I am going to talk about two AI-related big issues deeply embedded in the creative workflows in advertising and marketing agencies: CREATIVITY AND PROMPTING.

Issue Number 1: CREATIVITY

From” Andrea Laporta from 14 Agency, London: With AI in the mix – what still makes a photographer truly indispensable?”

1- “Even though AI is great, it’s still just a tool. It will never replace the input and vision that a photographer brings to a project. Image creation requires a level of sensitivity that only humans can understand and translate into authentic emotions for the viewer.”

Andrea’s opinion above is a certain realization that happens when we are basically forced to understand and assume that, as of today, everything that is created by any AI platform comes from images previously created, image portions and fragments of different exisiting images (both photographic and paintings) blended and reshuffled through several iterations, an attempt to prepare a different kind of salad made out of the same ingredients, and, -so far- this proves the inability of those systems to actually “create” something completely new, even less “translate into authentic emotions for the viewer.”

Whatever vision, craftsmanship, and ability to combine different techniques, from analogue to digital, to generative, all combined under each creator’s style, -basically the natural working realm of photographers- is still far from being disposable, removable or replaceable. Anyone claiming the contrary is just another conformist of the “Good Enough” gang.

Knowing so many may will question this argument under their own theories, which I am happy to hear about, etc, let’s jump to Issue number 2

2- Issue Number 2: POOR PROMPTING:

Now, putting aside this creativity argument for a moment, we have to enter the territory where many marketing and advertising agencies are obviously exploring the possibility of creating full visual campaigns from scratch, and thus saving a lot of production money, fees for talent and many other production values, plus post-prodcution expenses and time, and that might make many to think this is going to be the future of many projects.

The access to so many different AI platforms that can generate images has grown in a very fast and unexpected way. At the same time, it has brought a lot of unexpected problems because of the issues related to poor quality results linked to the massive lack of knowledge about photography and lighting of the “creators”, leading to inconsistencies that are hard to solve via iterations.

The main problem is the poor prompting, and the root of poor prompting comes from from not knowing the correct descriptions for all the related Elements of Visual Design ( form, shape, tone, texture, lines, patterns, color) all linked in one way or another to the basic compositional styles( Central Symmetry, Rule of Thirds, Fibonacci Rule, Dynamic Layering) for taking pictures, and even worse yet: the poor description of the light sources, Hot lights, strobes, LED’s. HMI’s, Kinoflos ( yeah, many are coming back to those!), the color temperature of the light sources, the lighting scenarios involving the manipulation of Shadow and Specular Edge Transfers, plus the way this lighting setups work in tandem with the diffferent elements of visual design described above, all these sets of parameters to optimize the impact of the client’s product in the final images, be it a still life or involving people or animals, or locations or all of the above.

No matter how cool anyone can “borrow” these concepts to generate “something,” the lack of actual experience in the matter will make a huge difference. There are already several examples to discuss this chaos, and one, with no names and no brands, will exemplify the situation:

A photographer is called to shoot 12 products in a classic still life scenario, clean background, making the product “float” in each image, all of it just following a clear brief. Art Director and Creative Director accompany the shooter, define colors for background, lighting, composition, plus all values described above. When the team is happy, all images get shot and delivered, BUT, the client shows up days later, saying they have 6 more products to shoot!

The ”creatives” at the Agency, decide not to call the photographer, save the time of production and financial expenses, as they will just do it all in AI.

Long story short, the agency wasted a lot of time and money to achieve a “good enough” result, which the client did not approve. The inconsistencies were notable and were not sorted out properly. Days later, they headed back to the studio to shoot the new products.

I am not saying that this type of workflow with good results is not achievable. It actually is!!

The problem is that the prompting process, the way to properly write in a way so the AI system clearly works according to the full control of all the parameters you want involved, not letting the AI “improvise” due to lack of concise information, brings out the reality of not knowing how to properly prompt when describing images in it’s obvious complexity, no matter how simple they look.

HERE IS A GREAT CHALLENGE I HAVE DEVISED TO PROVE THESE POINTS AND FOR EVERYONE TO GIVE IT A TRY:

3- Grab an image you like, or even an image you dislike, it may be advertising-related or just any simple snapshot of familiar places, a picture of your favorite artist, just any image and sit down to write a text describing in full detail everything you can tell about the image, from the subject, to the composition, to the lighs, the shadows, the lighting, the textures, the tones, shapes, etc, etc.

Once you have done your “homework,” proceed to drop this text, this prompt in any or even all of the familiar AI systems available. Most of them have a free version online, so you can drop this prompt into Nano Banano, Claude Online, Chat GPT, Grok, the Chinese one and even Perplexity.

