Photographic Art and Artificial Intelligence: Evolution of Technological Approaches and Artistic Expression

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to determine the ability of generative artificial intelligence to reproduce photographic reality and to identify the technical, artistic, and methodological aspects of such replication. The research methodology involved the use of the following methods and approaches: analysis of scientific sources – to identify contemporary approaches in photographic art; the comparative method – which made it possible to determine similarities and differences when juxtaposing original photographs with generated images; and the method of semiotic analysis – which helped outline the changes in the nature of the photographic image and the modes of representing reality in the age of artificial intelligence. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the comparative analysis of three types of images: the original photograph, the image created using a text prompt, and the replica generated on the basis of the photograph itself (image-to-image). The study combines and reveals specific limitations of generative AI in reproducing texture, light, and authenticity, and formulates a methodology for assessing the technical and aesthetic aspects of AI-generated images. Conclusions. Artificial intelligence technologies do not merely transform the tools available to photographers – they change the very philosophy of imagery. Photographs shift from an empirical level to a semiotic-cognitive one, in which light and composition become secondary to language, meaning, interpretation, and interaction with the algorithm. The conducted research has shown that the image-to-image replica is the closest to the original photograph, whereas text-based generation demonstrates a lower degree of visual and artistic identity. Textual generation produces an aesthetically complete but “post-photographic” image devoid of the authentic aura of the moment. AI confirms the tendency toward the emergence of a new genre – “virtual photography,” in which realism is the result of an algorithm rather than optics. It becomes a new tool for exploring the aesthetics of photographic art, yet it is still unable to reproduce the life context and emotional energy of the moment conveyed by a real photograph.