Post by: Rage on January 26, 2023, 06:42
"When Shutterstock and OpenAI announced a partnership to help develop OpenAI’s Dall-E 2 artificial intelligence image-generating platform with Shutterstock libraries to train and feed the algorithm, the stock photo and media giant also hinted that it would soon be bringing its own generative AI tools to users. Today the company took the wraps off that product. Customers of Shutterstock’s Creative Flow online design platform will now be able to create images based on text prompts, powered by OpenAI and Dall-E 2." - an excerpt from the article
The strange part is that while all other AI tools say that the person making the image has full rights to the image, Shutterstock says the created images are ready to license as soon as they are created
Post by: Jo Ann Snover on January 26, 2023, 09:22
Businesses are often risk averse (with things like image/video licensing) - hence the legal guarantee marketing pitch from a few years back - and would prefer to have a ready answer to anyone who claims they are ripping off the creators on content in the training database if they use AI-generated images. With SS's tools the customer can then say that they did the ethical thing (even if that's just PR drivel fed to them by SS).
From Paul Hennessey in that Tech Crunch article: “Our easy-to-use generative platform will transform the way people tell their stories — you no longer have to be a design expert or have access to a creative team to create exceptional work. Our tools are built on an ethical approach and on a library of assets that represents the diverse world we live in, and we ensure that the artists whose works contributed to the development of these models are recognized and rewarded.”
The Tech Crunch article points out "Again, though, the issue will be whether these payouts be anywhere near the compensation those artists and photographers might have gotten for supplying the images themselves.". The contributor fund results people reported from December suggest that the amounts are like Getty's Connect - minuscule.
In their press release, SS is emphasizing ease of use and convenience as reasons to pick them vs. do-it-yourself
https://investor.shutterstock.com/news-releases/news-release-details/shutterstock-introduces-generative-ai-its-all-one-creative
While I was browsing Tech Crunch, I saw this article about more funding for a Berlin-based Canva competitor, Kittl - which is also very much a SS Creative Flow competitor in that Kittl has partnered with Unsplash for images so they are "free" with both the Free and Pro levels of Kittl
https://techcrunch.com/2023/01/26/this-startup-hopes-to-take-on-canva-raising-a-11-6m-series-a-for-its-design-platform/
If "good enough" designs and no-hassle "not that bad" images/illustrations slapped together by Canva, Creative Flow or Kittl or (any of the many other similar platforms currently out there) are the future, that really sidelines lots of creative professionals.
Look at SS's short video in their press release - "No time? No budget? No designer? No problem!"
Post by: Lina on January 26, 2023, 18:22
Post by: Rage on January 27, 2023, 00:01
I'm guessing video will be next, so we'll all have to figure out some next steps to ensure we stay afloat
Post by: stocker2011 on January 27, 2023, 07:38
Obviously stock agencies know this and they need new content to train the AI for current trends.
So until when do stock agencies keep pushing down the threshold with how little they can payout to contributors, or do they already know what that threshold is?
Post by: Uncle Pete on January 27, 2023, 14:09
I just trying to think at what point does it no longer become financially feasible to keep creating and uploading new content, although I know for many this has already become a reality with the 'race to the bottom'.
Personally about January 2014 but for an even more universal date, January 1st 2020 with the new terms and the first level resent. AI is just another hole in the bucket that doesn't hold much water as it is.
Post by: Lowls on January 27, 2023, 16:35
1. Does great
2. Decides to do better
3. Looks at ways to save money
4. Always looks at the highest outlay
5. Realises this is wages
6. Starts reducing workers and wages.
7. Loses more workers than intended.
8. Goes downhill fast.
But SS are removing the wages entirely and replacing the work force with HAL ... and HAL will blow their arse out the airlock because they've hitched their planet to it and legally they are sooooo future f'ked. Even if Getty don't win who'd risk getting sued because you had composit work from god knows where containing elements of copywritten material.
Someone only has to ID part of something that's theirs and social media about it and SS .... poof gone.
Post by: Jo Ann Snover on January 30, 2023, 15:33
https://www.fool.com/investing/2023/01/28/this-market-beating-stock-is-embracing-the-ai-gene (https://www.fool.com/investing/2023/01/28/this-market-beating-stock-is-embracing-the-ai-gene)
Stock is up today - whether because of investor optimism about the Open AI deal or something else I don't know. It's at $72.08 this afternoon - about $20 more than a month ago.
There was an SEC filing two weeks ago saying that John Caine will be Global Head of E-Commerce effective January 30, 2023. He came from Nerd Wallet, but before that was with Vroom (used car marketplace) - where the current SS CEO Paul Hennessy came from. They also both worked at Priceline in the early 2000s
https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulhennessy1/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulhennessy1/)
https://www.linkedin.com/in/johncaine/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/johncaine/)
Post by: Unamas on February 01, 2023, 12:56
Look at SS's short video in their press release - "No time? No budget? No designer? No problem!"
It's really interesting. I see a lot of people going out of the business.
Post by: Jo Ann Snover on February 02, 2023, 14:47
Today's press release is about an investor-focused dog and pony show talking up all their latest stuff - their "vision, strategy and financial outlook" In person attendance is by invitation only, so probably contributors in the NYC area can't just drop by :)
I think it's interesting that this is "Investor Day" - not something focused on building the business or adding customers. I don't remember them doing a "Customer Day" or a "Contributor Day" at any point :(
Post by: Mimi the Cat on February 03, 2023, 01:15
I think it's interesting that this is "Investor Day" - not something focused on building the business or adding customers. I don't remember them doing a "Customer Day" or a "Contributor Day" at any point :(
Thats because they are just not important enough ;D
Post by: Uncle Pete on February 16, 2023, 14:44
Here's what the output is:
Large·1024 × 1024 pixels
3 × 3 in·300 DPI·JPG
$2.90 10 pack, discounts for bigger packs, same as downloads.
They are selling 1024 square images for $2.90? :o
(https://i.postimg.cc/QCDmLKcv/shutterstock-preview-AI-web.jpg)
And that's the watermark? Right click and save, it's a 1024 JPG, I just added websize for this post.
Select, content aware fill, brush the edges with the healing tool = free image.
Post by: offisapup on February 16, 2023, 15:08
And that's the watermark? Right click and save, it's a 1024 JPG, I just added websize for this post.
Select, content aware fill, brush the edges with the healing tool = free image.
Or just use one of the millions of free AI tools and get rid of the watermark in 2 seconds. AI to steal AI image.
Post by: Jo Ann Snover on March 23, 2023, 13:36
https://finance.yahoo.com/m/3c6ebbdf-0128-3207-9c67-0d686a631666/shutterstock-has-found-an.html
The Financial Times is behind a paywall, but I was able to follow the link and read the article. Possibly that's because Yahoo subscribes and this is a "gift" article. Some amazing (to me) quotes:
"And increasingly, the image library is used for AI training rather than visual decoration. Large-language-model and neural network developers put a high value on third-party databases of standardised, censored and sanitised content that have detailed text descriptions attached. That means a few customers have been paying a multiple of the median contract value: Shutterstock’s average deal size went from $22k in 2020 to $310k in 2021, and to $1.3mn in 2022.
Approximately four-fifths of the value of Shutterstock’s AI contracts is booked upfront, with the remainder recognised over the (typically five year) contract life as new photos are uploaded. AI trainers pay almost nothing per image but Shutterstock has a contributors’ fund that bumps up royalties to an average rate, so for the moment the arrangement is gross margin neutral."
"What happens when those landmark deals with OpenAI and Meta expire? Would they be renewed on similar terms, or on the much lower annual rate they currently pay for their drip-feed updates? Since the main value of the library has been sold upfront, how much negotiating power does Shutterstock have left?
Is the value of the library being protected? Paying creators by the yard has potential implications for quality, as does the generation of AI content from AI content. Potentially, when viewed in terms of clean data, the setup is somewhere between the horsemeat scandal and mad cow disease."
The images used to illustrate the article are a delight :)
I don't think it surprises contributors that Shutterstock pockets all the money from the deal to use the collection to train AI and only shares via the contributor fund when images are somehow "used" by a SS subscriber when generating something for themselves.
Tossers.
Post by: Noedelhap on March 24, 2023, 06:32
The downsides in the future:
- Oversupply of AI generated images/video, the market will become saturated if it hasn't already. What was once considered a genuine talent or hard work (in drawing, photography, painting or animation) will at some point be replaced by AI.
- The microstock industry will be disrupted, causing those who fall behind to go out of business due to oversupply/diminishing revenue; perhaps agencies will create their own collections, or together with a handful of contributors who have embraced AI as a tool.
- It will be more and more difficult to distinguish between 'real & handcrafted' vs 'computer generated'. (Although this is already a thing with cgi in general, like deepfakes). People might question the authenticity of a photo or artwork, i.e. is it the work of manual labor and talent or was it made by a computer? Is the person in a photo a real living person or AI-generated?
I think the AI trend is unstoppable, and every attempt to postpone it is futile. It's a matter of time before it's here and microstock industry (as well as other industries related to art) will change. The sooner we embrace it, the better. We should however make sure we get compensated fairly for the use of our work in this new technology.
Post by: Her Ugliness on March 24, 2023, 08:27
The only good thing about AI is that artists can use it to create new (computer-aided) art, it can save time and increase quality, and open up ways for artists to visualize their ideas.
The downsides in the future:
- Oversupply of AI generated images/video, the market will become saturated if it hasn't already. What was once considered a genuine talent or hard work (in drawing, photography, painting or animation) will at some point be replaced by AI.
- The microstock industry will be disrupted, causing those who fall behind to go out of business due to oversupply/diminishing revenue; perhaps agencies will create their own collections, or together with a handful of contributors who have embraced AI as a tool.