Now, if possible, print the results, and sit down and “enjoy” how close or how far the images created by the AI systems are from the original picture, based on your description

This is the perfect, simple way for you to establish how cool your prompting skills are, how knowledgeable in terms of photography and lighting you are, and this will inform you of the necessity of having (or not) a photographer handy to assist you in the prompting stage.

Now, THAT is how relevant photography is in these days of AI image generation.

You can, of course, extend this to movies and TV commercials, and if you are shooting an AI-generated commercial video, then a good cinematographer may be your new BFF!

Cheers!!

In this world we live in, where the relevance of social media may even override the quality and professionalism in many fields, I have always paid little attention to what seems to be as relevant as the work itself, which is the so- called SOCIAL PROOF, that is, what people say about you and your work through testimonials.

For that reason, I decide to put together a few and post them here, especially because, after putting together quite a few and then picking some for this article, I came to realize they may REALLY matter to people who just don’t know me at all, or maybe just through a phone conversation or texts/email exchanges, and Social Proof may allow them to hear from others, and help them decide to hire me based on what others have experienced. So, without any further intro, here are a few select testimonials to share:

- CLIENT TESTIMONIAL: BARBARA GOICOECHEA - ACT PRODUCTIONS. SOUTH BEACH.

“Jorge’s work is just beautiful..If you want someone to capture the perfect moment, he is the right guy!”

- CLIENT TESTIMONIAL: NATASHA TSAKOS - FOUNDER AND SHOW MAKER, SPACE WONDERS

“Jorge Parra brings an exceptional energy to his work, which you feel it in every shoot. He has an innate sense of composition, an eye for capturing beauty with uncommon intuition, and a unique gift for blending editorial sensibility with artistry. Beyond his consistent talent over the years, Jorge carries a work ethic, positivity, and passion that make every shoot a pleasure to simply: be.” NT

CLIENT TESTIMONIAL: MARTA PUIG, EDITOR, CONTEMPORARY ART CURATOR MAGAZINE.

“Jorge Parra’s work is a transformative force in contemporary art, challenging both the viewer and the medium to evolve. Jorge’s legacy will undoubtedly endure, not only as a testament to his technical and artistic prowess but as an invitation to all of us to participate in the alchemy of our own lives”.

CLIENT TESTIMONIAL: DANIELLA FISCHER - PRIVATE ART COLLECTIONS MANAGER

“The best photographer I’ve ever worked with. Creative, reliable, and the images exceeded all expectations. Delivered sharp, vibrant images that perfectly captured the energy of the project. It was a pleasure working with Jorge”

-PARODI CUSTOME COLLECTION (aka THE MIAMI FASHION MUSEUM)

“For the past year, PCC has embarked on the challenge of digitising its complete collection. Archiving is a labour-intensive activity. Most Fashion museums worldwide struggle through this demanding but necessary process. We would like to thank everyone who has helped us along this process, and extend a special thanks to Jorge Parra @jorgeparraphotography, our master technical advisor, who made PCC’s Digital Photography Lab possible.

- CLIENT TESTIMONIAL: SAM DESMET - CLASSICAL GUITAR PLAYER

I’ve been following your work here, and every time I’m amazed by it... My dad was a non-digital photographer for over 40 years, and although I don’t consider myself an expert, I’ve seen a decent number of professional photos in my life. I’m not easily impressed (especially since everyone claims to be a photographer now), but your work clearly stands out!! Anyway, I don’t mean to ‘powder’ your ego, but just wanted to say you’re a true artist”

- CLIENT TESTIMONIAL: KARINA MATEUS, PRODUCER AND PERFORMANCE ARTIST

“Jorge Parra is an outstanding photographer in South Florida with amazing creativity and wonderful energy! I recommend him 100%!!!”

- CLIENT TESTIMONIAL: JOHN GREEN ENERGY PRODUCTS LC

“George is an exceptional commercial photographer” ———————————————---------------------------

I believe every great project starts with a simple conversation. The human connection is key! Whether you’re planning a large-scale advertising campaign or a boutique creative endeavour, I’d love to hear the story you’re trying to tell.

LET’S BUILD SOMETHING UNIQUE TOGETHER!

PS: Many years ago, I published an article on LinkedIn with about the same title, just bringing up the words from one of my finest students of photography back then, today a full-fledged artist, Adenike Akinbisehin.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/amazing-power-testimonials-jorge-parra/?trackingId=O5WfK6xeQFa%2B8HlScd9kuw%3D%3D

CHEERS!!

Jorge

I am hereby requesting the assistance of my fellow artists and colleagues regarding this proposal I want to present at the New York NFT Conference in September.

