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Microstock Photography Forum - General => General Stock Discussion => Topic started by: blvdone on October 03, 2023, 16:25

Title: The biggest casualty of AI generated images may be stock models.
Post by: blvdone on October 03, 2023, 16:25
I just chatted with one of my regular models.  She said there aren’t many model gigs out there.  Now I’m trying to catch up with this AI generated stock photos boom using Midjourney.  I pay about $30/month to generate any kind of stock models instantly although Midjourney generated people often have similar look unless you figure out different prompts to generate different looking person.  $30/month vs paying $30/hr or more for stock models to do stock shoot in this tough inflation economy.  I’m seeing my model stock photo sales going down and seeing a few AI generated model photos sold.  My main thing is stock videos.  So I would definitely hire actual models to do shoots, but if I was strictly stock photo creator, there would be much less shoots using actual models.
Title: Re: The biggest casualty of AI generated images may be stock models.
Post by: Bauman on October 04, 2023, 00:46
  I’m seeing my model stock photo sales going down and seeing a few AI generated model photos sold.

I think that the sales of AI with models cannot compensate for those lost with photographs with real models.

Because the production of images with AI is much faster (there are contributors with 3000 images in the queue) and because the images are all the same, same Midjourney's or Dall-E's style, and the earnings are divided equally. Whoever produces the most wins.

Read my post about this: https://www.microstockgroup.com/fotolia-com/9-million-ai-generated-photos-stock-photography-coming-to-end/msg593430/#msg593430 (https://www.microstockgroup.com/fotolia-com/9-million-ai-generated-photos-stock-photography-coming-to-end/msg593430/#msg593430)
Title: Re: The biggest casualty of AI generated images may be stock models.
Post by: synthetick on October 04, 2023, 06:17
This is sad for the real models. All the AI people are starting to look the same.
Title: Re: The biggest casualty of AI generated images may be stock models.
Post by: Jo Ann Snover on October 04, 2023, 07:29
This is sad for the real models. All the AI people are starting to look the same.

Two different contributors. These creations could be twins if they were real people

(https://t3.ftcdn.net/jpg/06/52/48/86/240_F_652488655_3Wu5wZe1eUPBDgC5yxfJN0IyDnEMP9P1.jpg) (https://stock.adobe.com/images/generative-ai-picture-of-adorable-elegant-lady-with-long-healthy-wavy-grey-color-hairdo/652488655)  (https://t3.ftcdn.net/jpg/06/52/36/54/240_F_652365496_1hT0CP1pGcBqjPvAxoFsaO5J1rXpHZDz.jpg) (https://stock.adobe.com/images/generative-ai-picture-of-adorable-elegant-lady-with-long-healthy-wavy-grey-color-hairdo/652365496)

The "problem" (from my perspective, and I suspect in short order from a buyer's perspective too) is that there are huge volumes of nicely lit images of not-quite-real look-alike humans. Impossibly fit and beautiful seniors, shiny trendy young adults, very spooky children who look adult but smaller.

I have samples from "Find Similar" searches and it's really spooky.

Sometimes, the hotter the fad, the faster it fades, so possibly this won't last and human models will still find work?
Title: Re: The biggest casualty of AI generated images may be stock models.
Post by: Her Ugliness on October 04, 2023, 08:11
This is sad for the real models. All the AI people are starting to look the same.

Two different contributors. These creations could be twins if they were real people

(https://t3.ftcdn.net/jpg/06/52/48/86/240_F_652488655_3Wu5wZe1eUPBDgC5yxfJN0IyDnEMP9P1.jpg) (https://stock.adobe.com/images/generative-ai-picture-of-adorable-elegant-lady-with-long-healthy-wavy-grey-color-hairdo/652488655)  (https://t3.ftcdn.net/jpg/06/52/36/54/240_F_652365496_1hT0CP1pGcBqjPvAxoFsaO5J1rXpHZDz.jpg) (https://stock.adobe.com/images/generative-ai-picture-of-adorable-elegant-lady-with-long-healthy-wavy-grey-color-hairdo/652365496)


These are not different contributors and these are not two different AI images.
This is just a person trying to avoid the upload limit by creating several accounts and these are deliberate "variations" you can create of the same image with Modjourney. If you look at these "contributors" accounts you will find that they have way too many very similar images for it to be a coincidence. And I have created thousands of images with Midjourney and not once has it given me such similar results like in your example unless I used the variation feature.