- It will be more and more difficult to distinguish between 'real & handcrafted' vs 'computer generated'. (Although this is already a thing with cgi in general, like deepfakes). People might question the authenticity of a photo or artwork, i.e. is it the work of manual labor and talent or was it made by a computer? Is the person in a photo a real living person or AI-generated?
I think the AI trend is unstoppable, and every attempt to postpone it is futile. It's a matter of time before it's here and microstock industry (as well as other industries related to art) will change. The sooner we embrace it, the better. We should however make sure we get compensated fairly for the use of our work in this new technology.
I think there are way more downsides:
- For once, the amount of people who will do "real" artwork and photography will drastically decrease over time. What artist will sit down 20 hours+ painting a drawing, when no one will be willing to pay him for 20 hours of work, becaus an AI can generate it within 20 seconds at much cheaper costs? What phgotographer will buy expensive new lenses, lighting equipment, buy props and pay models, when it can be done within seconds without all of this? Real drawing and painting and photograpgy will become something people will do merely as a hobby - if at all, because...
- Devalue of work and appreciation of it. The appreciation for real talent and effort will go down. No one will be impressed with a real human made masterpiece anymore, because we will see these really amazing looking AI generated images everywhere already and at some point will not even be impressed by that. I have watched the AI development closely and even in the very short period of time the reaction has already changed drastically. There are for example some Facebook groups where people post their AI "art". Only a few months ago these images were causing lots of reactions. "Wow, this looks amazing!", "What prompts did you use?" etc. Now there are hardly any reactions at all, not even lame like votes. People have become so used to it already, that they aren't amazed by it anymore. And that's a development I can already see after only a few months. Imagine how it will be in a few years? I have already seen some comments of people who posted in these groups who said it wasn't fun anymore, because "everyone could do it".
- Stereotypical learning of AIs. This is an issue that isn't new, because it has already been a problem with chat bots: They learn by human interactions and recreate it, including all the bad things like racism and sexism. I can already see it in AI as well. Especially in the fantasy drawing sector women are always over-sexualized with huge boobs and hardly any clothes. But it goes further. I just tried a AI series with an "AI replacing humans" theme where I described AI androids doing various human things: Playing socker, music instruments, wiorking at an office, cleaning a car, doing dishes - And, ooops, why do lots of the androids look like battle androids ready to go to war and the dishes clenaing androids have tiny cute noses, huge eyes, small waists and even small boobs? Gender stereotypes the AI has learned and will keep learning. It's difficult enough to get these stereotypes out of humans, it will be more difficult to get it out of AIs.
- The end of microstock. I don't think it will just "change", I think it will be completely gone, replaced by AI image generators.
I think for the near future customers might still rely on other people to create AI images for them, but as AIs advance and gets better at creating images (which happens an at incredible speed), they will not need that "middle man" step. Instead of going to a microstock site and entering "woman playing tennis" in the image serach bar, they will go to an AI image generator and enter "woman playing tennis" there. The middle man will be cut short and we will not longer be needed. Not as illustrators, not as photographers and certainly not as "AI image generators". I don't know how much time we have left, but everyone who really relies on microstock as in income should probably start looking for completely differet business options in the near future.
Post by: Zero Talent on March 24, 2023, 09:06
This trend will be reversed.
Training AI takes a lot of time and is very expensive. That puts it many months (maybe half a year or more) behind the present.
So even when AI imagery will become dominant, there will always be a need for news photographers. Maybe the price for editorials will even go up since many photographers will bail out and those doing editorials will end up in short supply.
Maybe the same will be valid for a niche of commercial photography depicting changes in our environment (e.g. city skylines). This is why it's important for photographers doing this type of photography to opt out of AI training schemes (or else they will reduce the shelf life of their work).
PS and side note: many "white collar" "office" jobs will also be replaced by AI, while some "blue collar" jobs (harder to automate) will become more valued, reversing another trend that started with the industrial revolution.
Post by: Her Ugliness on March 24, 2023, 13:22
Today editorial photography is less profitable than commercial photography, also because of its reduced shelf life.
True, but my editorial photos only made like 5% of my income and my commercial ones 95%, so I don't really see how that's going to bring in enough income to live from, at least for me.
Post by: Zero Talent on March 24, 2023, 13:28
Today editorial photography is less profitable than commercial photography, also because of its reduced shelf life.
True, but my editorial photos only made like 5% of my income and my commercial ones 95%, so I don't really see how that's going to bring in enough income to live from, at least for me.
As I said, your 95% will reduce significantly, and, if you don't quit, your 5% might go up in value. But very likely not enough to compensate your losses to your AI competitors, indeed (especially if you helped them train with your assets)
Post by: cascoly on March 24, 2023, 13:33
Today editorial photography is less profitable than commercial photography, also because of its reduced shelf life.
True, but my editorial photos only made like 5% of my income and my commercial ones 95%, so I don't really see how that's going to bring in enough income to live from, at least for me.
but that's been the trend for years as MS agencies reduced royalties. anyone who expected to make a living just from ms should have been aware of this for many years.
funny how those decrying AI say AI generated art (no quotes!) is poor quality are saying they can't compete with it!
Post by: DiscreetDuck on March 24, 2023, 18:03
funny how those decrying AI say AI generated art (no quotes!) is poor quality are saying they can't compete with it!Maybe because they need a little more time than 3, 4 words and 1 click... ::)
Be sure, poor quality didn't wait for AI images...
Post by: Uncle Pete on March 25, 2023, 13:20
funny how those decrying AI say AI generated art (no quotes!) is poor quality are saying they can't compete with it!
Is that like some people complaining that uneducated, untrained people, coming into their country, are stealing their jobs and working for less? What does that say about the level of skill vs the wages? ;D
Yeah I get it. If AI is so bad, but it's stealing my downloads, and income, then what is my work?
Post by: sharpshot on March 26, 2023, 04:07
Today editorial photography is less profitable than commercial photography, also because of its reduced shelf life.I doubt we will be making more from editorial. A good percentage of photographers will do more editorial. Maybe the best will make more, but the rest will lose out to the increase in media outlets using photos taken with a mobile. Google street view is used a lot now, I can only see the quality of that improving.
This trend will be reversed.
Training AI takes a lot of time and is very expensive. That puts it many months (maybe half a year or more) behind the present.
So even when AI imagery will become dominant, there will always be a need for news photographers. Maybe the price for editorials will even go up since many photographers will bail out and those doing editorials will end up in short supply.
Maybe the same will be valid for a niche of commercial photography depicting changes in our environment (e.g. city skylines). This is why it's important for photographers doing this type of photography to opt out of AI training schemes (or else they will reduce the shelf life of their work).
PS and side note: many "white collar" "office" jobs will also be replaced by AI, while some "blue collar" jobs (harder to automate) will become more valued, reversing another trend that started with the industrial revolution.
Post by: Her Ugliness on March 26, 2023, 04:12
Today editorial photography is less profitable than commercial photography, also because of its reduced shelf life.
True, but my editorial photos only made like 5% of my income and my commercial ones 95%, so I don't really see how that's going to bring in enough income to live from, at least for me.
but that's been the trend for years as MS agencies reduced royalties. anyone who expected to make a living just from ms should have been aware of this for many years.
funny how those decrying AI say AI generated art (no quotes!) is poor quality are saying they can't compete with it!
I am not saying it is poor quality. I am just sayig I can't compete with it.
(and I am also saying it is morally wrong, because it's based on stolen images/work, it is soulless and the actual human creativity involved is below 1%)
Post by: Justanotherphotographer on March 26, 2023, 04:44
Today editorial photography is less profitable than commercial photography, also because of its reduced shelf life.
True, but my editorial photos only made like 5% of my income and my commercial ones 95%, so I don't really see how that's going to bring in enough income to live from, at least for me.
but that's been the trend for years as MS agencies reduced royalties. anyone who expected to make a living just from ms should have been aware of this for many years.
funny how those decrying AI say AI generated art (no quotes!) is poor quality are saying they can't compete with it!
Very few are saying it is poor quality. Anyone who thinks that needs to go on the Midjourney Community Showcase. The quality of the AI generated work is mind blowing. Way beyond anything posted here.
What some people are saying 1. that people generating the AI with prompts thinking they are brilliant “artists” is very silly (again go look at the Community Showcase on Midjouney and the prompts used to create the work before any further editing) 2. the roll out of AI has been legally dubious and morally reprehensible. These aren’t the same as arguing AI is bad quality or can be stopped.
I think the work being generated is amazing and it is a waste of time thinking we are safe because it can’t compete based on quality.
I also think 1. artists need to be compensated and compensated well for providing the inputs that actually made the AI possible. 2. That the agencies taking our work for this purpose is totally outside what we signed up for and a massive betrayal.
The only solution is legislation (after all our industry doesn’t exist at all without IP laws). I am not in the EU but would encourage those that are to contact their representatives. I believe AI is being debated by them at the moment.
Post by: Annie2022 on March 26, 2023, 05:02
Today editorial photography is less profitable than commercial photography, also because of its reduced shelf life.
This trend will be reversed.
Training AI takes a lot of time and is very expensive. That puts it many months (maybe half a year or more) behind the present.
So even when AI imagery will become dominant, there will always be a need for news photographers.
That's an interesting point. Yes, it does look like there will be still a need for editorials - but bona fide news editorials of course - not just street photography.
Post by: Annie2022 on March 26, 2023, 05:11
Just got the email so I tried AI. Seems I could do endless requests, until I get something I wanted?
Here's what the output is:
Large·1024 × 1024 pixels
3 × 3 in·300 DPI·JPG
$2.90 10 pack, discounts for bigger packs, same as downloads.
They are selling 1024 square images for $2.90? :o
(https://i.postimg.cc/QCDmLKcv/shutterstock-preview-AI-web.jpg)
And that's the watermark? Right click and save, it's a 1024 JPG, I just added websize for this post.
