Authentic photos or AI-generated images?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is currently intruding almost obtrusively into various areas of our daily lives. People are uncertain whether, for example, the images they are seeing are real and authentic photos or fake, AI-generated images.

With a little practice, AI-generated images can be recognized surprisingly easily! AI often performs poorly when depicting humans and other living beings. It generally struggles with anatomical details! The "six fingers" in a picture of Donald Trump have become widely known. Body parts often appear slightly twisted, and this is almost immediately noticeable.

Text and fonts in AI-generated images often appear strangely distorted; some words are even completely nonsensical. AI cannot reliably generate text! Authentic photos do not exhibit such errors!

Unrealistic, overly perfect lighting conditions with shadows cast from directions that they cannot possibly fall into due to the way the image is rendered are also a telltale sign for the AI.

Zooming in on an image reveals excessively smooth textures, for example of skin and fabrics. Perfectly symmetrical faces are just as much of a giveaway for AI as unrealistic depth of field or distorted reflections and refractions, to name just a few ways it can be detected.

It's more difficult to identify a fake image created by an experienced photographer. This has always existed – anything AI can do, humans have been able to do for a long time! However, this takes a few days of work, while AI does it in seconds. Furthermore, anyone can operate AI, even without any real skill. These two factors enable a veritable flood of fake images. While a skilled photographer or visual artist can produce far superior work, AI allows almost anyone to generate masses of, but somehow "lifeless," images with incredible speed.

This creates a psychologically based belief in the great power of AI, which is not realized in the technical analysis.

The speed of AI is technically very fascinating, and there are areas of the "creative industry" where the application of the machine makes perfect sense.

But this is where the real story begins. While AI-generated images are suitable for quick concepts and internal testing, they pose significant risks for companies that use them.

AI models are trained on millions of photos – often without the copyright holders' permission. If an AI-generated image resembles a real photograph, this can lead to copyright lawsuits. Companies that use AI-generated images commercially operate in a legal gray area. Who bears the responsibility? The user? The AI ​​provider? This remains unclear.

People develop a sense for when something isn't "real." Consumers are now aware that AI-generated images exist—and when they realize a company is using fake images, their trust plummets. This is particularly detrimental in e-commerce and product photography. A customer wants to see the product as it truly is, not as a machine imagines it.

When media outlets or competitors uncover that a company is passing off AI-generated images as real, the reputational damage is considerable. The story "Company deceiving customers with AI images" will quickly circulate on social media. This destroys credibility that took years to build.

AI can't truly capture a brand. Its aesthetic, its perspective, the details that set it apart – these can't be condensed into a prompt. AI generates generic, interchangeable images. Real, authentic photos, taken by a person with an eye and skill, have their own signature.

There's a reason established brands continue to invest in professional photography: it works. Real photos aren't faster, but they're more valuable—especially now that AI is everywhere. A real product photo says: This thing really exists, exactly as you see it. That's a psychological signal that AI-generated images can't deliver. When buying, when making a decision—that's what matters.

Authentic photos tell stories. The photographer's perspective, the choice of light, the details they capture – these create a connection. People recognize: someone with experience, a keen eye, and skill has worked here. That's emotionally powerful. When you have a genuine photo, you know exactly who took it and who is allowed to use it. No hidden licensing issues, no unclear copyrights.

Why ImageShop only offers authentic photos

Here at ImageShop, I deliberately work differently. Every image you find here is authentic. It's real photography – of real people, real places, created with genuine craftsmanship. No generation, no machine.

However, AI may be used to edit real photos, such as removing digital noise, possible dust spots, or company and trademark logos.

This isn't simply an ethical decision. It's a practical one: your customers deserve images they can rely on – images that show what truly exists. By working with authentic photos, you stand out from the crowd – in an age where anyone can "click" their way to AI-generated images.

I don't just offer photos. I offer trust. I offer craftsmanship. And I offer the assurance that what your customers see is truly authentic.

That's the difference. And that's exactly what companies pay for – not speed, but credibility.

Find your picture HERE!

The cover image shows a section of the authentic photograph "Flying Computer Keys." The image was taken using the so-called explosion technique. For this, the camera with a zoom lens must be mounted on a tripod. Choose a long exposure time during which you manually adjust the zoom as smoothly as possible.

HERE is the direct link to the photo in the ImageShop.

