Photographers Warn of Risks as Parents Use AI to Avoid Paying for School Photos

Photographers are sounding the alarm about parents using artificial intelligence to remove watermarks from school photos, raising concerns about copyright infringement and the potential misuse of children's images. Ian Gilbert, founder of Emotion Picture Photography, reported hearing parents openly discussing using AI tools to bypass payment for school pictures, which he likens to shoplifting.

Gilbert estimates that approximately 25% of the images he provides are being manipulated with AI, resulting in a significant loss of profit for photographers and a reduction in revenue for schools, which often receive a percentage of photo sales. He has observed a noticeable drop in profits over the past year, attributing it partly to this practice.

"The scary thing is when you submit a picture to AI by default it is allowed to do whatever it wants and I don't think a lot of parents realise that," Gilbert stated, emphasizing that the quality of AI-altered images is often lower than the original, paid-for products.

AI safety experts echo these concerns. Dr. Simon Thorne, a senior computer science lecturer at Cardiff School of Technologies, advises against uploading any personally identifiable photos to AI systems. He warns that such images could be used to train future AI models, potentially be sold, or retained for unknown periods, with little transparency on how they are processed or reused.

Thorne also highlighted the added risk when photographs include other children. "If the photograph contained other children, it raises an additional issue because their parents may have no idea that an image of their child has been uploaded to an AI system," he explained. He cited an instance where a parent used AI to add a child back into a photo after they missed the school picture day due to illness, noting that while the intention might be understandable, the privacy and safeguarding risks are significant.

Matthew Sammon, a chartered trademark attorney, affirmed that copyright for photographs belongs to the creator. He stated that removing a watermark without permission constitutes copyright infringement, and the photographer is entitled to pursue legal action. However, he acknowledged that the cost of legal proceedings often makes this impractical for individual photographers, leaving them reliant on customer honesty.

In response, some photography companies are developing advanced methods to combat AI manipulation, such as embedding moving images over photos to prevent them from being copied. Experts urge for greater AI literacy and education on the implications of uploading personal data to online platforms.