Select, content aware fill, brush the edges with the healing tool = free image.
Ah! That used to be one of my best sellers ! lol ;) See below. But of course its been copied many, many times since I uploaded it 8 years ago - and by photographers too. Now AI. lol
Doesn't worry me anymore. I retired from stock photography at the beginning of this year. The props room has been cleared out and I have a bit of gear to sell - thats if its worth anything anymore???
But still its sad. Especially looking at the money that comes dribbling in from SS nowadays. A couple of years ago I used to make around 1,000 dls/month for approx $1k. Now I make half the DLs - but for less than a 1/3 $$. The half amount of DLs I understand (increased competition from competitors and now AI (and Pete ;)) - but the 1/3 in cash is dismal.
But that's just SS, which is particularly bad this year. As a comparison for that same time period, AS has nearly doubled, the some of the mid level agencies have held their own, some agencies like 123rf have dropped considerably, but I am making a lot more now on POD and designer resources.
Post by: Uncle Pete on March 26, 2023, 11:41
AI Images
•
$0.00
•
0
Now I can watch and look forward to the first dime? Some of those are my images, uploaded and then I edited what came out of Dall-E2, they aren't AI generated but more of AI enhanced or alterations. Seemed like a good idea at the time? ::)
Too much time and effort for no return. They are all vectors as the AI illustrations are unacceptable.
Post by: Firn on March 26, 2023, 12:30
Doesn't worry me anymore. I retired from stock photography at the beginning of this year. The props room has been cleared out and I have a bit of gear to sell - thats if its worth anything anymore???
I am honestly jelous of you, I wish I could just do the same. Be done with all of this mess. Unfortunately I have no plan B. My only job other than microstock has been doing art. I am so screwed.
Post by: cascoly on March 26, 2023, 12:47
Today editorial photography is less profitable than commercial photography, also because of its reduced shelf life.
True, but my editorial photos only made like 5% of my income and my commercial ones 95%, so I don't really see how that's going to bring in enough income to live from, at least for me.
but that's been the trend for years as MS agencies reduced royalties. anyone who expected to make a living just from ms should have been aware of this for many years.
funny how those decrying AI say AI generated art (no quotes!) is poor quality are saying they can't compete with it!
Very few are saying it is poor quality. Anyone who thinks that needs to go on the Midjourney Community Showcase. The quality of the AI generated work is mind blowing. Way beyond anything posted here.
What some people are saying 1. that people generating the AI with prompts thinking they are brilliant “artists” is very silly (again go look at the Community Showcase on Midjouney and the prompts used to create the work before any further editing) ...
who has made a claim to be brilliant? and editorial doesnt mean low lifetime - shots w crowds, building signs etc are much more common and a steady sellers, even for decades old images (and yes some people images may show outdated costumes)
Quote
I also think 1. artists need to be compensated and compensated well for providing the inputs that actually made the AI possible.
...
The only solution is legislation (after all our industry doesn’t exist at all without IP laws). I am not in the EU but would encourage those that are to contact their representatives. I believe AI is being debated by them at the moment.
again, i'm waiting to hear what anyone claiming compensation expects to receive for their tiny contributions?
and no legislation can be retroactive, so it may be a solution to future scraping, but can't affect what's been done. and anyone who thinks such legislation could pass in the current polarized US congress is living in a dreamworld
Post by: Her Ugliness on March 26, 2023, 13:10
again, i'm waiting to hear what anyone claiming compensation expects to receive for their tiny contributions?
Tiny contribution? TINY CONTRIBUTION? Are you kidding me? Our unvoluntary contribution is EVERYTHING this AI is built on.
This is not tiny, this is my freakin' lifework. And if you want to know how much I want? I want what my microstock portfolio would have earned me for the rest of my life, had it not be stolen and used to train an AI to replace me, which will result in my portfolio being worthless and me being without any income and this would be something close to a 7-figure amount going by what I used to earn per month and how many years I can still expect to live. THAT'S how much my portfolio has been worth before AI image companies stole it.
Post by: Annie2022 on March 26, 2023, 14:51
Now that I see yours, nope no where close. And just for fun, I created a stats page for SS for all the AI images I have uploaded. Ready?
AI Images
•
$0.00
•
0
Now I can watch and look forward to the first dime? Some of those are my images, uploaded and then I edited what came out of Dall-E2, they aren't AI generated but more of AI enhanced or alterations. Seemed like a good idea at the time? ::)
Too much time and effort for no return. They are all vectors as the AI illustrations are unacceptable.
ha ha ha ;D
I was just kidding about the copying. My photo sat on the top of page 1 for St Pats Day for years, and every man and his dog did their own version of it. lol I guess its a typical St Pat's composition. (My filter version now sits on P3. Not sure what happened to the original?)
Remember the painted distressed wood backgrounds that I made? That was the green one.
Post by: Annie2022 on March 26, 2023, 15:21
Doesn't worry me anymore. I retired from stock photography at the beginning of this year. The props room has been cleared out and I have a bit of gear to sell - thats if its worth anything anymore???
I am honestly jelous of you, I wish I could just do the same. Be done with all of this mess. Unfortunately I have no plan B. My only job other than microstock has been doing art. I am so screwed.
There are other Plan Bs depending on your skills and whether you want to start again with other types of imagery.
There was a thread here a while ago where we talked about other opportunities such as:
- designer resources agencies
- printed merchandise
- direct selling
There are pitfalls and learning curves in some of them, and nowadays a lot of competition in most. But, for example, I was able to make an additional $1,000/month after about a year of focusing on those three things.
Your puppies would look cute on greeting cards and printed merchandise, if you haven't already tried that. In fact, remember last Christmas I saw one of your photos sold on greeting cards here in our Australian supermarket?
There is a big demand for product mockups. But that requires further investment of props and learning new skills. But its definitely a growing market. I need to expand my skills in PS to produce quality smart objects like this quick example I just found, where it perfectly wraps around the product:
https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/1395344090/boho-candle-mockup-candle-label-mockup (https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/1395344090/boho-candle-mockup-candle-label-mockup)
Here's an interesting story that happened to me just the other day: I was trying to sell one of my graphic designs and placed it on one of my own photography backgrounds for the cover photo. The product never sold but the background did! Someone went and bought it from Adobe Stock and I received $20 for the background photo. lol
So there is still a need for good background shots, I guess.
So, yeah, there are other Plan Bs.
(But just to add: I am not shooting any more photography though. I have enough files. I was planning to do some more product mockups this year - I kept those props but I got rid of all the rest. But I just cannot get motivated. Maybe because the whole industry is so depressing. Just for fun and relaxation, I have been enjoying doing graphic design projects as my creative outlet.)
Oh, and one more thing (apologies - this is becoming a very long answer). At the end of last year I decided to set up a new website from scratch. I had closed my Etsy shop so I didn't have a website through them anymore. I have always wanted a quality site which was kind of like a one stop place to showcase my work - and to my surprise I sold some work (some videos mainly) and maybe more that I havent known about. It's not a direct selling site - I didn't want all the hassle of that anymore. I just link my products to a couple of specific agencies where they can be purchased. My sales on those sites have gone up this year, so who knows???
I do a lot of marketing on social media sites and started up some new social media accounts for a fresh start. I believe everything helps. I have purchased things that I see promoted on social media - so I figure others may as well.
https://milleflore.com/ (https://milleflore.com/)
Post by: sharpshot on March 26, 2023, 17:15
I'm in year 13 of working on my plan B, and got nowhere. I'm sure it will all work out. I did get this from it, sold loads, until it was copied to death https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/crossing-out-plan-writing-b-on-17871004 (https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/crossing-out-plan-writing-b-on-17871004)
Doesn't worry me anymore. I retired from stock photography at the beginning of this year. The props room has been cleared out and I have a bit of gear to sell - thats if its worth anything anymore???
I am honestly jelous of you, I wish I could just do the same. Be done with all of this mess. Unfortunately I have no plan B. My only job other than microstock has been doing art. I am so screwed.
Post by: Firn on March 27, 2023, 06:33
Doesn't worry me anymore. I retired from stock photography at the beginning of this year. The props room has been cleared out and I have a bit of gear to sell - thats if its worth anything anymore???
I am honestly jelous of you, I wish I could just do the same. Be done with all of this mess. Unfortunately I have no plan B. My only job other than microstock has been doing art. I am so screwed.
There are other Plan Bs depending on your skills and whether you want to start again with other types of imagery.
There was a thread here a while ago where we talked about other opportunities such as:
- designer resources agencies
- printed merchandise
- direct selling
There are pitfalls and learning curves in some of them, and nowadays a lot of competition in most. But, for example, I was able to make an additional $1,000/month after about a year of focusing on those three things.
Your puppies would look cute on greeting cards and printed merchandise, if you haven't already tried that. In fact, remember last Christmas I saw one of your photos sold on greeting cards here in our Australian supermarket?
There is a big demand for product mockups. But that requires further investment of props and learning new skills. But its definitely a growing market. I need to expand my skills in PS to produce quality smart objects like this quick example I just found, where it perfectly wraps around the product:
https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/1395344090/boho-candle-mockup-candle-label-mockup (https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/1395344090/boho-candle-mockup-candle-label-mockup)
Here's an interesting story that happened to me just the other day: I was trying to sell one of my graphic designs and placed it on one of my own photography backgrounds for the cover photo. The product never sold but the background did! Someone went and bought it from Adobe Stock and I received $20 for the background photo. lol
So there is still a need for good background shots, I guess.
So, yeah, there are other Plan Bs.
(But just to add: I am not shooting any more photography though. I have enough files. I was planning to do some more product mockups this year - I kept those props but I got rid of all the rest. But I just cannot get motivated. Maybe because the whole industry is so depressing. Just for fun and relaxation, I have been enjoying doing graphic design projects as my creative outlet.)