(https://t3.ftcdn.net/jpg/06/38/56/10/240_F_638561040_uMWsFMTsEU5vrdIMvxf69odM8T673qSc.jpg) (https://t4.ftcdn.net/jpg/06/38/11/43/240_F_638114394_vMZgYDKifatXO33YwKu7k2h3m6na2q7f.jpg)
(https://t4.ftcdn.net/jpg/06/52/36/55/240_F_652365596_3sstgt2pdrq3rssaW4gAcvM2Bp8DoWLZ.jpg) (https://t3.ftcdn.net/jpg/06/52/48/92/240_F_652489246_6JK7XEbevekEOVmbeT54NTq0T2oqid2g.jpg)
(https://t4.ftcdn.net/jpg/06/52/83/19/240_F_652831963_wonROonfKWtqCCh1CWUbfUNBxVW3Nq3p.jpg) (https://t4.ftcdn.net/jpg/06/49/82/83/240_F_649828303_i4aBA7iLwMZklraESNdh2hELUVw5KZaI.jpg)
(https://t4.ftcdn.net/jpg/06/47/75/61/240_F_647756193_LnjLjPn6AqHci5F9H1YnLDePKNLlq4Lh.jpg) (https://t3.ftcdn.net/jpg/06/52/48/88/240_F_652488840_FhXZYOHRdUW5PLslerEOsC5eR1QOX8pX.jpg)

Go to one AI image in one of these profiles, copy the title, enter it in the search bar of the other port and you will find plenty of similar images with the exact same title, word by word. This is the same person uploading to different accounts for sure.
Title: Re: The biggest casualty of AI generated images may be stock models.
Post by: blvdone on October 04, 2023, 08:20
This is sad for the real models. All the AI people are starting to look the same.

Two different contributors. These creations could be twins if they were real people

(https://t3.ftcdn.net/jpg/06/52/48/86/240_F_652488655_3Wu5wZe1eUPBDgC5yxfJN0IyDnEMP9P1.jpg) (https://stock.adobe.com/images/generative-ai-picture-of-adorable-elegant-lady-with-long-healthy-wavy-grey-color-hairdo/652488655)  (https://t3.ftcdn.net/jpg/06/52/36/54/240_F_652365496_1hT0CP1pGcBqjPvAxoFsaO5J1rXpHZDz.jpg) (https://stock.adobe.com/images/generative-ai-picture-of-adorable-elegant-lady-with-long-healthy-wavy-grey-color-hairdo/652365496)

The "problem" (from my perspective, and I suspect in short order from a buyer's perspective too) is that there are huge volumes of nicely lit images of not-quite-real look-alike humans. Impossibly fit and beautiful seniors, shiny trendy young adults, very spooky children who look adult but smaller.

I have samples from "Find Similar" searches and it's really spooky.

Sometimes, the hotter the fad, the faster it fades, so possibly this won't last and human models will still find work?

Wow.  That's what I was concerned when I was generating AI photos on Midjourney.  When I use the same prompts and just replace race of the person, I get very similar facial feature with just different skin color, hair and a little different facial feature.
Title: Re: The biggest casualty of AI generated images may be stock models.
Post by: blvdone on October 04, 2023, 08:23
This is sad for the real models. All the AI people are starting to look the same.