The photo data:

• Camera: Canon EOS 6D2
• Lens: Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS
• Exposure time: 00:25 sec.
• Aperture: f / 8
• Focal length: varies
• ISO value: 100

If you are interested in photography techniques and tips, I recommend The Little Photography School - Part 2. The link will take you to my website, Creative Dragon Works.

ImageShop today: A fresh start with history

ImageShop has been around for a long time. It has a rich history, and telling it would fill a book. Now, here and now, the shop presents itself with its familiar look, but has been completely overhauled technically and structurally. Let me tell you more about it.

Where the ImageShop comes from

Until the end of 2024, the image shop ran under a different address: as a subdomain of one of my other websites, hosted by a different provider. Then two things happened simultaneously: the web programming was aging and needed updating. For this, I needed help, help that I had always received from my web host – for over 15 years. Now it was no longer available! The server performance and reliability also deteriorated. Overall, everything was reaching its limits – outdated scripts, a technical environment that was no longer up-to-date, and increasingly inadequate service. So I had to take action!

What has changed

At the beginning of 2025, I drew the necessary conclusions:

• New server, new hosting provider
• New domain: imageshop.online
• Updated and modernized technology
• Completely redesigned shop layout

From a technical perspective, it was the right move. From a search engine perspective, however, it meant starting from scratch. New domain, new address, new structure – Google and other search engines treat it like an unknown website. No ranking, no visibility, no history.

Why I did it that way anyway

The old foundation was no longer functional and either had to be renovated or abandoned. But I wanted to, and still want to, continue. Besides, the old location had no future. The new one does.

The photo collection is already larger than ever before. The quality is the same. I've even been able to significantly reduce the license prices; what previously cost €1,95 is now €1,85 for the web license. Only the address and the technology are new – and both are for the better.

Where we stand now - the ImageShop today

The ImageShop is growing. New photos are added every month. Search engine visibility is slowly rebuilding – this takes time, but it's moving in the right direction. If you're familiar with the shop before: welcome back. If you're new: welcome to the ImageShop today.

The featured image shows Hong Kong Central at night, taken from the promenade in Kowloon-West.

Link to the image: https://imageshop.online/produkt/hong-kong-central-nachts/

• Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
• Lens: Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS
• Aperture value: 4
• Exposure time: 1/20
• Focal length: 40 mm
• ISO: 1600
• Other: without tripod

The ImageShop is a website by Creative Dragon Works (Henning Wiekhorst)

The "Shop & Archive" page forms the core of the ImageShop. From here, you have access to the 20 main categories into which the ImageShop is organized. Visually, the shop is structured with 20 different, clickable tile images. However, what you can't see in this shop overview are the subcategories. Where can you find each sub-album?

So that you don't have to keep digging through the main areas, albums, or categories, there is now a new shop map.

The map is essentially a table displaying the shop and archive. This format makes it easy to clearly show the subcategories as well. The map is now integrated into the always-visible navigation menu directly below the main image.

The new shop map, ...

... you can find the cover image for this post HERE

The photo was taken specifically for this article.

Camera: Canon 6D Mark II

Lens: Canon EF 24-105mm IS USM 1/4

Exposure time: 0,5 s

Aperture: f / 22

Henning Wiekhorst

The loading and response times of ImageShop have hardly raised any real concerns about speed so far. If you wanted to view an image in the shop, you had to wait ages for the screen to load. The PREMIUM PHOTO STOCK at https://henningwiekhorst.de is based on the same system and doesn't have this problem. Are there perhaps differences in the system or the website structure?

Both websites run on the WordPress content management system (CMS). The plugins used are also the same. However, the websites use different themes. These are programs for displaying a website. A CMS cannot function without a theme installed. Themes are often referred to as design templates. There are thousands of such templates available.

PREMIUM PHOTO STOCK uses a different theme than ImageShop; this is the only technical difference between the two websites! Consequently, the slowdown must be caused by the ImageShop theme.

A quick look at the file folders on the server revealed an excessively full directory for uploaded images. Approximately 30 variations of each photo, in different dimensions, were created. These variations are needed for the theme's various display options. The ImageShop theme offers more design possibilities than the PREMIUM PHOTO STOCK theme. Therefore, a correspondingly large number of files are created with each image upload. This number of files has a significant impact on the website's speed.

To ensure you actually experience a speed alert in ImageShop in the future, I need to identify and delete unused image files. That sounds simple, but it isn't. While I've already improved the website's response time, I'm not yet satisfied and am continuing to work on it.

Regarding the image: Speed ​​alert...

The cover image for this post is taken from the photo "Tachometer in the Dark" , which is available in the shop.