Oh, and one more thing (apologies - this is becoming a very long answer). At the end of last year I decided to set up a new website from scratch. I had closed my Etsy shop so I didn't have a website through them anymore. I have always wanted a quality site which was kind of like a one stop place to showcase my work - and to my surprise I sold some work (some videos mainly) and maybe more that I havent known about. It's not a direct selling site - I didn't want all the hassle of that anymore. I just link my products to a couple of specific agencies where they can be purchased. My sales on those sites have gone up this year, so who knows???
I do a lot of marketing on social media sites and started up some new social media accounts for a fresh start. I believe everything helps. I have purchased things that I see promoted on social media - so I figure others may as well.
https://milleflore.com/ (https://milleflore.com/)
Thanks Annie, but I do not really believe any of these Plan Bs will really work, because designer resources agencies, printed merchandise and direct selling will be completely taken over by AI art as well.
Yes, my puppies would look great on that. But how do I compete with such AI images, most of all images that can be mass produced in 5 seconds whereas crafting, getting dogs to sit still, moving furniture for space, setting up light, etc. takes me several hours to produce one such image?
(https://i.postimg.cc/k4F5Wt19/00.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/NjmvyvPv/00a.jpg)
I have a puppy shooting for a friend ahead this weekend and I have seriously been crafting stuff for it for weeks, spend lots of money on material as well, will have to drive there for 1 hour and the shooting itself will take hours, because it is so difficult to get 7 weeks old puppies to sit still and then I will spend hours on post-processing. And then AI can now do all of this in 5 seconds.
Product mockups can now be generated with the AI in 5 seconds too:
(https://i.postimg.cc/SsWG8Dbs/00b.jpg)
There is really absolutely nothing where my skills can outperform AI anymore. In the time I can produce one image, at great effort, time and also material costs, the AI can generate 500 images for the costs of a fraction of a cent. I am officially not needed anymore.
And I don't really have any other skills. I have an university degree, but it has been over 15 years since I did anything with that so I am considered "untrained" and no one would hire me, and even in the very unlikely scenario I could find someone to hire me I would need to move to a different city far away for a job in that field anyway, which wouldn't work because of my husband's job here.
I am feeling absolutely hopeless.
Post by: stoker2014 on March 27, 2023, 09:12
Post by: stoker2014 on March 27, 2023, 09:26
Post by: stoker2014 on March 27, 2023, 09:28
Post by: Zero Talent on March 27, 2023, 09:31
Post by: Firn on March 27, 2023, 10:03
Product photography. For new products. AI can't replace it.You are more optimistic than I am. You can upload a snapshot cell phone photo to midjourney, give it instructions and it will create something for you. No product photographer needed.
I don't think it would work for product photography yet, because MJ doesn't do texts and writes in its own alien language, so every product packing with text on it would not work and I don't think it can really completely reproducing an object yet, just another version of it, but it's absolutely something I can imagine for the future: Just take a snapshot of your product, upload it to MJ and tell MJ "make me a beautiful advertisement shot" and voilá!
But besides this, I did actually start looking for other jobs, but it's not like someone is searching for a product photographer anywhere in my area. As said, I am not considered as "trained" with my university degree since I did not work in that field for 15+ years and the only very few job offers where being trained wasn't a requirement were not an option for me for various other reasons, like not having a driver's license.
I though portrait photography might be one that would always be in demand, but I've already seen sites where you can send in a couple of cell phone selfies and it will create 100 of professional looking portrait photographes with your face. :-\
Post by: stoker2014 on March 27, 2023, 11:14
but I've already seen sites where you can send in a couple of cell phone selfies and it will create 100 of professional looking portrait photographes with your face. :-\Share addresses. I want to order a portrait for myself.
Post by: ADH on March 27, 2023, 11:27
Post by: RalfLiebhold on March 27, 2023, 11:46
Product photography. For new products. AI can't replace it.You are more optimistic than I am. You can upload a snapshot cell phone photo to midjourney, give it instructions and it will create something for you. No product photographer needed.
I don't think it would work for product photography yet, because MJ doesn't do texts and writes in its own alien language, so every product packing with text on it would not work and I don't think it can really completely reproducing an object yet, just another version of it, but it's absolutely something I can imagine for the future: Just take a snapshot of your product, upload it to MJ and tell MJ "make me a beautiful advertisement shot" and voilá!
But besides this, I did actually start looking for other jobs, but it's not like someone is searching for a product photographer anywhere in my area. As said, I am not considered as "trained" with my university degree since I did not work in that field for 15+ years and the only very few job offers where being trained wasn't a requirement were not an option for me for various other reasons, like not having a driver's license.
I though portrait photography might be one that would always be in demand, but I've already seen sites where you can send in a couple of cell phone selfies and it will create 100 of professional looking portrait photographes with your face. :-\
Firn, are you noticing a decline in sales already now, or is your concern more about the near future?
Post by: Firn on March 27, 2023, 12:05
Firn, are you noticing a decline in sales already now, or is your concern more about the near future?
It's more about the future. My sales are as usual so far, both in terms of downloads and revenue.
But I don't expect a decline so fast. The latest version of midjourney that lets you basically create photorealistic images is maybe 2 weeks old? Up till that point AI photos were rather poor in my opinion. It's really the latest MJ version that is giving me nightmares.
It will take a while till everyone catches on to what AI can do now, most of all customers. But eventually there won't be any money to be made with microstock photography and I am afraid it will be rather sooner than later.
Post by: RalfLiebhold on March 27, 2023, 12:54
Firn, are you noticing a decline in sales already now, or is your concern more about the near future?
It's more about the future. My sales are as usual so far, both in terms of downloads and revenue.
But I don't expect a decline so fast. The latest version of midjourney that lets you basically create photorealistic images is maybe 2 weeks old? Up till that point AI photos were rather poor in my opinion. It's really the latest MJ version that is giving me nightmares.
It will take a while till everyone catches on to what AI can do now, most of all customers. But eventually there won't be any money to be made with microstock photography and I am afraid it will be rather sooner than later.
Then I'll keep my fingers crossed that customers are more likely to vote for real images.
I can understand your frustration. You have conquered a great niche here, which was very difficult (I could not do it at all) to imitate. Now any dork can do it :(
Post by: cascoly on March 27, 2023, 12:59
again, i'm waiting to hear what anyone claiming compensation expects to receive for their tiny contributions?
Tiny contribution? TINY CONTRIBUTION? Are you kidding me? Our unvoluntary contribution is EVERYTHING this AI is built on.
This is not tiny, this is my freakin' lifework. And if you want to know how much I want? I want what my microstock portfolio would have earned me for the rest of my life, had it not be stolen and used to train an AI to replace me, which will result in my portfolio being worthless and me being without any income and this would be something close to a 7-figure amount going by what I used to earn per month and how many years I can still expect to live. THAT'S how much my portfolio has been worth before AI image companies stole it.
you're going to be a bit disappointed if you expect even THREE figure compensation - and 'tiny' is not your subjective opinion - RYFM - i said tiny (should have said minuscule) compared to the total # of images involved
and 7 figures for lifetime? how many artists even come close to that amount? we've seen long ago that what you earned years ago no longer predicts recent years, much less over a long life.
Post by: cascoly on March 27, 2023, 13:05
actually, given the silly instructions that often come with products it looks like a poor version of AI has been at work for yearsProduct photography. For new products. AI can't replace it.You are more optimistic than I am. You can upload a snapshot cell phone photo to midjourney, give it instructions and it will create something for you. No product photographer needed.
I don't think it would work for product photography yet, because MJ doesn't do texts and writes in its own alien language, so every product packing with text on it would not work ...
Post by: Her Ugliness on March 27, 2023, 13:08
again, i'm waiting to hear what anyone claiming compensation expects to receive for their tiny contributions?
Tiny contribution? TINY CONTRIBUTION? Are you kidding me? Our unvoluntary contribution is EVERYTHING this AI is built on.
This is not tiny, this is my freakin' lifework. And if you want to know how much I want? I want what my microstock portfolio would have earned me for the rest of my life, had it not be stolen and used to train an AI to replace me, which will result in my portfolio being worthless and me being without any income and this would be something close to a 7-figure amount going by what I used to earn per month and how many years I can still expect to live. THAT'S how much my portfolio has been worth before AI image companies stole it.
you're going to be a bit disappointed if you expect even THREE figure compensation -
I don't "EXPECT" to even get a single cent, I am just saying what I want and what I consider my the usage of my port to train AI to be worth.
Post by: U11 on March 27, 2023, 13:26
- Oversupply of AI generated images/video, the market will become saturated if it hasn't already.and you dont need a library of images anymore (soon)
AI will generate images on demand when you need them with the best quality available at the day of generation
Imagine a web page just calling an API to generate unique illustration tailored for every visitor
Post by: Annie2022 on March 27, 2023, 17:47
Product photography. For new products. AI can't replace it.You are more optimistic than I am. You can upload a snapshot cell phone photo to midjourney, give it instructions and it will create something for you. No product photographer needed.
I don't think it would work for product photography yet, because MJ doesn't do texts and writes in its own alien language, so every product packing with text on it would not work and I don't think it can really completely reproducing an object yet, just another version of it, but it's absolutely something I can imagine for the future: Just take a snapshot of your product, upload it to MJ and tell MJ "make me a beautiful advertisement shot" and voilá!
Ok, I'll give you a scenario.
There is a huge market out there for party supplies & wedding stationery designers. Its big! I mean huge! One of the designers who I befriended showed me the dollars that can be made in the industry. Thousands of dollars a month. I was quite taken back. But they want mockups for their cover shots - and they will buy in bulk. They are artists and graphic designers but mostly not photographers, and they want professional photography, good lighting, on-trend styling (which is a whole subject in itself), the right props with the perfect dimensions, etc, or simply don't want to fuss around with the photography side of things. They sell mainly on Etsy, and places like Zazzle (the home for personalized and custom products), or through their own sites.
