AI virtually killed one of my income streams. Here is how.
AI is such a hot topic on the blockchain these days, isn't it?
I know, I know, I am not a big stakeholder here, so many will think, some will say - "Nobody is asking him, he isn't important here!" and yet, I feel I have to share my personal perspective to the matter, without throwing any judgement.
So here we go...
My educated guess is everyone who has made or has tried to make their living of photography will tell you that the best paid gigs are events where one or many photographers are hired to cover the specific event.
Covering an event is not easy and definitely isn't a job for everyone. The clients, persons or legal entities, usually pay for the quality of the visuals photographers create. High quality photographs are a result of a long learning curve, investments that are usually above EUR 10k and a lot of post-processing work once the actual event and shooting are over. Shooting an event is sometimes physically challenging, and quite often, mentally challenging too. Trust me on that, sometimes events are just exhausting! Often, it takes for days after the event is done for the images to be properly edited.
Here comes the point that a photographer who is self-employed, as myself, cannot shoot events very often. Not to mention, I consider myself more of a travel- than an event- photographer. So, even more planning is involved and travels from Europe are not cheap either.
For the last, somewhere between 5 and 10 years, I've been using some of my time between the "events" to develop better my Stock Photography side hustle.
What is Stock Photography, you may ask. To put it shortly and simply, it is selling one's visuals through established online agencies who find customers who need your photographs. The artists gets a small cut, somewhere between 10%-30%, that's before tax and other transfer and currency exchange fees.
As this is getting bigger than I expected, let me break it to you this way - unless you started selling stock in the last century, it can't be a full-time job, as it doesn't pay even the utility bills anymore.
The moment AI was allowed as a competitive content on these platform, it was a game changer. This business is highly competitive and now it is almost impossible to make a proper sell. After trying more than a dozen of agencies, I ended with uploading my visual to only two of them - Alamy and Adobe.
The process of getting a photo from the camera to the client includes the steps where once the photo is taken, prepared by providing title, keywords and description, it has to pass an internal review by the stock agency.
Prior AI, this approval by Adobe was taking between 2 and 5 business days, with my experience being 3 days in average.
Now, this approval takes between 1 and 3 months!!!
This is a period the photo isn't available to be sold as it's not visible to the potential customers.
Even worse, once the agencies were flooded by AI generated images, they began to reject quality photos on a mass scale. This approval process is highly subjective as I know people who once their works are rejected, they resubmit them and this time, oh, miracle, they get approved!
Here is what makes the picture even worse. In the last couple of months I stumbled upon several contributor accounts, who have managed to upload tens of thousands of AI generated images. In just two months they've managed to create a volume of "wow" works similar to what took me more than 5 years to accomplish.
If you're still reading, does that ring any bells?
Those "content creators":
- They don't need to plan and pay for any travels.
- They don't need to own and operate any photo equipment.
- They don't need to carry heavy backpacks and tripods, and stay up late to recharge the camera batteries.
- They don't need to pay subscriptions for photo editing software.
- They don't need a powerful computer to run Photoshop and Lightroom.
- They don't need to spend a lot of time to post-process the images.
All they need is to pay for access to the AI generative service or install it locally and avoid the payment at all.
Feels fair to you?
Probably soon comes the day I say to myself "the hell with all that doomed art nonsense" and I return to my previous field of work - programming.
It wouldn't be surprising if I sharpen my Python programming skills and I begin working on one of the AI projects, making AI even better. Obviously this is what the world needs. By the way, it took me more than two hours to finish this post. AI will do this in 10 seconds. Are we all doomed?
Here is the link to the Wiki page explaining Stock Photography: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stock_photography
Here is a sunrise moment I captured of a place that is thousand kilometers away from home and where I had to wake up several days in a row at about 4 AM just to drive for other tens of kilometers and capture few perfect moments. Pretty sure if not today, it will be AI-generatable soon. In under 10 seconds too.
| Copyright @LightCaptured 2024 | DDH_4710.jpg |
|---|---|
| Camera Body Model: | Canon EOS 5D Mark III |
| Post-processing software used: | Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic 13.5 (Windows) |
| Exposure Time: | 0.1 seconds; Shutter Speed: 1/10 |
| Aperture: | f/32 |
| ISO: | 100 |
| Exposure Compensation: | 0.6666666667 |
| Focal Length: | 100 |
| Lens Model: | EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM |
Please note that this post is AI-free and created exclusively for the STEEM blockchain.
Buy my stock photos at Alamy: https://www.alamy.com/portfolio/112427.html
Buy my stock photos at Adobe Stock: https://stock.adobe.com/contributor/206416265/lightcaptured
Follow me on Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@lightcaptured (Decentralized social network for my insta-type selected photographs and short posts)
Copyright: LightCaptured
All the photographs, digital art and text in my posts, unless specified otherwise, are my own property and created by me.
If you wish to use any of my works, please drop me a line!
Have a great day!
Here is an uncomplete list of some of my equipment I use on a regular basis:
| Cameras | |
|---|---|
| Canon EOS 5D Mark III | |
| Canon EOS M5 | |
| Canon EOS 550D | |
| Lenses | |
| Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM | |
| Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM | |
| Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM | |
| Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM | |
| Canon EF-M 15-45mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM | |
| Canon EF-M 22mm f/2 STM | |
| Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 | |
| 7artisans 35mm f/1.2 | |
| Strobes | Dynaphos Speedster |
| Flashes | Metz |
| Tripods and Mono-pods | Manfrotto |
| Benro |
The divider I use in my posts I have created in Adobe Express.
People who have not yet encountered AI in this way, and also in other ways, cannot understand what this means. Personally, the confrontation with it makes me emotional for a number of reasons, the most being the feeling of anger.
A while ago I wrote here about the fake ideal world of AI, it was related to a bunch of photos I found in Adobe of fictional places with names of real places. By then I had read all of their policies, even contacted them about this to reprimand them for what they were doing - they were complicit in a hoax sold as the truth.
Well, I haven't had a chance to tell here what happened after that. They gave me a link to report all these, a large number of fraudulent images presented as real.
But then I thought about it. Anyone who buys such things should be responsible for themselves. No one else has to save them from the deception. This was exactly about people who pour hundreds of photos daily of thousands of places in the world that you say. They haven't been there, they don't know what they look like, neither does the AI for the most part. And so, the party begins. Why should I spoil it? Trying to fix an already totally messed up world?🤔
The ideal false world of AI actually merges the shortcomings of humans, with the shortcomings of technology, masked behind polished images or phrases. Whoever dares to mess with this must take responsibility, and it is a big one.
Your point is well made and sadly true, at the moment.
One realized that computers have cut the wealth more than the wealth computer has generated and that's not counting hackers that steal people's wealth if one can make the money.
Sets are built, they're 3D.
Tom Hanks, a famous actor, is selling some sort of miracle drug that he never, nor did he, nor does he represent.
A voice actress for video games is on strike for the right not to be replaced by AI.
We "have global warming and here a predicted drought" but it's cool and rained the past three or four days.
So, you're right, it's tough and good luck because this an awesome photograph.
Oh yeah, women wade through 30 men like butter as spies, assassins, soldier, police, et cetera.
Oh and Trump's a crook?
Thank you!
Well, 99% of my income is related to computers, one way or another. Modern phones are more computers than connecting devices, to put that into perspective too.
I am afraid deepfakes will very soon be impossible to distinguish from the real stuff.
Yeah, I've heard plenty of "where is my global warming" in the freezing winter days.
With regards to your presidents, as you seem to me like someone who enjoys quoting the Bible, I will ask you this... what is the 3rd temptation of Jesus in the desert? Isn't it obvious that people who got that high in the world social ladder and evidently have so much power, had fallen, big times, for that temptation already? My point - Harris or Trump, it really doesn't matter that much. They both has flaws... and I am not putting my trust on any of them. However, easy for me to speak this, as I am not a USA citizen :)
Thank you, friend!
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Сложная тема ...
когда один компьютер заменяет собой конструкторское бюро ... наверное это позитивно с точки зрения "директора", но кого заботят проблемы уволенного персонала. Я бы ещё перепроверил результаты расчётов, но уже некому это сделать, все работники уволены.
