I think this fits here?

Stock photos of AI-generated humans are available for licensing for the first time

https://www.diyphotography.net/stock-photos-of-ai-generated-humans-are-available-for-licensing-for-the-first-time/

"In collaboration with Germany�s leading microstock photo agency Panther Media GmbH, the company is now offering licensable images of AI-generated humans.

VAIsual�s library of synthetic human portraits is available for download on Smarterpix. Since each picture is generated with a green screen, you can merge these synthetic elements with real-life photos in the background to create the results that you need."

https://smarterpix.com/en  apparently a free division of Panther. Your agency is competing with you, if you upload to Panther.   

They look impressive, but only from a distance! Strange hair and wonky eyes. While it's heading in the right direction, and I have no doubt they'll be indistinguishable from a real human in ten years or so, they're not quite there yet. And you'd have to add fake shadows when comping them in a scene which is notoriously difficult to do well. Interesting stuff though. 

Ugly faces, Interpol's most wanted 

For the type of stuff I would submit to micro, yes it's a total waste of time which is why I havent submitted anything new in years. At its peak, my return per image per month was around $2 and I was planning to go full time. That all changed when the agencies went from treating us well with incentives to wringing us dry with constant cuts. My RPIPM is now less than .10 cents. With SS latest cuts and resetting the royalty annually, my revenue dropped 75% with them.

The gold rush and glory days are long gone but I keep hoping to see a turnaround. The agencies continue to move things in the wrong direction for contributors.

And I know you're telling the truth about how well things were and how far they've fallen. But I never imagined it's gone that badly.

They look impressive, but only from a distance! Strange hair and wonky eyes. While it's heading in the right direction, and I have no doubt they'll be indistinguishable from a real human in ten years or so, they're not quite there yet. And you'd have to add fake shadows when comping them in a scene which is notoriously difficult to do well. Interesting stuff though. 

I'd agree. When they first came out, I went through and looked at early versions. For AI or whatever it is, they are impressive. After awhile I could see specific models, the eyes, in various images. My only disagreement is the ten years. I think much sooner. After reading about Deep fakes I can see how some of this could lead to some very unusual future visions. Like how about a movie with a deceased actor playing a leading role?

Or more practical, someone who died, continuing their role in a series instead of finding a replacement.

Some of these, not for commercial use, are pretty good?

Quote from: Brasilnut on March 19, 2021, 04:13

Interested to know your thoughts if you believe that there's any reason to be optimistic in regards to the future of the microstock photography industry as a viable business opportunity.

https://brutallyhonestmicrostock.com/2021/03/18/7-reasons-why-microstock-photography-is-probably-a-waste-of-your-time/

Just checked my February 2021 iStock earnings results making me even more pessimistic.

Looking forward to a fruitful discussion.

Best regards,

Alex

Hi Alex,

I appreciate your insight. While it would be inappropriate for me to get into a philosophical debate about your talking points, I would like to ask you a question. Without a doubt, the entire world has been disrupted the past year with the Covid-19 pandemic. As we all know by now, the stock industry was no exception. Sales continued to grow overall, but generally speaking, the type of content that was in demand had dramatically changed. Portfolios that had great success even as recently as two years ago may not have faired so well this past year if the content didn't reflect the current trends. With lifestyle and business images in particular we saw a dramatic shift in what customers were buying. They were, and are looking for content with a Covid filter on it...people living their lives but with masks and socially distanced for example or working or attending school from home as opposed to a traditional office setting or classroom for another. It's a massive understatement to claim the pandemic created many challenges for creatives but on the flip side, the pandemic also revealed huge content gaps creating massive opportunities for pro-active contributors intentionally shooting ahead of the trends. Those that started creating quality content specific to the pandemic right away did very well.

My question to you and anyone on this thread is this...Did you do anything different this past year to keep up with the evolving trends and to maintain a relevant portfolio? Or did you continue to shoot and submit the same kind of content you always have created? Or, did you stop or reduce your production hoping to maintain the status quo with minimal effort? No judgement regardless of your answer..there were so many obstacles to overcome as creatives in 2020.

My follow up question is this...now that we are slowly coming out of the pandemic, that's going to create an abundant supply of new opportunities in stock..businesses re-opening, families reuniting, etc. What do you have planned for 2021 for production of stock content?


-Mat Hayward

The pandemic just made it very difficult to take new photos....