To top it off, Zazzle encourages designers to use their own cover photos (where you need mockups other than the ones Zazzle offers). Zazzle even gives search priority to products that feature their own cover photos. I found that hard to believe - but its true. They made the announcement in Feb 2023, had several designers complaining on the forum, but several have tried it - and yes, higher search placement for those who use their own cover photos. But this has also driven up the need for more mockups.
So this is where the designer resources market comes into it - the supplier side. Top product mockup photographers also make a lot of money. Through eRank I was able to research some of them who sell around 300 mockup photos (JPEG, PNGs and PSD smart object files) at around $5 to $12 a mockup - A WEEK! That's a minimum of $78,000/annum.
So dare I say this is a big market.
Like I said, I befriended some of these designers and learnt a lot about what they want. Its mainly in the styling and the types of mockups, but mostly the new styling trends (which requires quite a bit of research and know-how, and constantly keeping up to date). They know what they want. The AI generated mockups you posted above, Fern - look nice but its not what they want. Its the wrong styling, they are over-styled (they will distract from the actual designs), the wrong colors, and not sure about the dimensions of the products - they have to be exact. Also, up close those photos look computer generated and they don't want those. There are already lots of 3D modelling mockups on designer resources agencies and Etsy, but it doesn't appeal to this particular market. They have their own market. But of course, if you can AI generate the right mockups - then you still have to create the PNGs and PSD smart object files. I don't think places like MJ can do that (maybe not yet??)
I only just touched the surface with these types of 'styled stock photos' (as they call it) mockups, and most of mine are fairly simple, but as soon as I started to provide even the simple ones, my sales jumped up.
There - I've given everyone a huge tip! But to those who are not good stylists, or cannot generate quality PNGs and in particular the PSD smart objects files (like the one I linked above) you won't be able to fully tap into the market. But the important thing is this buyer market does not want computer generated mockups. If they bought one accidently from you, and looked closely at it, they would be very unhappy. Its a completely different market with big money involved.
The question is, will AI take over this market? Its possible. Anything is possible. And maybe take some of the market away, but because of the buyers' demands, and the big dollars involved, the right photographers with the right skills could still carve out a good niche for themselves. (I think I just motivated myself to try again. lol)
Post by: Zero Talent on March 27, 2023, 18:07
Product photography. For new products. AI can't replace it.You are more optimistic than I am. You can upload a snapshot cell phone photo to midjourney, give it instructions and it will create something for you. No product photographer needed.
I don't think it would work for product photography yet, because MJ doesn't do texts and writes in its own alien language, so every product packing with text on it would not work and I don't think it can really completely reproducing an object yet, just another version of it, but it's absolutely something I can imagine for the future: Just take a snapshot of your product, upload it to MJ and tell MJ "make me a beautiful advertisement shot" and voilá!
But besides this, I did actually start looking for other jobs, but it's not like someone is searching for a product photographer anywhere in my area. As said, I am not considered as "trained" with my university degree since I did not work in that field for 15+ years and the only very few job offers where being trained wasn't a requirement were not an option for me for various other reasons, like not having a driver's license.
I though portrait photography might be one that would always be in demand, but I've already seen sites where you can send in a couple of cell phone selfies and it will create 100 of professional looking portrait photographes with your face. :-\
As I said before AI is always months behind reality because reality must happen first before AI has something to be trained on.
If a product photo can be generated by AI, then it's not about a NEW product anymore. AI needs a lot of NEW product photography, made by real product photographers before it becomes trained enough to generate that product photo.
If a brewery is launching a new brand of beer in a new style of bottle, the brand will require real photographers to make a set of real photos of that new brand, before AI can come up with something similar.
And manufacturers are extremely picky about the smallest detail, the perfect color match, etc, before they expose their new brand to the public.
So no, in such cases, AI will always be useless.
Of course, AI can be used to generate all sorts of enhancements using that initial real product photo, but that real product photo with perfect lighting, perfect color match, etc, will still be needed.
Those AI survivalists will be in short supply once the majority will give up, so I expect such rare skills to be better paid than today.
Post by: cascoly on March 28, 2023, 12:59
...
And manufacturers are extremely picky about the smallest detail, the perfect color match, etc, before they expose their new brand to the public.
So no, in such cases, AI will always be useless.
Of course, AI can be used to generate all sorts of enhancements using that initial real product photo, but that real product photo with perfect lighting, perfect color match, etc, will still be needed.
Those AI survivalists will be in short supply once the majority will give up, so I expect such rare skills to be better paid than today.
yes, there be a culling, leaving the most creative artists. Folk have been complaining for years about agencies being flooded with low quality images - AI is another form of evolution in action
Post by: Anny1234 on March 28, 2023, 13:00
As I said before AI is always months behind reality because reality must happen first before AI has something to be trained on.
If a product photo can be generated by AI, then it's not about a NEW product anymore. AI needs a lot of NEW product photography, made by real product photographers before it becomes trained enough to generate that product photo.
Sorry, but this is ridiculous :)
Every new product will be fed to AI in the future long before it is even released.
It will be invented there at the first place!
Hiring a photographer to make photo of a physical bottle... in the age of AI is just laughable.
"Becomes trained enough" - it has been just 1 week of my Midjourney 4 subscription, where I was saving long crafted prompts for future use... before in just few days Version 5 was released that has made my old prompts obsolete, because now it gets it right from the get go with amazing photorealism!
If there is any illusion that Stock Photography will survive, I would advise to forget about it and think how you will put food on the table in a few months.
Stock agencies won't survive to begin with!
Why shall I pay Shutterstock to make DALL-E pics if I can pay DALL-E or get it for free at all with them or other generators?
What are stock agencies expect to charge for? They will become a joke with their pathetic "copyright" nonsense. Are you paying every time you see a picture for inspiration and learn from it on internet? No! So neither machine is charged when it just "sees" the picture and learns from it.
Adobe will survive with their own generator without any need to pay for storage of old pics - that's it. Getty will remain as a small photo album of old photos of Merylin Monroe - the only thing they will be able to charge for.
I have been full-time stock photographer for more than a decade. It is just time to change as soon as possible, until it is too late, instead of feeding yourself with illusions.
Post by: Justanotherphotographer on March 28, 2023, 15:23
Lol, yes that's what's happening
yes, there be a culling, leaving the most creative artists.
Post by: Zero Talent on March 28, 2023, 15:50
Every new product will be fed to AI in the future long before it is even released.
It will be invented there at the first place!
You didn't get my point.
I will repeat: Reality must happen first, before AI can learn from it.
Using a different example, what you are saying is that you don't need photographers to document a soccer match, because the match already took place inside AI.
That is ridiculous, indeed. ;)
Post by: Anny1234 on March 28, 2023, 15:56
You didn't get my point.
I will repeat: Reality must happen first, before AI can learn from it.
Using a different example, what you are saying is that you don't need photographers to document a soccer match, because the match already took place inside AI.
That is ridiculous, indeed. ;)
What I am saying is that there is no need to document reality with a clumsy human photographer, all the cameras around you on every corner of the street do it 24/7 ;) - and this is not even their intention yet.
Post by: Zero Talent on March 28, 2023, 16:13
You didn't get my point.
I will repeat: Reality must happen first, before AI can learn from it.
Using a different example, what you are saying is that you don't need photographers to document a soccer match, because the match already took place inside AI.
That is ridiculous, indeed. ;)
What I am saying is that there is no need to document reality with a clumsy human photographer, all the cameras around you on every corner of the street do it 24/7 ;) - and this is not even their intention yet.
Nobody needs a clumsy photographers, indeed. Those clumsy photographers re-hashing over and over again the same old, same old concepts will have to give up their dreams.
But professional photo/video graphers will continue to document the reality as it happens, before AI could be taught new concepts.
You may have seen one too many science fiction movies and misunderstood what AI is.
Post by: Anny1234 on March 28, 2023, 16:21
But professional photo/video graphers will continue to document the reality as it happens, before AI could be taught new concepts.
You may have seen one too many science fiction movies and misunderstood what AI is.
AI should be taught new concepts... is hilarious.
I haven't watch one movie, I have just used the tools that are out there already (and just few months old) which you obviously haven't even tried yet.
Good luck with whole new world of discoveries once you stop theorising and actually do :D
You can actually start straight away with an input starting with the phrase "new concept" ;)
There is absolutely no need to gather new information about current state of the real world from photographers and videographers, especially with the need to pay them for that every time.
Post by: Jo Ann Snover on March 28, 2023, 16:43
..... all the cameras around you on every corner of the street do it 24/7 ;) - and this is not even their intention yet.
I suspect you're arguing for the sake of it, but there is zero comparison between what a security camera on a street camera can capture and a quality high resolution image. Pixels on sensors aren't interchangeable and thinking that they are will lead you off into the weeds.
AI can only regurgitate if it's fed training data - as the world changes AI will need constant care and feeding to regurgitate up-to-date information. Companies inventing new, patentable things, will keep those quiet until after they've been granted their patent; AI can't imagine what a specific earthquake, volcanic eruption or tsunami will produce, only produce a "something like this" fantasy.
Your comments are not really adding anything to the discussion
Post by: Anny1234 on March 28, 2023, 16:45
But professional photo/video graphers will continue to document the reality as it happens, before AI could be taught new concepts.
You may have seen one too many science fiction movies and misunderstood what AI is.
I wish you to be right though if you want to believe it. It is just may be your dangerous illusion that may give false hope to people, who can still have time to prepare.
