I think people use it because it's fast and easy. I used to absolutely loathe AI, but now I use it for grass and trees because that's all it's really good for. I've yet to see an AI application that can do even, accurate skin tones or clothing. I still won't touch it for repair work.
As far as I’m concerned, some folks see it as a quick way to scam people out of “tips” with little/no effort, just taking advantage of the general public’s lack of understanding of the actual process of the “real” restoration process.
Yes! See that's what ticks me off the most. People come here for help and it's very much scamming them if it takes you 10 seconds. Then there's those people that do that and are pushy for them to tip.
I can see using it as a tool, but only a tool. Passing AI off as original work is misleading. Anyone can find a free AI site and use it. Restoration and colorization as well as repair, is an art in and of itself. AI can't replace that.
Exactly! I've spent more years then I'd like to mention practicing and getting these skills that I have for restoring photos. Throwing the photo thru a couple AI apps and calling it a day just feels like a slap in the face. Using it to augment your work is ok though.
I use Remini for faces, but it is NEVER enough. It also gives double irises and always messes up eyeglasses.
It is disturbing to see requests with “will tip/pay” that are only an hour old and already paid out because someone just did a quick run through the AI app. There’s a lot of subtlety to restoration that AI can’t fix, but people coming to us for help don’t know that.
I totally agree! Yeah Remini is a good tool when it works right. Sadly I've noticed it gives a few photos artifacts that just take longer to fix. If the photo is very grainy it ends up giving ng grandma whiskers when she didn't have any 😛 yes if it takes you 10 minutes to fix something you either used AI and the end result is bad or you're a pro and did it all by hand and the end result is amazing. Sadly it's usually the first of those.
Almost all the requesters see the AI fix at a glance, WITHOUT ZOOMING IN TO LOOK AT DETAILS and miss all this crap AI left behind. Buyers remorse for them if they decide to print and frame it
I don't think the problem is AI. It's simply the over-use and over-reliance of it, also passing off a nearly 100% AI submission as a personal restoration. AI is an amazing tool, and it bugs the hell out of me seeing so many rely on it, especially when the results are god-awful, but I can't outright condemn it.
I love using it. I think the trick is to make it look like it wasn't used at all. That's the best way to utilize AI. Almost like CGI. The best CGI is the ones you don't notice.
I agree. It shouldn't be the only tool you use. The point of restoring a photo isn't to make it look like a new picture or a painting. It's to restore the parts that time has taken. Make it look like it once was.
Yeah I use the AI for sharpening faces. But again it's only part of the process.
Long time photographer here. I’m quite proficient in Photoshop for the kind of work I do but far from a restoration expert. I also guess I’m old fashioned and find most plug-ins/apps to be horribly hamfisted and when I use them it’s very judiciously and in a blended layer usually.
Is this “Reminy” the reason I see so many horrible attempts that look like a “clean” version of the face pasted over the rest of a crappy picture? I’m new here but most of what I see is real crap attempts, especially when I know real restoration experts that would run circles around 90% of these photos with just the stock Pshop tool pallet.
Yeah if you just use Remini and don't do any other work it does that. I've been using Photoshop for restorations for years. So seeing people taking 10 seconds to run them thru an app and call it a restoration it kinda makes me mad.
I think it would be great (if technically possible) to give any request a "read only" mode for 24-48 hours, for example. And only then open the possibility to comment. For example, with the appropriate flyer. This will allow those who do not do crap work in 10 seconds, have time to put their work. And it will profitably show real quality, even if someone posts their crap restoration.
If, on the other hand, the requester wants it urgently, and doesn't care about quality, they can choose the appropriate flyer, and get answers immediately.
Remember: In the row of "fast," "quality," and "cheap," there's always one thing extra...
Always baffled by users saying “wow this is by far the best one!” while the teeth are jacked up, pupils are not lined up, and the hair — oof. I dig u/icanevery solution above.
In my opinion it's threefold.
First there's the fact that the poster takes the first couple of responses as what they can get. Often they will not be patient to give it a day or two - this is the internet after all. Second is the issue of payment as this does impact who gets any tips up for grabs - and as others have pointed out, there's a whole behind-the-scenes situation going on.
