Parents are increasingly using AI to upscale low-resolution preview school photos and remove watermarks, avoiding the cost of buying prints, according to a report in the Times. The trend has become so widespread that professional photographers are starting to notice.
The cost of school photos
School photography is a tradition dating back to Victorian times, but prices have become a sticking point. A single photo costs £20, while extras such as magnets, keyrings or snow globes can push the total to around £100.
Some parents have opted to skip the purchase entirely, instead downloading the low-res preview shots from the photographer's website and using AI to enhance them.
Photographers' earnings under pressure
The average spend on school photos is £25. A large primary school with two classes of 30 pupils per year group could generate £10,500, but after expenses such as printing, mounting, shipping, camera and lighting costs, and the school's commission, the net take is significantly lower.
The practice of removing watermarks without payment raises moral questions, and the school photo remains an important record of youth, capturing awkward haircuts and adolescent skin complaints in a way that selfies do not.
AI's wider impact
Using AI to remove watermarks is seen as harmful to photographers' livelihoods, and critics warn it could extend to altering children's teeth and hair in photos, producing unnatural images. The advice is to avoid the AI route altogether.
