Company Allegedly Stole This Photographer’s Work To Promote Their Business
The company allegedly edited the photo using AI to create an advertisement.
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Nobody likes it when their hard work is simply taken by others and used without the owner’s permission.
This is what happened to Malaysian wedding and portrait photographer Vinoth Raj Pillai, better known as @therealvrp on Instagram, when a photography company allegedly used a photograph he took and turned it into a poster to promote their own business.
In a video posted on Instagram on 15 July, Vinoth claimed that he woke up to an advertisement offering photography and videography services with an album and pen drive, all in one package.
However, he said he recognised the photo on the ad and realised that it was a couple that he had photographed before, with the only difference being the photo was further edited using artificial intelligence (AI).
Here is the original photo:
And this is the alleged AI-generated image the company used:
Vinoth posed as a customer to confront the company
In an effort to confront the company, Vinoth reached out to the company and asked them about the package they were offering.
After they replied, the asked them “Did you take this photo? I don’t see this (picture) on your profile” to find out if they would be honest about it.
However, they responded saying that the image was “made” to promote the package and even told Vinoth that there are “better” photos in their profile.
He reminded brides-to-be not to fall for edited or “borrowed” visuals
In his Instagram post, Vinoth warned future brides not to be fooled by “fake hooks, AI edits, or photographers who show up in pixels but not in person”.
“Stay sharp, Verify who you are hiring,” he added.
He has since reported the company’s post to Instagram for copyright infringement and chose not to name the company. Instead, he expressed hope that this would be a learning moment for all creatives and clients.
Vinoth also encouraged his followers to report the post to Instagram if they come across it.
“I’ve reported this to IG as copyright infringement, and honestly find this whole episode hillarious.
“Also, let’s not name and shame, report the post to IG when you see it. It’s still their bread and butter, hope everyone learns from this,” he said.
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