Scott Detweiler
Track: Digital Post-production

At a Glance

  • Understand what current AI image tools do well, where they struggle, and how to choose one without getting lost in the hype.
  • Create useful settings, props, textures, and visual ideas that can become believable parts of a photographic composite.
  • Bring photographs and generated material together in Photoshop with stronger masks, light, perspective, color, atmosphere, and finishing.
  • Use language models for concept development, research, planning, prompts, marketing, and client communication without losing your own voice.
  • Build a repeatable path from a rough idea to a finished fine-art image that can support stronger portfolio work and wall-art sales.

Class Description

You already know the feeling of seeing a finished image in your mind, then realizing the location, wardrobe, weather, props, or budget are nowhere nearby. AI gives us another way into that image. It can help create missing pieces, explore a direction before we commit hours to it, and open creative doors that used to require a much larger production. The interesting part is still what you do with those pieces.

In this week-long class, we will build a practical bridge between AI image generation, and the Photoshop skills photographers already use. We will begin with a plain-language look at how image models work, what they are good at, where they tend to fall apart, and how to choose the right tool for the job. You will work with several current image generators and learn how to direct them toward useful material rather than simply hoping for a lucky result.

From there, we move into the part I love most: making the image feel whole. We will use Photoshop to bring generated elements and photographs together through masking, lighting, perspective, color, texture, atmosphere, and the small edge decisions that make a composite believable. AI may help us create raw material, but your eye, taste, and finishing choices are what turn it into your work and it will always be your photography first, never AI.

We will also spend time with language models such as ChatGPT, Claude, and free tools such as Obsidian. You will learn how to give them enough context to become useful creative and business partners for concept development, research, shot planning, prompt building, marketing ideas, and client communication. This is not about handing over your voice. It is about clearing away blank-page work so you have more time for the decisions only you can make.

This class is for portrait, fine-art, commercial, and composite photographers who are comfortable moving around Photoshop and want to understand where AI belongs in a serious creative workflow. You do not need any previous AI experience. This is not a beginner Photoshop class, but you do not need to be an advanced retoucher either. Curiosity, a willingness to experiment, and a working knowledge of layers and masks are enough to begin.

You will leave with more than a folder of interesting experiments. You will have a repeatable way to move from an idea to a finished composite, a clearer sense of which tools deserve your time, and new options for creating distinctive fine-art and wall-art pieces for your clients. Just as important, you will know when AI is helping the image and when a camera, Photoshop, or your own judgment is still the better answer.

Bring the current computer you normally use for editing, with an up-to-date version of Photoshop installed and working. Please do not bring an older backup machine that may struggle with current creative software. Bring your charger and whichever mouse, tablet, or stylus makes you comfortable. A camera is not needed. Bring several high-resolution photographs you would enjoy building from, preferably portraits, along with an external drive or cloud access if that is how you move files. I will also provide images for anyone who would rather begin with a shared class file. Before class, make sure you can sign in to your email and any creative services you plan to use.

  • CLASS INTENSITY: Blue
  • CLASS BREAKDOWN
    Classroom instruction & demos: 10%
    Hands-on: 80%
    Post-production: 10%
  • PREREQUISITES:
    Lighting 1: All Levels
    Post-Production 1: All Levels
    Studio Business 1: All Levels

What do these mean? Learn More

Meet Your Instructor

Scott Detweiler
M.Photog.Cr.
Sussex, WI
Instagram:  sedetweiler
Website: sedetweiler.com

 

From a young age, art has been my language, fueled by a passion for technical precision and creative exploration. My journey began with Photoshop, mastering the science of light and composition.

Now, I’m thrilled to be at the forefront of a new artistic revolution with AI. I’m working as an AI researcher exploring the incredible potential of AI to generate stunning imagery and push creative boundaries. It’s about blending technical mastery with boundless imagination, a chance to redefine art itself