Awards exhibition opens at Somerset House, London from today (14 April) until 1 May 2023, showcasing incredible talent from all around the world. 

But if you can’t make it to the exhibit, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with a photo gallery of the major winners and the incredible stories behind their images. 

Get ready to be transported to a world of beauty and wonder, from breathtaking aerial shots of frozen Polish lakes to adorable black bear cubs in North Carolina.

Photographer of the Year: Edgar Martins (Portugal)

The Photographer of the Year title has been awarded to the acclaimed photographer Edgar Martins (Portugal) for his series ‘Our War’.

‘Our War’ is an original and nuanced tribute to the photographer’s late friend the photojournalist Anton Hammerl, who was abducted and killed on 5 April 2011 by government militia, during the Libyan Civil War.

Frustrated by unsuccessful attempts to ascertain the whereabouts of his friend’s last mortal remains, Martins took matters into his own hands and travelled to Libya. He was brought in covertly by a petrol smuggler and was immediately faced with enormous challenges working in such a volatile environment.

Realising that he would not be able to carry out a thorough and independent investigation, Martins instead chose to reflect on the question: ‘How does one tell a story when there is no witness, no testimony, no evidence, no subject?’

Creative winner: Lee-Ann Olwage (South Africa)

Architecture and Design winner: Fan Li (China Mainland)

Documentary Projects winner: Hugh Kinsella Cunningham (United Kingdom)

The photo project by Hugh Kinsella Cunningham highlights the role of women in promoting peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has been marred by conflict and violence for almost two decades.

It features portraits and in-depth stories of female activists who work to create dialogue between armed actors and communities, track human rights violations, and plead with rebel leaders to stop attacks. 

Environment winner: Marisol Mendez (Bolivia) & Federico Kaplan (Argentina)

Miruku is a photo project that explores the water shortage experienced by the Wayuus, an indigenous population from La Guajira, Colombia’s coastal desert. 

The project, commissioned by 1854/British Journal of Photography and WaterAid, examines how climate change and human negligence have contributed to the problem. 

Landscape winner: Kacper Kowalski (Poland)

Portfolio winner: James Deavin (United Kingdom)

Sport winner: Al Bello (United States) ]

The photograph series by Al Bello captures Kelsie Whitmore, the first female professional baseball player to play in an all-male pro league. 

She plays outfield and pitches for the Staten Island Ferryhawks in the Atlantic League of professional baseball. 

These photos are a testament to Kelsie’s trailblazing efforts in breaking down barriers and paving the way for future generations of female baseball players. 

Still life winner: Kechun Zhang (China Mainland)

Wildlife and nature winner: Corey Arnold (United States)