Photographer Creates Lifelike Social Media Influencer Using Only AI
A photographer whose work has transitioned to being “80% AI” has generated a lifelike social media influencer using artificial intelligence (AI).
Antti Karppinen did not use his camera at all during his latest project for Finnish energy giant Helen where he created a children’s character called Ellen.
“We had to bring Ellen to life and make her appear as realistic as possible, so I started sketching ideas for the character in AI,” Karppinen tells PetaPixel.
“I first used Midjourney to get a good picture of the girl, created variations, and different angles. Once we had the main features down, I created a personalized AI model to make Ellen versatile enough to fit into various situations and environments,” he continues.
“We even had Ellen pose for some real-life photographs with Helen employees and the amazing iconic Finnish actress Seela Sella.”
“To get a lifelike character as possible I used Stable Diffusion AI with ControlNet to get full control over the character with my own personalized AI model,” says Karppinen.
“So the character is fully generated from AI images, it just needed a few steps to get the realism I wanted.”
PetaPixel has featured Karppinen’s pioneering work before, previously reporting how he created a dataset that AI images can be produced from removing the need for any further photography and how recreated his own photos using AI.
While those previous projects still involved some form of Karppinen’s photography, his latest social media influencer undertaking requires no photos whatsoever.
“As an AI specialist, this project was both challenging and thrilling. I had to employ all my skills and tools to make Ellen look as lifelike as possible,” Karppinen writes on his website.
“The results, however, were beyond even my expectations. The project showcased the boundless possibilities that these emerging technologies offer in storytelling and visual productions.”
Karppinen’s trailblazing work could offer a clue as to what might be expected from photographers in the future.
“At the moment 80% of my work is AI related,” he tells PetaPixel. “[There are] some photography projects but I have transitioned quite heavily to this — Big brand clients and lots of consulting and education about AI.”
For further reading, check out Karppinen’s blog about the project. More of Karppinen’s work can be found on his website, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
Image credits: All images by Antti Karppinen.
