From Rome to Render: How AI Is Revolutionising Visual Content Creation (Even From Bed)

After four unforgettable days exploring Rome, I've found myself back home with a head full of memories, phone full of photos, and unfortunately… a bug that has completely wiped me out. But while I’ve been battling high temperatures and living off hot fruit juice and paracetamol, one thing has remained consistent: the pace of change in the AI space is as fast as ever. Especially when it comes to AI-generated images.

Despite being stuck in bed, I’ve had brief moments to dive into the latest advancements in ChatGPT’s image capabilities, and I’m genuinely blown away. These new tools aren’t just interesting but they’re already reshaping the way professionals and creatives approach content creation.

Inspired by posts from my network, let me walk you through a couple of real-world examples I've tried myself.

Professional Headshots in Minutes, Not Weeks

Not long ago, I needed a fresh set of professional headshots for an article I was writing on Microsoft 365 Copilot. You probably know the drill:

• Book a slot

• Do your hair

• Head into the office

• Ride the lift to the umpteenth floor

• 15 seconds of photos

• Wait 3–5 business days for delivery (plus edits)

  
  

All in all, a two-week turnaround for a few usable images.

This morning, using ChatGPT’s image generation tools, I was able to produce high-quality headshots in under 8 minutes. No studio. No lighting. No scheduling. Just a single prompt, and a reference image. The results were surprisingly polished and honestly, good enough for most professional use cases.

The prompt:

Using the gentleman in the attached picture, please could you create me three professional headshots for a new LinkedIn profile picture? I would like options you create to include: A) A head-on photograph B) A photograph with a slight tilt towards the right C) A photograph with a slight tilt towards the left.

The demo:

The results:

Not bad right, even if one of the tilts was a further rotation to one side. For busy teams, consultants, remote workers, or anyone needing quick image updates, this is a genuine productivity unlock.

Media Asset Creation: From Blank Canvas to Branded Content in Minutes

I’ve always loved designing and reimagining iconic creations. Whether it's drawing inspiration from advertising campaigns or experimenting with new design styles, I can happily lose hours perfecting a single piece. But time is the one thing most of us don’t have in abundance. Starting from scratch could be 2–4 hour project, minimum.

With ChatGPT’s new visual capabilities, you can take a previously created asset, like a social post, a campaign banner, or a simple poster and reimagine it in minutes. That means faster iteration, sustained content quality, and more room to experiment without the risk of sunk time.

Naturally, I had to test this with a design and area that I'm highly passionate about: F1. Here's how we got on...

The prompt:

Recreate my [poster] (second photo attached) with my [new protagonist] (first photo attached). Please change the text saying '[insert text here]' to '[insert text here]'.

The demo:

The result:

So What Does This Mean for Creators, Marketers, and Businesses?

Here are a few takeaways if you're thinking about incorporating AI image generation into your workflow:

• Speed – What once took days or weeks can now be done in minutes.

• Creativity on Demand – Need a new visual angle? A rebranded asset? An AI-generated draft lets you test ideas faster.

• Scalability – Whether you're building a campaign or refreshing headshots for a global team, you can scale up without burning out your design resources.

• Democratisation – You don’t need to be a designer or have access to expensive tools to get good results.

For transparency, the demos created here have been made with ChatGPT Plus however, it has been reported at the time of writing that free users will soon be able to generate up to three images per day.

The Bottom Line: AI Isn’t Coming for Creativity - It’s Collaborating With It

Whether you're in bed with a fever or working against a tight deadline, these tools open up a whole new layer of creative possibilities. They reduce friction. They save time. And when paired with a human sense of style, storytelling and creativity, they can really shine.

How have you used the latest features to improve your creativity?

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Credits

Author: Rob Anderton

Editorial: Rob Anderton / OpenAI. (2025). ChatGPT 4o [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat

Images: OpenAI. (2025). ChatGPT 4o [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat