Using AI to remove school photo watermarks

We had to pay £30 each picture.
And you are surprised?
We simply didn't buy any.

Well you did literally say you didn’t understand..

Yes it’s theft etc but it’s also a sign of the evolving landscape. Photographers are going to have to change their business model. Their photos are simply too expensive so of course people will do this. In the short term I expect they will develop more severe ways to watermark the previews in such a manner they can’t easily be removed. Long term it’s probably the death of the school
photograher.

Absolutely any online photo of you or your kids can be used for “nefarious” ai purposes. Unless you plan to go to the extremes of having zero online footprint, it pretty pointless worrying about it.

it is theft. Don't do it.

You’re completely wrong. Have you been living under a rock?

No. You said you had "no idea how people are doing it"

Accordingly I spoke to you like you were someone who had no idea how AI works. Which tbf is the impression you gave. If in fact you know lots about AI then I apologise.

So many school photographers are talentless these days, they know how to use a camera and that is it!! You can get a better photo on your bog standard phone without having done any course etc…..

I think school photographers are absolute sharks, knowing parents will feel pressured to buy their awful work. Considering the lack of school photographer talent, and that the whole enterprise was probably funded by mum and dad to show their darling child they are talented…. A paid photographer…..

I don’t think it’s particularly wrong or immoral for parents to do this. I think what they do is quite immoral. I know 2 wrongs don’t make a right…. However, also, I do think there is some justification there…..

Parents will just show their DC they bought the terrible photo and display a nicer picture.

Jesus fucking Christ, do you always speak to people like they’re stupid?

ChatGPT is not the only AI provider on the Internet you know. There's hundreds. Lots of them will do a lot worse than just removing a watermark. Another great reason not to upload photos of your kids (although it sounds like you already have)

I just tried (with a photo I don’t like, I’m going to pay for one of the better ones), and ChatGPT refused, so I’ve no idea how people are actually doing it.

Nope

We always buy them although I agree it is expensive. Then there is the whole class photo (don't buy this) and ours also does a leaver's photo at the end of Year 4 and I believe they also do a leaver's photo at the end of Year 8 so you could be spending a fortune on school photos. I can see why people are looking for loopholes as they could offer cheaper packages. Also the school itself gets commission and this can vary eg our middle school asks for more than our first school so this puts the price up.

You cant do it so easily at ours. You get sent a link to the photo then you can only view a thin slice of the picture, you move the mouse to move the slice up and down to view different bits. You probably still can steal it if you try hard enough but im not a thief.

I don't understand why people are using the justification that school photos are shit to do this? If the school photos are shit, by all means don't buy them. But if you are using AI to remove the watermark you clearly like the photos and want them but aren't prepared to pay for them. It's a really shitty way to behave.

It's theft and is wrong.

Do you steal other stuff that your kids want but you can't afford? Sweets etc? Books?

Scummy as fuck, obviously.

Perhaps they should lower the cost of school photos? Particularly when some are taken by people who don't seem to care about the quality of their work. I don't buy school photos because I can take a better photo myself on the first day of every school year. It might be nice for DS to have a whole class photo but not worth the outrageous price. The best photo we've had? When the reception teacher took a whole class photo on a dress-up day.

Valid point, but honestly was never anything I ever considered. It would be sensible to do that though

I have hundreds of pictures of my children in school uniform, I would happily do without professional photos - but the school makes the event of it and my kids also want the pictures.

If it's any help I've never bothered with a class photo 😊

I paid for them for a while until the prices kept getting higher and higher but the quality never changed

Are you?

Really, the photos online should be very low resolution so you can't do this well. They should catch on if sales get lower

My sister is a school photographer and a couple of weeks ago she was ready to call it quits, she had written out the email to send to all her schools as her sales had plummeted, before she sent it she had one more stab at seeing what she can do to save her career as she’s been doing it for 22 years now and loves what she does. she’s now found a way that when people screenshot the image it just is a black screen when they go to view the photo in their gallery. For anyone doing this it’s not just a person coming in taking a few photos and sending them off to be printed or edited she does this all herself, she will be up until 1.30am editing hundreds of photos then she has to deal with people emailing her some people being shitty with her because the photos have not been uploaded that night!
she will make sure your child’s hair and face are photo ready and there’s an awful lot of sen children now who are either running around her equipment and pulling at wires and others who sit there sullen and she manages to get at least one pic with them smiling as she prances around and uses props to get that smile. So please before you decide to steal that photo that a photographer has worked their arse off to get please think about the person behind the camera and their livelihood

Good old chat gpt getting one over on small businesses again. Gotta love all the people saying but they cost so much! A small business spends a day at a school photographing a hundred children then has to print off the photos using expensive paper and ink (anyone who has a printer will know the ridiculous cost). Stop justifying stealing.