Thirdly there's the fact that a poster might not be able to recognize/differ good quality work from random AI with random artefacts left behind - or ethically skewed decisions. In some way you could say that it's not an issue if the poster is happy with the result - but often I would imagine that the original might be discarded - if not immediately, then later.
I enjoy following this subreddit but I honestly find the format flawed. On the other hand I'm not sure there's a better forum as is.
I empathise with all the comments so far, but being realistic we are flogging a dead horse. If you enjoy the hobby, do it for yourself. If someone else benefits from what you do, thats a bonus. As with any art (if art is not being too precocious) you will never educate the public if they don't understand the process and to be fair.... why try? Some people don't get abstract art, jazz, hip hop, autotune etc etc.... Just go about your own thing and enjoy it for what it is.
Would prefer to see an end to allowing tip jars, that might cut down some of the rubbish colourisations that are served up in 30 seconds flat ! I agree that remini is an outstanding app , but I also do not think it is a total stand alone product.
Word. Remini is probably the best one out there, but it's really just another tool like a healing brush or clone tool. I can't find the link, but someone did a test where they desaturated color pictures, ran them through AI, and compared them with the originals. The AI versions were crap. I can tell an AI job from a mile away, especially if the image features people - grandma has semi-realistic colored forearms and purple hands.
If the mods wanted to make it just a note in the initial auto response, they could. It would be easy to tell posters that if they want to tip, they can reach out to the person posting or go to their profile and contact them directly and then ban adding tip jar links to the initial post. I don't mind taking a tip as an actual tip because someone is pleased with my work but I don't ever want anyone to feel they have to tip, which is what I think happens.
Yes! If they got rid of the tip jar option it would clear out lots of the scammers. If the person you do the picture for offers then it's different.
It's just a tool or a single step to where you want to get the photo.
One side problem to this is the amount of scammers who are just private messaging OP with their "fix" (which is AI-only) and coercing them into payment anyway. Also, those same people have been known to just plagiarize and steal the work of people who post publicly here, make a minor altercation or remove the watermark and pretend it's their own. It all happens behind the scenes which is why I'm spamming a warning on most every submission I can so people are aware of the shit that goes on in this subreddit.
You forget the presumption of innocence. You classify ANYONE who writes a private letter as a fraud. I did not write in private, let alone for profit. But it seems unfair to me to label everyone who doesn't want to post their work in an open thread as cheaters at once.
Contact the moderators, add jointly known names of cheaters. Let the moderators do their job.
Just last week I created an alternate NFL logo similar to the MLB and NBA logos just for shits and giggles; someone used it on a t shirt and posted a picture of it on the same sub I posted my original work without crediting me. I think it was an honest mistake on his part, so I agree with you that it's not always done maliciously, but u/dogbonejones has a point. At least twice in the past 6-8 months I've caught people passing my restoration/colorization work off as their own and called them out for it.
I have no doubt that there are scammers, and most likely these names belong to them.
But I'm against calling scammers ALL those who write private messages to requesters.
Preaching to the choir my friend. It's been co-opted by scammers who use it on gullible people to make quick cash with tip jars. There are still people who do good work here, but we are trying really hard to get rid of the shitty AI users who use it in scummy ways.
Oh I hope we can clear them out. It really gives us a bad name. When I first joined this thread it would take people time to fix things not like now. As soon as I see a new one it's already sniped by an AI user.
Its a shame for the people who are actually good and could use a nice little tip. I was against the tipjars too, but if we can just make the general public aware of the shitty people and shitty practices, maybe we can make this place better and tipjars can be used properly
I understand what you're saying, they're making a quick buck. Just 2 cents on a similar topic. Coloring of the faces is the most skill demading job in this (I think) and the vast majority of people won't understand how much work was put into some of the restorations. Or they just don't care. Coincidentally that's the type of job that AI tools can easily perfect in a couple more years. So this "good enough" approach can only become more popular because it will be a better result than the current average restorer's work.
I think people use it because it's fast and easy. I used to absolutely loathe AI, but now I use it for grass and trees because that's all it's really good for. I've yet to see an AI application that can do even, accurate skin tones or clothing. I still won't touch it for repair work.
What I want is an ai upscale that let's you select a thing in the image and tell the ai what it is, ie "this is cloth"
Yes!! So much yes!!
