Forum General Chat AI
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Andreas Bibas 20.04.2025, 11:31 #1

AI

There should be a dedicated section for AI-generated images.
Since more and more images created with AI are being shared lately, wouldn’t it make sense to have a dedicated section for them?

The benefits are pretty clear:

1. Fewer debates about whether an image is AI-generated or not.
2. No need to label images as AI-generated.
3. Those who aren’t interested won’t have to decide whether to view these images or not.
4. It would be great to explore the topic in more detail—like a mini workshop on how the images are created.

That’s all from me.

Best, Andreas
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Karl Donez 20.04.2025, 11:35 #2
Very good suggestion. It would be great if AI artists could interact directly there.
Best regards
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Ulf Simon 20.04.2025, 13:28 #3
@ Andreas: Great idea, I'm happy to join in, including contributing to point 4.
@ Dieter: There are quite a few people who feel at home in multiple worlds—both traditional photography and AI, and in my case, painting and graphic design as well. I also think exchanging ideas across these boundaries makes sense and is desirable. It benefits everyone involved. Too much purism can lead to narrow-mindedness.
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Frank Bräutigam 20.04.2025, 13:57 #4
@Andreas: That thought actually crossed my mind during a recent discussion. You beat me to the suggestion.🙂 Thanks for that.
The image should definitely have a note indicating its nature. Ideally, this should be in the Exif data to clearly mark it as an artificially generated image, even outside the forum.
Unfortunately, these images are often misused...

Best regards Frank
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Romano Engler 22.04.2025, 18:03 #5
Hello everyone,

Great idea—I’d also be happy to see it put into action.
Best regards from me
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Klaus Berbig 23.04.2025, 14:24 #6
Yes, that’s a great suggestion. It should definitely be done, and it would certainly enhance the Photoclub even more.
Best regards, Klaus    
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Thomas Winkelbauer 25.04.2025, 17:20 #7
A perfect proposal that definitely deserves to be pushed forward!
Warm regards TW
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Romano Engler 02.05.2025, 23:52 #8
In my opinion, this is the right "space" to continue discussing the topic in a solution-focused way, rather than scattering the conversation across various places.
It's a shame we've lost some creative members along the way...
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Frank Bräutigam 03.05.2025, 09:21 #9
@Romano Engler: I completely agree with everything you said. It’s a bit unfortunate that Toni Stark hasn’t spoken up yet, as he’s the one who could really push the implementation forward.
 
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Andreas Bibas 04.05.2025, 10:55 #10
I submitted a ticket but haven’t received a response yet.
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Frank Bräutigam 04.05.2025, 13:35 #11
@Andreas Bibas: Thanks for the update, we'll wait and see.

Best regards, Frank
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Harry M. 04.05.2025, 17:41 #12
I think having a clear definition of when a photo is considered AI-generated would be helpful. But is it really that simple...?
A voluntary note on the photo indicating that AI was used in some way, or that the photo was entirely AI-generated, would be a good first step, wouldn’t it?
What I find challenging is the fact that more and more image editing programs are using AI. How should those be classified?
You could also just ask the photographer if you want to know.
From what I’ve seen in the media and magazines covering AI in photography, there’s currently no clear or consistent classification—just lots of different opinions.
Greetings from East Westphalia, Harry
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Ulf Simon 05.05.2025, 09:41 #13
@Andreas Bibas I sent one too - same here  
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Ulf Simon 05.05.2025, 09:44 #14
@Harry M.
The current CT photo addresses the topic quite objectively—without editorial opinion, but considering all aspects, including design and legal ones.
Best regards from the Black Forest Ulf  
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Harry M. 05.05.2025, 10:49 #15
@Ulf Simon Hi Ulf, thanks so much for the tip. I’ll definitely take a look at the article.
Best regards from East Westphalia Harry
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Sven Kayser 06.11.2025, 11:50 #16
This is a question that has been on my mind as well. With the website name "Photoclub," I originally assumed it was all about photography. However, increasingly, I feel out of place here. Someone who describes an image (a prompt) to generate an AI picture does show a certain level of creativity, but to me, that has nothing to do with photography. If someone cleans up a photo in Photoshop using an "AI-assisted" stamp, I'm totally fine with that. What I find really problematic are cases where AI-generated images are presented as photos. Often, this isn't immediately obvious, but can be uncovered using forensic online tools. I get suspicious of members who have few technically good images in their stream but then post, for example, an amazing picture that doesn’t fit with the rest of their portfolio...
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Stephan Drechsler 08.11.2025, 11:56 #17
I can’t help but have a few naive questions that might actually go beyond the scope of this thread.
AI can be a helpful tool—or even more than that. But where do we draw the line? I’m talking about tools like AI-based upscaling or AI-generated selection masks. Personally, I see these as useful tools because they make my work easier, save time, improve precision, and don’t create any new content.
I don’t have an issue with AI-generated images themselves, as long as the person creating or sharing them is honest about labeling them accordingly. Otherwise, as a viewer, I’d simply feel deceived.
It gets really problematic when false information is spread or personal rights are violated.
Where there’s light, there’s shadow—honesty can be demanded, but whether we actually get it is something the forensic experts will have to figure out for us😉
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Linda Look 12.10.2026, 22:01 #18
I am absolutely in favor of AI images getting their own category. This is a photo club after all. And photo comes from photography. And photography is done with a camera, not with AI. Currently, it feels like every 2nd or 3rd image is pure AI and personally, for me, it has nothing to do with photography anymore. Of course, this is just my humble opinion. 🙈
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Linda Look 12.10.2026, 22:03 #19
@Sven Kayser: I completely share this opinion.
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Mario Kaliger 13.10.2026, 08:17 #20
@ EVERYONE (it's a lot of text, I know, but I would be happy if it were read completely)