Фотография ... ИИ может за минуту выдать вам любой результат. Но чтобы результат соответствовал ожиданиям, нужны точные адекватные промты, это тоже большая работа схожая с программированием (в чём-то).
Тогда получается, что создатели промтов конкурируют с фотографами? Почему нет, им за это тоже платят деньги.
С появлением фотографии возникали сомнения и опасения в мире художников. "Я несколько часов/дней пишу портрет человека, а этот выскочка-фотограф нажимает кнопку и портрет готов" :D
Думаю, результаты работы ИИ найдут свою нишу. Если мне нужна фотография заката, я не буду покупать акварель/масло или открытку от ИИ. Я пойду и сфотографирую закат сам или попрошу тебя, чтобы ты сделал профессиональную фотографию. И эту фотографию я повешу на стену.
Если положить руку на сердце и честно признаться, многие даже профессиональные фотографы слишком увлекаются постобработкой. В результате они добиваются красивой картинки, но для меня это уже не ФОТОГРАФИЯ, это красивая картинка. И она не очень отличается от результата, который выдаёт ИИ.
Я думаю, что по-настоящему конкурировать с ИИ будут не "ретушёры", а авторы "честных" фотографий. Но это лишь моё мнение и я могу ошибаться ))
Ты не зря вставал так рано, браво :)
True, quite a complex topic. That's why I just shared how it affected me and it wasn't positive. In fact, I was having sells, mostly minor, but this isn't the point, every day. Lately, I don't. As AI generated content continues to flood those agencies, it will not become any better, unless they decide to cut that and allow only human-created stuff. Genie is outside the bottle already, though.
I hate those "porcelain" portraits but the fact is that in bulk, people love them, especially the ladies who are in a constant search of perfection and hiding the signs of time ;) I was refusing portrait shoots of a couple of women expecting perfect skin, etc. :)))
Perhaps I should be selling my photo equipment while it still has some value on the second-hand market? :)))
Another problem with AI is everything happens so quickly, it's almost impossible to adapt so quickly.
This AI commenting/downvoting saga is a bright example how quickly something may go wrong...
Да, с этим вопросом всё слишком сложно.
Возможно ты прав и агентства просто откажутся от картинок ИИ в пользу живой фотографии.
В последнее время я вообще не хочу редактировать фотографии. Просто небольшая коррекция. Но я любитель и могу себе это позволить.
Если ты хочешь только продавать ... это тоже один из тупиков. Ты будешь вынужден идти за потребностями потребителей, угождать их ожиданиям. При этом творческого начала будет всё меньше и меньше. Не знаю, где-то должна быть золотая середина :)
True, true.
When I was starting with stock photography, I put a lot of thinking into it. Should I, as you said, go into that direction, read the agencies' emails telling what customers are looking for, and producing such stuff?
I decided then for myself I will shoot whatever I like and post the quality photos and ... it is what it is. If there are some sells, good, if not, it's not the end of the world.
However, then I was having much more event gigs. Today, it's much harder for me, I feel I may soon reach that crossroad I'll have to decide what direction to take for the next years...
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у меня такое ощущение, что с перекрёстка я никуда и не уходил ))
вначале была цель освоить сам предмет съёмки, техническую его составляющую. Это во мне говорил инженер. Съёмка, обработка ... мне нравятся эти процессы сами по себе. Сейчас я уже не думаю, как сделать тот или иной кадр. Как водитель за рулём, всё получается практически машинально.
Но теперь есть проблема . а что дальше? Что я хочу? И это теперь самое сложное :D
Yes, these too! :)
With me, probably with you too, there is another dilemma. I am good at one specific area of expertise but I like to shoot different stuff. Maybe I should've kept photography as hobby only :) Never too late, right :)))
похоже, что наша жизнь состоит из одних выборов ... :D
Thinking of it, this may be the only true freedom we have in our hands - the freedom to choose which road to take ;)
That picture is really cool I like it so much!
Thanks so much! That's a favorite photo-location of mine.
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