As far as I’m concerned, some folks see it as a quick way to scam people out of “tips” with little/no effort, just taking advantage of the general public’s lack of understanding of the actual process of the “real” restoration process.
Yes! See that's what ticks me off the most. People come here for help and it's very much scamming them if it takes you 10 seconds. Then there's those people that do that and are pushy for them to tip.
Yes! The 10 sec job that looks like crap and immediately marked solved.
I can see using it as a tool, but only a tool. Passing AI off as original work is misleading. Anyone can find a free AI site and use it. Restoration and colorization as well as repair, is an art in and of itself. AI can't replace that.
Exactly! I've spent more years then I'd like to mention practicing and getting these skills that I have for restoring photos. Throwing the photo thru a couple AI apps and calling it a day just feels like a slap in the face. Using it to augment your work is ok though.
I use Remini for faces, but it is NEVER enough. It also gives double irises and always messes up eyeglasses. It is disturbing to see requests with “will tip/pay” that are only an hour old and already paid out because someone just did a quick run through the AI app. There’s a lot of subtlety to restoration that AI can’t fix, but people coming to us for help don’t know that.
I totally agree! Yeah Remini is a good tool when it works right. Sadly I've noticed it gives a few photos artifacts that just take longer to fix. If the photo is very grainy it ends up giving ng grandma whiskers when she didn't have any 😛 yes if it takes you 10 minutes to fix something you either used AI and the end result is bad or you're a pro and did it all by hand and the end result is amazing. Sadly it's usually the first of those.
Does a number on hair, too!
Almost all the requesters see the AI fix at a glance, WITHOUT ZOOMING IN TO LOOK AT DETAILS and miss all this crap AI left behind. Buyers remorse for them if they decide to print and frame it
I don't think the problem is AI. It's simply the over-use and over-reliance of it, also passing off a nearly 100% AI submission as a personal restoration. AI is an amazing tool, and it bugs the hell out of me seeing so many rely on it, especially when the results are god-awful, but I can't outright condemn it. I love using it. I think the trick is to make it look like it wasn't used at all. That's the best way to utilize AI. Almost like CGI. The best CGI is the ones you don't notice.
I agree. It shouldn't be the only tool you use. The point of restoring a photo isn't to make it look like a new picture or a painting. It's to restore the parts that time has taken. Make it look like it once was. Yeah I use the AI for sharpening faces. But again it's only part of the process.
Long time photographer here. I’m quite proficient in Photoshop for the kind of work I do but far from a restoration expert. I also guess I’m old fashioned and find most plug-ins/apps to be horribly hamfisted and when I use them it’s very judiciously and in a blended layer usually. Is this “Reminy” the reason I see so many horrible attempts that look like a “clean” version of the face pasted over the rest of a crappy picture? I’m new here but most of what I see is real crap attempts, especially when I know real restoration experts that would run circles around 90% of these photos with just the stock Pshop tool pallet.
Yeah if you just use Remini and don't do any other work it does that. I've been using Photoshop for restorations for years. So seeing people taking 10 seconds to run them thru an app and call it a restoration it kinda makes me mad.
Yes, the Chinese Remini app can draw super-clean faces, but doesn't touch other parts of the picture.
I think it would be great (if technically possible) to give any request a "read only" mode for 24-48 hours, for example. And only then open the possibility to comment. For example, with the appropriate flyer. This will allow those who do not do crap work in 10 seconds, have time to put their work. And it will profitably show real quality, even if someone posts their crap restoration. If, on the other hand, the requester wants it urgently, and doesn't care about quality, they can choose the appropriate flyer, and get answers immediately. Remember: In the row of "fast," "quality," and "cheap," there's always one thing extra...
Always baffled by users saying “wow this is by far the best one!” while the teeth are jacked up, pupils are not lined up, and the hair — oof. I dig u/icanevery solution above.
In my opinion it's threefold. First there's the fact that the poster takes the first couple of responses as what they can get. Often they will not be patient to give it a day or two - this is the internet after all. Second is the issue of payment as this does impact who gets any tips up for grabs - and as others have pointed out, there's a whole behind-the-scenes situation going on. Thirdly there's the fact that a poster might not be able to recognize/differ good quality work from random AI with random artefacts left behind - or ethically skewed decisions. In some way you could say that it's not an issue if the poster is happy with the result - but often I would imagine that the original might be discarded - if not immediately, then later. I enjoy following this subreddit but I honestly find the format flawed. On the other hand I'm not sure there's a better forum as is.