A separate section for AI images? Please, not again! I want to take a very clear stance on this topic because I have already witnessed exactly this discussion and its consequences in another forum.
There, they eventually decided to strictly separate photography and AI images.
The administrators put a lot of effort into creating dedicated areas....

...and what was the result? Nothing! ...... On the contrary, it even got worse in some cases.

The opponents of AI continue to rant against AI images and their creators, the discussions go on cheerfully, and the divides
between members grow deeper and deeper. What was once a creative community increasingly turned into
two camps making life difficult for each other. The same discussions, the same arguments,
and the same, to me, typically German tunnel vision and nitpicking about what can now be called photography and what cannot. Instead of simply enjoying the works of creative people and seeing new possibilities as
an enrichment, endless arguments over terminology take place.

It usually starts quite harmlessly with "photography versus AI" and often ends in complete chaos.

What I find especially sad is that really good people back then, including excellent photographers, turned their backs on the forum.
Not because they suddenly lost joy in photography, but because they lacked
a sense of community and mutual respect. Just because they also dealt with AI,
they were sometimes treated like second-class members, publicly demeaned, and verbally spat on,
and unfortunately, this still happens there to some extent today. A larger group of us therefore consciously decided
to come here. Especially because we found a friendly, respectful, and uncomplicated atmosphere here,
and we would like to keep it that way!

That is why I have a really heartfelt request to all of you, and believe me, I mean this in the interest of our entire community:

- Please use the AI button if you do not want to see AI images. That is exactly what this function was created for.

- Respect each other as creative people. Don't forget that many of the so-called "AI people" are also
excellent and passionate photographers.

- Don't reject new things outright just because they are unfamiliar or you personally don't connect with them. No one has to
like or use AI, but you can simply let those who enjoy it have their joy.

Photography and AI-generated images are different things, no one denies that. But do we really have to
build walls between people who ultimately share one thing: the joy of images, ideas, and creativity???

As far as I am concerned, I want to say one thing openly:

Like some others, I did not come here to go through the same crap again that we
have already left behind elsewhere. I wish that we can be creative with each other here, not against each other.
Without pigeonholing, without personal attacks, and without constantly new trench wars.

Let's simply enjoy the images, appreciate creativity, and above all respect the people behind them,
because in the end, the joy of creativity should unite us, not the question of which tool was used to create an image.

Warm regards to all

Mario
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Ulf Simon 13.10.2026, 08:53 #21
Yes, I experienced the same in the "other" club, although I was personally only rarely targeted, I generally posted more photos than AI works. At first, I supported the separation to bring peace to the discussion, but there are people who simply refuse to take off their blinkers and, somewhat exaggeratedly, consider only analog photography with a large format camera and self-developed baryta prints as true photography... as an opinion, yes, respectable, but when you postulate something like that as the only valid truth and demonize everything else, it becomes problematic. Today, I consider the switch to hide AI works here the only practical and thus best solution.
A complete separation is not possible anyway. For example, I scan analog studio nudes and body paintings and add an AI background to them. I asked the admins in the other club which section that should go to, nudes or AI nudes. The answer was nudes and a shitstorm from anti-AI purists.....
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Jörg Wolfshöfer 13.10.2026, 18:51 #22
All I can say is that I was one of the first to move here along with Mario!
What he writes, I can only support. At times, it was really unbearable how disrespectful these people were towards AI artists!
For me, photos are pictures, just like images made with AI, only both are created with different tools.
So far, I’m really enjoying the PhotoClub here and I hope it stays that way.

Best regards, Jörg
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Hotzen wäldler 15.10.2026, 08:07 #23
Well, here there is the option to display the images with the AI switch or not. I am impressed by how "calm" it is here. The difference to some other photo clubs is that here there are more true AI artists. I myself will not post AI images, but I admire the works shown here. Sure, they are not photos, .........but time and again it creates amazement here.

.....and in a few years this discussion will be smiled at, because then there will be cameras that change the subject using AI while photographing. There is a demand and research is already underway.

Georg from the Hotzenwald.
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Rainer Meisch 16.10.2026, 08:13 #24
I also think the AI switch is a great idea, as it clears up many potential uncertainties and differences right from the start.

And I feel the same as Georg: I too (I've only been active in the Photoclub for a few weeks) am positively impressed by the pleasant and respectful interaction among the members. I sincerely hope it stays that way!!

What Georg says about the future of photography and AI I must emphasize: In image editing, generative AI has already become practically a given. Photoshop and Lightroom offer a wealth of AI image editing options that photographers are increasingly using almost naturally to enhance their original images.

In the future, not only will this development increase, but it will also shift into the camera itself and thus into the act of taking the photo. Future camera generations—smartphones leading the way—will "automatically" remove distracting objects, generatively extend image edges on request, and completely replace backgrounds. For image series, the integrated AI will combine individual elements from different photos into a perfect but synthetic "group photo." The camera will actively suggest various compositions, lighting setups, or camera angles during the shot, based on the style of successful photographers—and so on. All these possibilities are already in development.

In my opinion, these enhancements will gradually push "real" photographs in the traditional sense into the margins and increasingly and radically change our previous understanding of photography as a somewhat "real" and "true" representation of reality.

Best regards, Rainer
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Jürgen's Welt 16.10.2026, 09:34 #25
I trust the AI artists (images fully/partially from AI) that when they press the AI button, they are marked and everything is fine... depending on the type of AI, I also like certain images and enjoy looking at them.......
There is already so much AI in image editing programs, possibly even in cameras... but I won't use that.. it's up to everyone what they photograph with ...... and how they develop the images.. but there is always a part of artificial intelligence in it.... that's the times moving forward and most people want it that way..... once we made paper photos and today.....

When I think about how enormously image editing programs have advanced in recent years.. it's crazy....... I try to photograph real images as long as I can, not generated images, that's something different
AI creations are certainly fun, you can really let your creativity run wild, but for intellectual, energetic, etc. reasons I don't turn to that art form.
Everything is fine as it is now with the AI button...
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Alfred Schulze 16.10.2026, 11:04 #26
AI or not AI, where is the line supposed to be? Apart from the fact that artificial intelligence doesn't really exist – but this term is just catchy for marketing and makes the cash registers ring...

By now, advanced graphics programs are among the most computationally intensive software when it comes to editing photos, optimizing color and contrast, and so on.

These programs, with their complex procedures and processes, already do an excellent job both in-camera and in post-processing. I think this doesn't need to be labeled as "AI" since the photo itself remains essentially unchanged in content.

In the case of completely "invented" images created artificially by programs based on text input, labeling them is, in my opinion, not just a matter of decency but should be mandatory in a photography forum. Because that is no longer photography, no matter how many real photo references the software mixes together in the data center. Moreover, these images, no matter how good they are, usually reveal themselves through the absence of errors due to artificial perfection – but the programmers will probably fix that too.

Another case is when I transform a photo using such software; here, at least a reference to this editing should be made – but it still remains a photo.

It's a difficult topic, and that's just my opinion on it :-)

By the way, I work a lot with film, where many things aren't even up for debate😉
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