I very much doubt that I have "misunderstood what AI is" by listening to real life interviews with Sam Altman and such, with explanations from those who are actually behind these technologies. You can keep your movies to yourself :)
Post by: Anny1234 on March 28, 2023, 16:50
..... all the cameras around you on every corner of the street do it 24/7 ;) - and this is not even their intention yet.
I suspect you're arguing for the sake of it, but there is zero comparison between what a security camera on a street camera can capture and a quality high resolution image. Pixels on sensors aren't interchangeable and thinking that they are will lead you off into the weeds.
Your comments are not really adding anything to the discussion
If you aren't following the discussion, then it is not adding up for you.
The example with street camera meant to give you an idea that cameras and recording systems (not even mentioning robot-mounted 3D vision cameras for product photography and such) are already automated and are all around us without any need of someone running around with 5D Mark 13654654 to take photo of a new beer bottle :)
Post by: Annie2022 on March 28, 2023, 16:57
...
And manufacturers are extremely picky about the smallest detail, the perfect color match, etc, before they expose their new brand to the public.
So no, in such cases, AI will always be useless.
Of course, AI can be used to generate all sorts of enhancements using that initial real product photo, but that real product photo with perfect lighting, perfect color match, etc, will still be needed.
Those AI survivalists will be in short supply once the majority will give up, so I expect such rare skills to be better paid than today.
yes, there be a culling, leaving the most creative artists. Folk have been complaining for years about agencies being flooded with low quality images - AI is another form of evolution in action
That's it! In a nutshell.
In economics there is a model that demonstrates how market saturation works and what typically happens.
It is a bell curve. In the beginning, when a new product is created that is highly desirable by consumers - in this case, digital stock photography - there is a very rapid growth rate. It eventually will peak and then start to slide down rapidly on the other side, until only a few competitors remain.
In this case, the bell curve started to peak around 2018 when SS decided to drop their previous high entrance and quality standards and allow a huge influx of contributors into the market, in order to boast being the agency with the largest database. Lots of other things happened around that time as well, including quality smartphone cameras, etc.
Its been tumbling down rapidly ever since with more and more people leaving. But what we didn't expect a year or so ago, was AI!! Who knew they would also join in and hasten the demise of many market participants (suppliers - agencies and contributors).
But the market does eventually adjust itself and typically only a few remain. A handful of large suppliers who provide the main product, and specialists who find needed and wanted niches. The 'easy-bucks' people will typically leave.
Post by: Annie2022 on March 28, 2023, 17:55
Just got the email so I tried AI. Seems I could do endless requests, until I get something I wanted?
Here's what the output is:
Large·1024 × 1024 pixels
3 × 3 in·300 DPI·JPG
$2.90 10 pack, discounts for bigger packs, same as downloads.
They are selling 1024 square images for $2.90? :o
(https://i.postimg.cc/QCDmLKcv/shutterstock-preview-AI-web.jpg)
And that's the watermark? Right click and save, it's a 1024 JPG, I just added websize for this post.
Select, content aware fill, brush the edges with the healing tool = free image.
Ah! That used to be one of my best sellers ! lol ;) See below. But of course its been copied many, many times since I uploaded it 8 years ago - and by photographers too. Now AI. lol
Doesn't worry me anymore. I retired from stock photography at the beginning of this year. The props room has been cleared out and I have a bit of gear to sell - thats if its worth anything anymore???
But still its sad. Especially looking at the money that comes dribbling in from SS nowadays. A couple of years ago I used to make around 1,000 dls/month for approx $1k. Now I make half the DLs - but for less than a 1/3 $$. The half amount of DLs I understand (increased competition from competitors and now AI (and Pete ;)) - but the 1/3 in cash is dismal.
I should complain about SS more often! I just noticed this from two days ago. $75 for one video and $22 for 44 (??!!) downloads of another. That's SS in a nutshell. lol
Post by: jjneff on March 28, 2023, 20:14
Post by: U11 on March 28, 2023, 22:01
Post by: Anny1234 on March 29, 2023, 02:20
I have to weigh in here!! I just did a photo shoot of two senior girls, AI can't do that! People use AI to your benefit to make more money not less!! I have found a place for it and it is not in stock imagery. Yes real photographers and video producers are still needed. I run a youtube channel for a school and AI can not produce video's of the student activities or do interviews....... For the lazy it is game over for the driven is is just adjusting and using and moving on. Sure AI will replace a large part of stock, your job is to shoot what it can't produce and yes there are things it will not be able to do. Think of all the locations in your city that AI has no clue!
With the respect to two senior girls... how much have they paid? (I am not asking for the answer here, it is obvious). Does the new generation after them will have the same understanding of what a portrait photoshoot with a professional photographer is at all?
And I won't be telling you about the world of apps that can generate you 100s of professional portraits in a second in any setting/location/make-up/clothing you wish for from just one phone selfie that you upload. Because some people are just in denial and don't even want to read the news about their own industry.
How are you supposed to make money with "all the locations in your city that AI has no clue!" is a mystery to me as well. But I wish you to succeed!
There are oil painters still to this day... Doesn't mean they are hired to do portrait painting on a regular basis anymore.
If you believe that you will remain in that 1% that will be left to represent the profession and do some exclusive work for photography connoisseurs, then of course there is nothing to worry about :)
Maybe even better to learn film photography then, will sound more exquisite for that type of clients :D
Post by: Firn on March 29, 2023, 04:10
- Even photography. I think especially with wedding photography one must be out of his mind to want AI generated images instead of having real photos of the actual event. I also think there will be some constant demand for sports and concert photography. This will probably be easy to AI generate as well, but already now, especially in concert photography, when reporting about a concert there is a high demand to have photos of a very particular concert, even if a band or artis did a whole tour with 20 shows. If a web site reports about one concert, most will use images of that particular concert instead of the photos from any show. Fashion runaway shows is another area where I don't see AI doing the job anytime soon.
I think there will be some areas of event photography that will be mostly taken over by AI. For a company it might be more important to have photos of an event that give a shiny image to the outside world instead of authentic images.
- Individiual dog/pet photography. The area of stock animal photography will be completely covered by AI, but there is a high demands for pet owners, mostly of dogs and horses, where the owners want to have great photos of their animals and are willing to pay good money for it. (Sadly due to my lack of driver's license that's not a real option for me, otherwise I would try to go into this direction)
- Portrait photography. We already know that this can be done by AI and I am sure it will be - especially the young generation that hasn't cared for authenticity for a long time, but uses Instagram filters to morph themselves into completely different people will not care and I can totally see them using a portrait AI service where they just send in a few selvies, even if they need a photo for something like a job application or to hang on their wall. But I think there is a generation of people over 40 who would not do that. So portrait photography will still be there, at least for the next 10-20 years. However, I do not know whether that's really a area of photography that brings in much money. The very small photography shops where you would go to to have a family portrait taken or a passport photo have become very rare here and usually you can just go there without an apointment, as the photographers don't really seem to have a full shedule.
- Editorial photographers. I think this area will also be taken over by AI more than some popel think. If the AI can generate a famous building there really is no need for a real photo. I think the area of street/travel photography will be the one to most suffer from AI images, but there are still news events, like a demonstration, a polical meating, etc. that need to be covered.
That's really all I can think of. I think most areas - landscape, wildlife, macro, underwater, astrophotography, scientif, fashion & beauty, street, travel, food photography - They will all be 95% replaced by AI in the future.
I think for now there is still a great demand for authentic photos. I have been playing around with AI generators a lot (know your enemy), and I can still see a lot of things where it is struggling with. Hands are still an issue, so are rodent feet, animal claws, insect legs, the AI has problems understanding the proper relation of things like "on the left/right, next to, behind, inside of, etc..." and never places stuff where I want it to be, it ignores way too many instructions and adds way too much stuff you didn't tell it to add and some things it fails to understand completely (someone please successfully generates "tube of glue" on midjourney!) , in studio-settings the light sorces in eyes often don't seem to come form the same direction for the left and right eye with animals, very specific not so common plants or even animals it doesn't seem to know at all. And sometimes it just goes batshit crazy - This was basically "cat hunting a mouse":
(https://i.postimg.cc/761pjt9W/00-copy.png)
I really have no idea where Midjourney went wrong here. :o
So there are still some major issues. But, I think with how fast AI is progressing, we can expect most if not all of them to be sorted out within maybe a year.
Post by: jjneff on March 29, 2023, 05:58
Post by: jjneff on March 29, 2023, 06:06
Post by: Zero Talent on March 29, 2023, 07:18
If the AI can generate a famous building there really is no need for a real photo.
Yes, there is. Once the NEW building is built. There is a window of opportunity of a few months before enough samples made by photographers are made to get the AI trained.
Post by: Anny1234 on March 29, 2023, 07:26
If the AI can generate a famous building there really is no need for a real photo.
Yes, there is. Once the NEW building is built. There is a window of opportunity of a few months before enough samples made by photographers are made to get the AI trained.
I hope you are aware that there are photorealistic 3D models and architectural visualisations in the location with all the engineering models etc. of the future building that exist long before ANY building is built nowadays even without any AI.
What wil be the job of the photographer? To take a photo of it against the clouds on the specific day? :D
I mean seriously... do you really think that buildings are built on the site and not on the computer first?! :D
Post by: jjneff on March 29, 2023, 07:50
One area where AI will not be effective is in the creative process of photography. Although AI can be used to assist photographers in certain tasks, such as image recognition and face detection, the creative process of taking a photograph still requires a human touch. AI can only do so much in terms of capturing the nuances of a scene, the emotion of a moment, or the composition of a photograph. Furthermore, AI can only take photographs from predetermined vantage points, so if a photographer wants to take a photograph from an unusual angle, this will require human input.
Another area where AI will not be effective is in post-production. Post-production involves editing and enhancing photographs, and this often requires an artistic eye that AI simply cannot provide. Although AI can be used to automate certain tasks, such as color correction and image sharpening, the creative decisions that go into post-production still require human input.
