Mixboard is Google’s Mood Board Tool That Could Be Useful to Photographers
Conceptual and advertising photographers planning a shoot often turn to mood boards to help sculpt the aesthetic of their project; with that in mind Google Labs has released an intriguing new tool called Mixboard.
Mixboard is an “experimental, AI-powered concepting board designed to help you explore, expand, and refine ideas.”
In years gone by, photographers might cut out pictures from magazines or print out photos. Latterly, they might have turned to Pinterest or Canva to create a mood board.
But new technology means new ways to create a mood board and Google’s AI can help “visualize a vast array of possibilities, from home decor and event themes to new product ideas or your next DIY project with images and text.”
Bringing a mood board to a set can be a handy reference point for photographers. Instead of improvising everything, they can glance at the board to recall key visual cues like pose references, lighting angles, and tones.
Mood boards can be shared with clients, models, stylists, makeup artists, and art directors to make sure everyone is aligned. It’s a fast way to show the vibe of the project, without relying on words alone.
Like many generative AI apps, a project on Mixboard can be started via a text prompt and users can add their own photos or even use AI to generate an image.
“Edit your boards with natural language to do things like make small changes, combine images and more, with our new image editing model Nano Banana,” Google says.
Ideas can be remixed and iterated on by using the buttons “regenerate” and “more like this.” Mixboard can also put together a text document based on what’s on the board, a potentially handy tool if the photographer or client is putting together a brief.
Mixboard is available as a public beta in the U.S. It is still an early experiment. The Verge notes that Mixboard is similar to Adobe’s Firefly Boards and Figjam.
To try it, head to labs.google/mixboard. There is also a Discord community.
