Product photography with the use of generative artificial intelligence

This thesis provides professionals and amateur enthusiasts in the field of product photography with the theoretical knowledge needed to create complex advertising visuals, which consist of a photo of a real product inserted into a generated scene, with the goal of minimizing the work and costs associated with set design with the help of generative artificial intelligence. Thanks to the low-budget nature of this process, photographers are able to offer these services to smaller companies that need them for their promotion, but do not possess a large enough budget to cover the costs of high-end production. It is assumed that the product of such company is not yet recognizable enough for AI to be able to generate it, and so the basis of the visual is dependent on a professionally photographed image of the product. Therefore, the contribution of the photographer is essential, as they are not being replaced by artificial intelligence entirely. In the theoretical part of the thesis, the brief history of generative AI is described, as well as the principles of Midjourney, a generative AI program. An overview of the copyright law in Czechia is also covered as it applies to both photography and AI. Finally, the thesis offers a comprehensive list of recommended precautions for a commercial use of outputs generated by artificial intelligence in compliance with legal regulations. In the practical part, a proper workflow while working on an assignment is demonstrated using a real client brief as an example. The result is a comprehensive ad visual prepared to be launched as part of a product campaign. In the end, the costs of creating this result are calculated and then directly compared with the costs associated with the production of the identical assignment, where a set designer was involved.