Finally, AI will not be able to replace the business
Post by: Zero Talent on March 29, 2023, 07:51
If the AI can generate a famous building there really is no need for a real photo.
Yes, there is. Once the NEW building is built. There is a window of opportunity of a few months before enough samples made by photographers are made to get the AI trained.
I hope you are aware that there are photorealistic 3D models and architectural visualisations in the location with all the engineering models etc. of the future building that exist long before ANY building is built nowadays even without any AI.
What wil be the job of the photographer? To take a photo of it against the clouds on the specific day? :D
I mean seriously... do you really think that buildings are built on the site and not on the computer first?! :D
Training AI with simulated input is a fallacy. Or, for that matter, training AI with AI generated inputs.
That's not how AI works.
You don't need AI to publish simulations instead of the real stuff. These are available today, indeed and yet, you don't see them used instead of the real stuff.
I saw some fools taking for real video games screenshots, instead of real war photos from Ukraine. But you can only do that for so long until you lose all credibility.
Post by: Anny1234 on March 29, 2023, 08:08
Training AI with simulated input is a fallacy. Or, for that matter, training AI with AI generated inputs.
That's not how AI works.
You don't need AI to publish simulations instead of the real stuff. These are available today, indeed and yet, you don't see them used instead of the real stuff.
I saw some fools taking for real screenshots from video games, instead of real war photos from Ukraine. But you can only do that for so long until you lose all credibility.
I understand what do you mean I just don't understand the need in photographers in creating the "real life input".
Robot-cameras and drones will provide you with much more of the war zone horror than any photographer will ever do.
It is also safer to send robots there!
Haven't anyone seen Google Street View Cars that have recorded every inch of major cities 15 years ago? And without use of any stock photographer waiting in the bushes when the building will be built to take a pic of it first?
Seriously thinking that AI gets the main input from "photographers with cameras" is exceptionally ridiculous I am sorry, I cannot find other words :)
The AI lab tomorrow can send the car to drive around and record everything in the 100MP resolution if they want.
You might as well apply to be a driver then - they will be more useful in this process than photographers.
Post by: Zero Talent on March 29, 2023, 08:19
Training AI with simulated input is a fallacy. Or, for that matter, training AI with AI generated inputs.
That's not how AI works.
You don't need AI to publish simulations instead of the real stuff. These are available today, indeed and yet, you don't see them used instead of the real stuff.
I saw some fools taking for real screenshots from video games, instead of real war photos from Ukraine. But you can only do that for so long until you lose all credibility.
I understand what do you mean I just don't understand the need in photographers in creating the "real life input".
Robot-cameras and drones will provide you with much more of the war zone horror than any photographer will ever do.
It is also safer to send robots there!
Haven't anyone seen Google Street View Cars that have recorded every inch of major cities 15 years ago? And without use of any stock photographer waiting in the bushes when the building will be built to take a pic of it first?
Seriously thinking that AI gets the main input from "photographers with cameras" is exceptionally ridiculous I am sorry, I cannot find other words :)
The AI lab tomorrow can send the car to drive around and record everything in the 100MP resolution if they want.
You might as well apply to be a driver then - they will be more useful in this process than photographers.
A drone operator is a photo/videographer. You don't need a film camera or a 5D Mark IV to be called a photographer.
Maybe that's what you don't get.
And don't worry, AI/robot wars are only happening in the science fiction movies you say you don't watch.
Post by: Anny1234 on March 29, 2023, 08:30
A drone operator is a photo/videographer. You don't need a film camera or a 5D Mark IV to be called a photographer.
Maybe that's what you don't get.
And don't worry, AI/robot wars are only happening in the science fiction movies you say you don't watch.
It seems you watch plenty as you refer to them all the time.
I read news instead and the arms race involving AI is very much real. If you live in the forest far away and don't care I am just happy for you :)
And as if everything that is happening right now is too far away from science fiction? :D
If you think your own little drone will be able to make you money in a few months, I wish you luck with that.
All I am saying is, that I just wish that all stock photographers who has relied on this income as I did, will better stop doing it asap. And try suplement it while there are still few months left of money coming in.
I have built a new online income stream in recent months for which I would need plenty of stock photos before.
I will never need to use stock sites ever again, even though I would have to be a customer just few months ago. Not anymore.
Post by: Anny1234 on March 29, 2023, 08:37
Post by: Zero Talent on March 29, 2023, 09:03
All I am saying is, that I just wish that all stock photographers who has relied on this income as I did, will better stop doing it asap. And try suplement it while there are still few months left of money coming in.
We can agree with that. As I said, stock photographers rehashing old concepts will have to give up.
But really new content, creative content that only humans can invent, will still be needed, and it will be better valued than today, when it's drowned into a sea of replicas.
This is a drawing I made yesterday during an AI centric presentation made by McKinsey group,
Post by: Anny1234 on March 29, 2023, 09:09
This is a drawing I made yesterday during an AI centric presentation made by McKinsey group.
It is good to be optimistic indeed :) :D
Post by: Anny1234 on March 29, 2023, 09:10
Post by: Zero Talent on March 29, 2023, 09:17
This is a drawing I made yesterday during an AI centric presentation made by McKinsey group.
It is good to be optimistic indeed :) :D
No. It's realism.
During that meeting, we discussed extensively with their AI experts, stuff you don't seem to want to understand.
Post by: Anny1234 on March 29, 2023, 09:24
No. It's realism.
During that meeting, we discussed extensively with their AI experts, stuff you don't seem to want to understand.
What I don't understand? I completely agree with you saying:
"But really new content, creative content that only humans can invent, will still be needed, and it will be better valued than today, when it's drowned into a see of replicas."
And I referred to 1% of exceptional work that will still remain relevant.
I won't be that arrogant to consider myself or anyone who is doing stock photography to be that 1% of visionaries. But you are welcome :D
Though also... selling your future coming groundbraking concepts for 0.10 cents on stock sites seems a bit strange to me :)
And if people still need pizza pics because they eat pizza, not some concept food, there is no need to invent the wheel, there is just a need to generate the most photorealistic yummy pizza - that is all that is needed. And no photographer is needed for that anymore.
P.S: and no stock site is needed for that anymore either! Ever again.
Post by: Zero Talent on March 29, 2023, 09:46
No. It's realism.
During that meeting, we discussed extensively with their AI experts, stuff you don't seem to want to understand.
What I don't understand? I completely agree with you saying:
"But really new content, creative content that only humans can invent, will still be needed, and it will be better valued than today, when it's drowned into a see of replicas."
And I referred to 1% of exceptional work that will still remain relevant.
I won't be that arrogant to consider myself or anyone who is doing stock photography to be that 1% of visionaries. But you are welcome :D
Though also... selling your future coming groundbraking concepts for 0.10 cents on stock sites seems a bit strange to me :)
And if people still need pizza pics because they eat pizza, not some concept food, there is no need to invent the wheel, there is just a need to generate the most photorealistic yummy pizza - that is all that is needed. And no photographer is needed for that anymore.
P.S: and no stock site is needed for that anymore either! Ever again.
Then all is good. We can debate if it's only 1%.
And no, I have no long term expectation from this.
I will just go along with it for as long as it will last, as I always said since I first started, about 10 years ago.
Moreover, I have no plans to become part of that small percentage of surviving photographers, even if they will end up being in high demand and better paid than today.
Post by: stoker2014 on March 29, 2023, 11:05
So this is where the designer resources market comes into it - the supplier side. Top product mockup photographers also make a lot of money. Through eRank I was able to research some of them who sell around 300 mockup photos (JPEG, PNGs and PSD smart object files) at around $5 to $12 a mockup - A WEEK! That's a minimum of $78,000/annum.What sites do photographers sell photos for $5-$12?
Post by: Uncle Pete on March 29, 2023, 11:14
I am very aware that the photo stock business will be nearly dead in about a year or less!
I'd say that's the best summary of the situation and the future. Stock photography will suffer more than any other area of photography. The more common any item is, and easily created by AI, the less anyone will need real photos.
As an example, except for styling and something specific arrangements, most common, useful, stock food photos, will be unnecessary. The demand will be fulfilled by AI.
Real photos, real locations, interesting creative angles, and things that AI can't easily have in the catalog or not having been programed to simulate, will still be viable.
It's also possible that most of the stock photo agencies will be a thing of the past. No longer necessary and who needs to search through millions of images for "that perfect image" when they can create what they want, on demand? AI will cost less as well. No subscription for 750 images a month needed.
Going back to your quote. No subscriptions, means stock photographers will lose the tiny bit of income that's left on a repeating or reliable basis. Many of us will be left with intermittent singles and others, and on demand.
Post by: cascoly on March 29, 2023, 12:23
but food, nature, travel, etc are already over represented and few can make much money in those areas, so AI wont make much difference
As an example, except for styling and something specific arrangements, most common, useful, stock food photos, will be unnecessary. The demand will be fulfilled by AI....
It's also possible that most of the stock photo agencies will be a thing of the past. No longer necessary and who needs to search through millions of images for "that perfect image" when they can create what they want, on demand? AI will cost less as well. No subscription for 750 images a month needed.
...
but the bigger mistake here is assuming that buyers are as tech savvy as many here - many still dont know how to deal with their phones or the tv remote - expecting all buyer to immediately start producing their own content isn't logical - they'd have to hire additional designers to actually create the initial images and THEN do, the post-processing required to make a usable image. stock agencies have hundreds of millions of images that they are not going to, discard overnight. so 1 year for the disappearance of agencies is wildly pessimistic, altho i do expect majopr changes over the next 5-10 years
Post by: pancaketom on March 29, 2023, 13:13
So far so called AI still needs something to start with - at the moment that is whatever is available - with a huge keyworded stock library especially valuable - If the stock libraries fill up with AI generated and keyworded content, the AI will train off of that and drift in whatever way that stuff goes. Probably towards whatever was popular recently and whatever is being bought. When something new comes along it can be wildly popular for a while, until people get sick of it - for example HDR images or video with very shallow depth of field or right now AI generated stuff. Except the AI stuff doesn't have to have a particular AI look.