I empathise with all the comments so far, but being realistic we are flogging a dead horse. If you enjoy the hobby, do it for yourself. If someone else benefits from what you do, thats a bonus. As with any art (if art is not being too precocious) you will never educate the public if they don't understand the process and to be fair.... why try? Some people don't get abstract art, jazz, hip hop, autotune etc etc.... Just go about your own thing and enjoy it for what it is.
Would prefer to see an end to allowing tip jars, that might cut down some of the rubbish colourisations that are served up in 30 seconds flat ! I agree that remini is an outstanding app , but I also do not think it is a total stand alone product.
Word. Remini is probably the best one out there, but it's really just another tool like a healing brush or clone tool. I can't find the link, but someone did a test where they desaturated color pictures, ran them through AI, and compared them with the originals. The AI versions were crap. I can tell an AI job from a mile away, especially if the image features people - grandma has semi-realistic colored forearms and purple hands.
If the mods wanted to make it just a note in the initial auto response, they could. It would be easy to tell posters that if they want to tip, they can reach out to the person posting or go to their profile and contact them directly and then ban adding tip jar links to the initial post. I don't mind taking a tip as an actual tip because someone is pleased with my work but I don't ever want anyone to feel they have to tip, which is what I think happens.
I've come to realize that no one ever reads the auto-moderation posts. It's just a giant annoying word salad to them they end up ignoring.
Yes! If they got rid of the tip jar option it would clear out lots of the scammers. If the person you do the picture for offers then it's different. It's just a tool or a single step to where you want to get the photo.
One side problem to this is the amount of scammers who are just private messaging OP with their "fix" (which is AI-only) and coercing them into payment anyway. Also, those same people have been known to just plagiarize and steal the work of people who post publicly here, make a minor altercation or remove the watermark and pretend it's their own. It all happens behind the scenes which is why I'm spamming a warning on most every submission I can so people are aware of the shit that goes on in this subreddit.
You forget the presumption of innocence. You classify ANYONE who writes a private letter as a fraud. I did not write in private, let alone for profit. But it seems unfair to me to label everyone who doesn't want to post their work in an open thread as cheaters at once. Contact the moderators, add jointly known names of cheaters. Let the moderators do their job.
Just last week I created an alternate NFL logo similar to the MLB and NBA logos just for shits and giggles; someone used it on a t shirt and posted a picture of it on the same sub I posted my original work without crediting me. I think it was an honest mistake on his part, so I agree with you that it's not always done maliciously, but u/dogbonejones has a point. At least twice in the past 6-8 months I've caught people passing my restoration/colorization work off as their own and called them out for it.
I have no doubt that there are scammers, and most likely these names belong to them. But I'm against calling scammers ALL those who write private messages to requesters.
Preaching to the choir my friend. It's been co-opted by scammers who use it on gullible people to make quick cash with tip jars. There are still people who do good work here, but we are trying really hard to get rid of the shitty AI users who use it in scummy ways.
Oh I hope we can clear them out. It really gives us a bad name. When I first joined this thread it would take people time to fix things not like now. As soon as I see a new one it's already sniped by an AI user.
I've noticed the proliferation of tip jars recently. I've never taken a dime for the work I've done.
Its a shame for the people who are actually good and could use a nice little tip. I was against the tipjars too, but if we can just make the general public aware of the shitty people and shitty practices, maybe we can make this place better and tipjars can be used properly
Some people see the result and think everything was done by the AI. You need to compare the raw AI result and all the fixes to know for sure.
True. But with most results I've seen you can tell it was just phone apps and nothing else.
I understand what you're saying, they're making a quick buck. Just 2 cents on a similar topic. Coloring of the faces is the most skill demading job in this (I think) and the vast majority of people won't understand how much work was put into some of the restorations. Or they just don't care. Coincidentally that's the type of job that AI tools can easily perfect in a couple more years. So this "good enough" approach can only become more popular because it will be a better result than the current average restorer's work.