Plus a review of Magic Editor, Generative Fill, and Reimagine
AI Images outperform photographs
According to recent data, artificial intelligence-generated images are outperforming photographs on the leading stock website, Adobe Stock. While the data is still limited, early indications suggest that synthetic media is proving successful for its creators.
Stock Performer is an analytical website for stock photographers and they analyzed the data and found that AI images have an average revenue per image per month (RPI/m) that is four and a half times higher than photos or any other format. The RPI/m for AI images is 17 cents, compared to an average of 3.75 cents for all media files on Adobe Stock.
It’s important to note that this data is based on Stock Performer’s customers, who do not represent all stock contributors, and not all customers provide their performance data. Therefore, the findings should be viewed as a preliminary snapshot.
Stock Performer predicts an AI gold rush is in flow with a surge in AI image submissions to Adobe Stock that may be overwhelming their image inspection process. They also emphasize that even though AI image generators are widely available, the creation of these images remains a specialized discipline similar to photography. Therefore, buyers are likely to continue relying on stock websites to purchase AI images from creative professionals.
Magic Editor
Magic Editor is Google’s new generative AI tool. Photographers can introduce new elements, change backgrounds, or add missing objects to their photos. Generative AI learns from various elements in images, including people and settings, and Magic Editor can seamlessly insert missing individuals into family photos, remove distracting objects, change backgrounds, and adjust the lighting.
When adding a person to a photo, Magic Editor takes into account factors such as perspective, lighting, and interactions with other objects to produce an image that looks authentic. Users can select the area of the photo they want to change and the AI suggests possible transformations based on its understanding of the image content. Magic Editor is a tool that is best used to complement the original artist’s vision.
Generative Fill
Adobe recently unveiled its new Generative Fill tool which is powered by Firefly technology. Marketed as “the world’s first co-pilot in creative and design workflows,” the AI tool expands Photoshop’s features, including neural filters, selection tools, and Content-Aware Fill. Photoshop users will be able to use text prompts similar to Dall-E and Midjourney to add, expand, or remove unwanted elements from images.
While Adobe has been incorporating AI into its tools for over a decade, the inclusion of Firefly in Photoshop expands the capabilities of the software. It will facilitate the creation of images and templates from scratch, enabling faster photo edits. Users can generate objects within their images, create new backgrounds, extend images, and remove unwanted elements using a simple selection and text prompt.
Concerns had been raised by artists about the use of their copyrighted work. To address this, Adobe trained Firefly AI using 100 million images from its stock library, as well as images in the public domain that are no longer subject to copyright.
Reimagine
Genealogy company MyHeritage has introduced its latest app, Reimagine which lets users import printed photos from albums and enhance their resolution, repair damages such as scratches and creases, and restore color to black-and-white photos. You can snap photos of your old albums and the app will identify and crop the separate images, saving them as individual files. It also incorporates Deep Nostalgia’s animated face feature and Photo Enhancer which transforms blurry or faded family photos into sharp images.
Reimagine uses a high-speed photo scanner and AI technology that automatically detects and crops scanned photos, making it possible to digitize entire album pages at once. Once a photo is scanned, the app has the ability to improve historical photos in various ways. It can colorize black and white images, restore faded colors in very old snapshots, repair creases, and scratches, and enhance resolution.
Ginger Liu is the founder of Ginger Media & Entertainment, a Ph.D. Researcher in artificial intelligence and visual arts media, and an author, journalist, artist, and filmmaker. Listen to the Podcast.
