For several years, we were the only photography publication warning photographers about Unsplash. Even when I tried to convince others that it was a problem, they didn’t care. They instead just tried to get you with clickbait articles and sensational issues to bring in pageviews instead of what’s actually important. But since 2018, we have been warning photographers about Unsplash and how it’s going to harm the photography industry. And now the bigger problem is here: generative AI.
If you told me that generative AI databases haven’t trained themselves on Unsplash, I wouldn’t believe you for a second. Unsplash, for years, has tricked photographers into giving away some of their best work for absolutely free. On top of that, companies can use all the images royalty free, license free, attribution free, etc. Then Getty bought them, and Unsplash didn’t really change how it worked.
Essentially, Unsplash created a massive database of images that can be used when prompted by someone using an image-based AI maker of some sort. It all happened. We, as photographers, could’ve banded together to stop this. But we didn’t because we didn’t feel like it affected us personally. And now, we’re all feeling the effects. I mean, why should someone use you for your photography services when AI can do it instead? It’s even happening in advertising videos!
Worse yet, a lot of companies you know and love have supported Unsplash. Polaroid did it this year, and so did TIME Magazine.
So what do you do? Well, you have to adapt. It’s time that photographers stop simply just capturing something and instead work on creating and telling actual stories. Make images that can’t be prompted easily and that both AI and humanity can’t understand.
In 2023, I said that for us to beat AI, we have to get really, really weird. And we still need to. Stop creating images and following memes and algorithms. Start making images that are meaningful and that don’t come from other visual media. Start reading or listening to podcasts and use your imagination. Don’t let aphantasia destroy your photographic identity.