Two different contributors. These creations could be twins if they were real people

(https://t3.ftcdn.net/jpg/06/52/48/86/240_F_652488655_3Wu5wZe1eUPBDgC5yxfJN0IyDnEMP9P1.jpg) (https://stock.adobe.com/images/generative-ai-picture-of-adorable-elegant-lady-with-long-healthy-wavy-grey-color-hairdo/652488655)  (https://t3.ftcdn.net/jpg/06/52/36/54/240_F_652365496_1hT0CP1pGcBqjPvAxoFsaO5J1rXpHZDz.jpg) (https://stock.adobe.com/images/generative-ai-picture-of-adorable-elegant-lady-with-long-healthy-wavy-grey-color-hairdo/652365496)


These are not different contributors and these are not two different AI images.
This is just a person trying to avoid the upload limit by creating several accounts and these are deliberate "variations" you can create of the same image with Modjourney. If you look at these "contributors" accounts you will find that they have way too many very similar images for it to be a coincidence. And I have created thousands of images with Midjourney and not once has it given me such similar results like in your example unless I used the variation feature.

(https://t3.ftcdn.net/jpg/06/38/56/10/240_F_638561040_uMWsFMTsEU5vrdIMvxf69odM8T673qSc.jpg) (https://t4.ftcdn.net/jpg/06/38/11/43/240_F_638114394_vMZgYDKifatXO33YwKu7k2h3m6na2q7f.jpg)
(https://t4.ftcdn.net/jpg/06/52/36/55/240_F_652365596_3sstgt2pdrq3rssaW4gAcvM2Bp8DoWLZ.jpg) (https://t3.ftcdn.net/jpg/06/52/48/92/240_F_652489246_6JK7XEbevekEOVmbeT54NTq0T2oqid2g.jpg)
(https://t4.ftcdn.net/jpg/06/52/83/19/240_F_652831963_wonROonfKWtqCCh1CWUbfUNBxVW3Nq3p.jpg) (https://t4.ftcdn.net/jpg/06/49/82/83/240_F_649828303_i4aBA7iLwMZklraESNdh2hELUVw5KZaI.jpg)
(https://t4.ftcdn.net/jpg/06/47/75/61/240_F_647756193_LnjLjPn6AqHci5F9H1YnLDePKNLlq4Lh.jpg) (https://t3.ftcdn.net/jpg/06/52/48/88/240_F_652488840_FhXZYOHRdUW5PLslerEOsC5eR1QOX8pX.jpg)

Go to one AI image in one of these profiles, copy the title, enter it in the search bar of the other port and you will find plenty of similar images with the exact same title, word by word. This is the same person uploading to different accounts for sure.

I try not to use all the prompts in the title to avoid somebody potentially copying on Midjourney.
Title: Re: The biggest casualty of AI generated images may be stock models.
Post by: Jo Ann Snover on October 04, 2023, 10:11
The deeply unfair gets even worse than I could have imagined.

What is the point of upload limits if you don’t enforce them? Or similars rules? Or keywording rules? Or quality standards? Or…
Title: Re: The biggest casualty of AI generated images may be stock models.
Post by: Justanotherphotographer on October 04, 2023, 10:53
Another explanation could be that they are penny pinching, using the open channels on Midjouney's discord. Anyone can copy your prompt or even re-roll it/ make variants etc. Midjourney encourages sharing and collaborating (I guess to push up-selling to pros)

Access to private chat is a major selling point of the pro licence so IMHO, if this is the case, these people have no right to complain.
Title: Re: The biggest casualty of AI generated images may be stock models.
Post by: Her Ugliness on October 05, 2023, 00:54
Another explanation could be that they are penny pinching, using the open channels on Midjouney's discord. Anyone can copy your prompt or even re-roll it/ make variants etc. Midjourney encourages sharing and collaborating (I guess to push up-selling to pros)

Access to private chat is a major selling point of the pro licence so IMHO, if this is the case, these people have no right to complain.

This is of course also a possibility, but I still think it is the same person. The titels (if they are even the exact prompts), aren't really all that elebaorate ("Beach portrait of Young beautiful woman summer holidays"," happy cheerful male graduate going to school on a sunny september day"), and the topic ideas aren't very original, a lot of simple people portraits, so nothing even worth "stealing".
Title: Re: The biggest casualty of AI generated images may be stock models.
Post by: Justanotherphotographer on October 05, 2023, 01:24
Took a look. Yes you are right.