Using AI to remove school photo watermarks

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

It's theft and is wrong.

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.

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.

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.

Nope

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.

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)

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

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.

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.

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

it is theft. Don't do it.

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.

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.

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

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

I think if you feel pressured by the school and your kids to buy a photo which you don't want, to the extent that you'd steal one (which doesn't even make sense, that's not what the school is trying to "pressure" you into doing) then you need to work on your assertiveness not your photoshop skills

Perhaps the schools could use the photographers for only people who intend on buying pictures?

They make it a big event each year and probably wastes alot of the schools time, the photographers time and the kids learning time.

'Photographer is in on November 12th, if you'd like to purchase a photo please let us know by October 20th, here is a link to pre purchase your photo'

Solves the issue, I guess

Probably cos people don't know if they want them till they see them though.

A ‘formal’ school photo is completely unnecessary these days. They were a nice memento of a moment in time when photography and development was expensive and most of us took maybe 24 photos a year on a camera we’d borrowed from our dad with a flash that would blind you and only worked 4 times. Then you took the film to Boots and they sent it off somewhere and it came back in 2 weeks if you were lucky. Nowadays we have thousands of photos of our kids. A posed school photo is an irrelevance. If you want one you can take it yourself in 2 minutes. We can take our own passport photos now. A school photo is easy as pie.

Local schools have always used Tempest, which I assumed was a franchise, but apparently they employ and train all their photographers.

Judging by the last few, they need to up their training. We used to be offered three choices and it was hard to decide which one to buy. Now it's two choices and it's trying to decide which is the least worst. 😬.
Thankfully yr 10 and it's the last one. If these companies want to protect their work and income they need to do much better.

Some years the quality has been so bad I've not bought them. I don't try to obtain them for free though because I don't steal things.

Tempest is actually my favourite one. Some of the others are absolutely dire.

Professional school photographers are a job that won't exist in a few years due to AI
Capability to do this stuff exists. People aren't going to not do these things due to ethics unfortunately so people need to adapt.