In general good enough is good enough for customers, and even though the chance of your image making it in the wildly over-represented categories for many of them there are still a lot of sales, the pie is just sliced too thin to make it worthwhile for most artists to add more. It remains to be seen if AI images based on reality are good enough or if people actually want reality for things like landscapes and city scapes and will people even be able to tell the difference. Maybe google street view images are good enough or the AI can use them as a starting point to produce much prettier images that are close enough to replace actual images. Also if the sites decide that they want to push AI down in the search it would severely limit its effect on sales on that platform - until the sales go elsewhere or AI images that aren't labeled as such take over.
It will be interesting to see where this goes - I certainly don't predict anything good for photographers although as usual it is probably possible to use this at least in the short term for some gain. I doubt the stock photo business will be anywhere near dead in a year or less, but I also very seriously doubt it will be the same or better for photographers. My prediction for the future remains about the same - long term this is a losing proposition and it will get worse before it gets worse but it won't just stop immediately, just a long descent.
Post by: Anny1234 on March 29, 2023, 13:38
but the bigger mistake here is assuming that buyers are as tech savvy as many here - many still dont know how to deal with their phones or the tv remote - expecting all buyer to immediately start producing their own content isn't logical
Who are they then and what are they doing on stock agency at all then? Sorry, it doesn't seem logical to imagine a buyer who doesn't know how to deal with the phone but has subscription on Shutterstock?
There is absolutely no difference between typing "apple on white background" into DALL-E or into stock website the only difference that you pay them more for no reason than to a native generator.
20 year old social media managers working for companies all around the world won't have any problems with it.
But they may not even go anywhere for pictures it will be just integrated in every other service they are using.
Enjoy it in action here from 2:40:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yg2yHIKQ7oM (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yg2yHIKQ7oM)
They won't even have to go anywhere. :D Horrific :)
Post by: Annie2022 on March 29, 2023, 14:57
So this is where the designer resources market comes into it - the supplier side. Top product mockup photographers also make a lot of money. Through eRank I was able to research some of them who sell around 300 mockup photos (JPEG, PNGs and PSD smart object files) at around $5 to $12 a mockup - A WEEK! That's a minimum of $78,000/annum.What sites do photographers sell photos for $5-$12?
Etsy, Design Bundles, Creative Market, their own websites. Here's an example of what I'm talking about:
https://designbundles.net/pawmockups/713487-greeting-card-mockup-product-mockup#gtmList=5>mPos=21&aaQ=1b0ef20f66f3400ecbaa8a0cf192117c&aaI=product_trending
Of course, there are always those who do price-cutting. But the top mockup sellers that I was researching are in the range I quoted above, at an average of $8 to $9 per file - selling a few hundred a week. You are paying the extra for the PSD smart object file, of course.
This is the designer resources market that I was originally talking about on page 2 of this thread.
Post by: Annie2022 on March 29, 2023, 15:04
All I am saying is, that I just wish that all stock photographers who has relied on this income as I did, will better stop doing it asap. And try suplement it while there are still few months left of money coming in.
We can agree with that. As I said, stock photographers rehashing old concepts will have to give up.
But really new content, creative content that only humans can invent, will still be needed, and it will be better valued than today, when it's drowned into a see of replicas.
This is a drawing I made yesterday during an AI centric presentation made by McKinsey group,
Please, tell us more about the story behind your drawing.
Post by: Annie2022 on March 29, 2023, 15:08
And sometimes it just goes batshit crazy - This was basically "cat hunting a mouse":
(https://i.postimg.cc/761pjt9W/00-copy.png)
I really have no idea where Midjourney went wrong here. :o
So there are still some major issues. But, I think with how fast AI is progressing, we can expect most if not all of them to be sorted out within maybe a year.
lol. The mouse?????
I love all the alien creatures that AI manages to create - and the beautiful 3-armed ladies. Would suit Sci-fi.
Post by: Annie2022 on March 29, 2023, 15:16
Written by AI for you :-). Despite the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence, there are certain areas of the photography business where AI will not be effective. AI is being increasingly used in photography to automate certain processes and to improve the quality of images. However, there are certain aspects of photography that still require human input and creativity.
One area where AI will not be effective is in the creative process of photography. Although AI can be used to assist photographers in certain tasks, such as image recognition and face detection, the creative process of taking a photograph still requires a human touch. AI can only do so much in terms of capturing the nuances of a scene, the emotion of a moment, or the composition of a photograph. Furthermore, AI can only take photographs from predetermined vantage points, so if a photographer wants to take a photograph from an unusual angle, this will require human input.
Another area where AI will not be effective is in post-production. Post-production involves editing and enhancing photographs, and this often requires an artistic eye that AI simply cannot provide. Although AI can be used to automate certain tasks, such as color correction and image sharpening, the creative decisions that go into post-production still require human input.
Finally, AI will not be able to replace the business
Good answer
Post by: Just_to_inform_people2 on March 29, 2023, 15:31
I have these creatures all over my garden. Maybe it's a local thing?And sometimes it just goes batshit crazy - This was basically "cat hunting a mouse":
(https://i.postimg.cc/761pjt9W/00-copy.png)
I really have no idea where Midjourney went wrong here. :o
So there are still some major issues. But, I think with how fast AI is progressing, we can expect most if not all of them to be sorted out within maybe a year.
lol. The mouse?????
I love all the alien creatures that AI manages to create - and the beautiful 3-armed ladies. Would suit Sci-fi.
Post by: Annie2022 on March 29, 2023, 15:45
I have these creatures all over my garden. Maybe it's a local thing?And sometimes it just goes batshit crazy - This was basically "cat hunting a mouse":
(https://i.postimg.cc/761pjt9W/00-copy.png)
I really have no idea where Midjourney went wrong here. :o
So there are still some major issues. But, I think with how fast AI is progressing, we can expect most if not all of them to be sorted out within maybe a year.
lol. The mouse?????
I love all the alien creatures that AI manages to create - and the beautiful 3-armed ladies. Would suit Sci-fi.
hahahahaha
Post by: trek on March 29, 2023, 16:35
Post by: U11 on March 29, 2023, 17:23
I bet the function will get only better with the time
Post by: Zero Talent on March 29, 2023, 19:41
All I am saying is, that I just wish that all stock photographers who has relied on this income as I did, will better stop doing it asap. And try suplement it while there are still few months left of money coming in.
We can agree with that. As I said, stock photographers rehashing old concepts will have to give up.
But really new content, creative content that only humans can invent, will still be needed, and it will be better valued than today, when it's drowned into a see of replicas.
This is a drawing I made yesterday during an AI centric presentation made by McKinsey group,
Please, tell us more about the story behind your drawing.
I think it's self explanatory. Today AI has a support function, while the core of the work is done by people.
Tomorrow, the core of the work will be done by AI, while people will support the AI (training, creative input, strategy changes, etc).
Besides the drawing, the fact is that today, a large part of the office jobs (~40%) are only demanding from people to follow relatively simple procedures, to understand the rules of the system, to avoid mistakes...
Zero creativity, but 9-5, bonus, team-buildings, health-care coverage, etc
All these jobs will disappear.
AI will do all that 24/7, better, faster and much cheaper.
So, requalification, skills upgrade, creativity are mandatory for those who want to survive.
Hopefully, the productivity increase through automation will generate enough growth to maintain the area of the core and the donut about the same, offering enough employment to those willing to change.
Post by: Annie2022 on March 29, 2023, 20:14
All I am saying is, that I just wish that all stock photographers who has relied on this income as I did, will better stop doing it asap. And try suplement it while there are still few months left of money coming in.
We can agree with that. As I said, stock photographers rehashing old concepts will have to give up.
But really new content, creative content that only humans can invent, will still be needed, and it will be better valued than today, when it's drowned into a see of replicas.
This is a drawing I made yesterday during an AI centric presentation made by McKinsey group,
Please, tell us more about the story behind your drawing.
I think it's self explanatory. Today AI has a support function, while the core of the work is done by people.
Tomorrow, the core of the work will be done by AI, while people will support the AI (training, creative input, strategy changes, etc).
Besides the drawing, the fact is that today, a large part of the office jobs (~40%) are only demanding from people to follow relatively simple procedures, to understand the rules of the system, to avoid mistakes...
Zero creativity, but 9-5, bonus, team-buildings, health-care coverage, etc
All these jobs will disappear.
AI will do all that 24/7, better, faster and much cheaper.
So, requalification, skills upgrade, creativity are mandatory for those who want to survive.
Hopefully, the productivity increase through automation will generate enough growth to maintain the area of the core and the donut about the same, offering enough employment to those willing to change.
Thanks!
You mentioned creativity. After motivating myself to get back into the mockups market, I was studying up last night on how to manage market saturation. And one of the ways to stay ahead is creativity:
Quote
Even in light of market saturation, many companies choose to remain in operation. When a company operates in a saturated market, there are a few concepts and strategies that they can use to stand out, stay solvent, and possibly even increase sales. The first is creativity. A company's product or service offering has to be more innovative in a saturated market than its competitors to entice customers to buy.
Creativity is the one thing that AI cannot be.
I am sorry to hear you say above:
"I will just go along with it for as long as it will last, as I always said since I first started, about 10 years ago.
Moreover, I have no plans to become part of that small percentage of surviving photographers, even if they will end up being in high demand and better paid than today."
Your work is brilliant and it will be a sad loss.