This is a CRITICAL moment for the Arts and Culture, as many Fine Art Works are being erroneously tagged as obscene or pornographic on ALL online platforms and being removed from public view.

There are even some 1st Ammendment RIghts violations that need to be addressed, and the development of Blockchain / Web3 Tokens might be a good solution to at least eliminate or reduce this fake censorship.

Below is the preview of my presentation. Please read it and jump to the link and vote

Thanks!

The Tokenization of the Body in the Age of Platform Censorship

The next frontier of tokenization is not just property, media, or identity. It is the body. For artists working with the nude body, and those who have done so throughout the centuries, this matters greatly because the body is already heavily governed online.

On today’s major platforms, fine-art nude images are routinely processed by the same moderation systems used to detect explicit sexual content.

Research shows those systems have serious difficulty distinguishing artistic nudity from pornography on visual data alone. Web3 arrives promising freedom, ownership, decentralisation, and creator control, but we need to ask a difficult question: what happens when the same body that is censored in Web2 becomes wrongly tokenized in Web3?

I want to propose an altogether new token system, formally different from the dreaded NSFW tag, which puts fine art, boudoir, erotica and porn into the same basket, censoring all in one shot, making a huge disservice to culture and the arts in general.

Vote here and thanks!

https://vote.nft.nyc/discover?session=1222918

Jorge Parra

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From the “Art of the Body: the Yogina” Fine Art Series: Spirituality, External and Inner Alchemy

At the heart of my work is an exploration of the female nude. Far from objectifying, my focus is a celebration of femininity, beauty, and strength, deeply informed by my long-standing practice of Tai Chi and meditation, where the body is understood as an evolving process—something intangible and impalpable.

This philosophy comes to life in my series Art of the Body: The Yogina, where classical yoga poses—rooted in ancient spiritual practices—become a medium for expressing inner peace and balance. In these works, the female form is not merely aestheticised; it becomes a symbol of harmony and transmutation between the physical and the spiritual

Working with the female human body has been my obsession ever since I started exploring photography as my creative channel.

This incredible path has taken me to different approaches to the naked body but in retrospect, I can certainly say that my quest has been an evolving process of transformations, or should I say, transmutations of those bodies into something much deeper, less obvious.

The use of many well-known ancient yoga/meditation positions was the basis for exploring and enjoying the beauty of the female body from a more realistic, natural approach.

An invitation to a personal spiritual process and inner peace pops out of the images. My years of practising Taichi and Meditation seem to be giving me the answers as to why I see the body as an evolving process of transcendence, something basically intangible to the naked eye, but you can feel it.

The lines between commercial photography, fine art, and the exploding world of digital creation are not just blurring—they’re dissolving. As a visual artist who began as a scientist, I’ve always been fascinated by the space where precision meets passion. Today, that intersection is more dynamic than ever. We're no longer just capturing moments; we're building entire visual narratives that live, breathe, and evolve across both physical and digital canvases.

For years, my focus has been on creating elegant, people-centric imagery for brands and publications. Whether shooting a fashion campaign on the vibrant streets of Miami or collaborating with a luxury hotel to define its visual identity, the goal remains the same: to tell a compelling story. But the tools and platforms we use to tell those stories are undergoing a radical transformation. The rise of NFTs, the integration of AI in the creative process, and the metaverse are not just buzzwords; they are new frontiers for artistic expression and commercial application.

This shift doesn't mean leaving traditional techniques behind. In fact, it’s our mastery of the fundamentals—light, composition, and human connection—that allows us to innovate with authenticity. My scientific background taught me to approach every project with a methodical process, but it’s the artistic impulse that breathes life into the final image.

This dual approach is essential when navigating a landscape where a single concept might need to translate into a gallery print, an interactive web experience, and a unique digital collectible.

The most exciting part of this new era is the opportunity for collaboration. The digital art space, particularly with NFTs, Generative AI, Metaverse Showcases, and other Digital interactions, has unlocked new models for ownership, community building, and creative partnerships.

Artists, brands, and collectors can now engage in a more direct and meaningful way, creating a feedback loop that fuels further innovation. It’s a paradigm shift from a one-way broadcast to a multi-dimensional conversation. As we move forward, the most impactful visual storytellers will be those who can seamlessly blend mediums and disciplines.

They will be the ones who understand that a powerful narrative can be just as effective on a gallery wall as it is in a virtual world. For me, the journey from scientist to "visual alchemist" has been about turning ideas into tangible, evocative imagery. Now, the canvas is expanding, and the possibilities are expansive, if not limitless.

What are your thoughts on this Digital-Visual Revolution? I’d love to hear how you’re seeing these boundaries blur in your own field.

Let's talk!!