The rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI) in the creative world has led to an influx of AI-generated images that often appear indistinguishable from real photos or human-created artwork. Whether it’s a surreal landscape, a realistic portrait, or even a manipulated photograph, AI tools such as DALL·E, MidJourney, and Stable Diffusion are now capable of producing highly convincing images. With the line between AI-generated and real images becoming increasingly blurred, it’s important to develop an eye for distinguishing between the two.

In this blog post, we will explore the key signs to look for in identifying AI-generated images, from technical flaws to stylistic patterns, and explain how you can tell if a picture was made with AI.

1. Unnatural or Inconsistent Lighting

Lighting is one of the first indicators that an image may have been generated by AI. While human photographers and artists consider light sources, angles, and shadows carefully, AI-generated images often struggle to mimic natural lighting with the same precision. This can lead to inconsistencies in how light interacts with objects in the image.

Signs of Unnatural Lighting:

• Multiple light sources: AI images may have multiple conflicting light sources, creating shadows in different directions or inconsistent brightness across objects.
• Strange shadow patterns: Shadows might not align correctly with the lighting in the scene, or there could be missing shadows altogether.
• Uneven illumination: Objects or people in AI-generated images might appear overly bright or underexposed in certain areas, with no clear explanation for the lighting discrepancy.

Take a close look at how light interacts with the elements in the image—odd lighting patterns are a strong sign the picture was created by AI.

2. Irregularities in Faces and Hands

AI-generated portraits of humans are often quite convincing, but faces and hands tend to be the weak spots. Generating realistic faces is a challenge for AI, especially when it comes to symmetry and proportion, and hands are notoriously difficult to render accurately.

Signs in Faces:

• Asymmetry: Human faces are generally symmetrical, but AI-generated faces may have uneven eyes, mismatched eyebrows, or skewed facial features.
• Distorted facial expressions: AI may struggle with more subtle facial expressions, resulting in smiles that look forced or facial muscles that appear unnatural.
• Blurry or distorted eyes: Eyes may lack sharpness, appear misaligned, or have unusual reflections that do not match the lighting in the image.

Signs in Hands:

• Extra fingers or limbs: AI-generated images of hands frequently feature extra or missing fingers, as the AI has difficulty rendering hands accurately.
• Unnatural poses: AI may create hands that are holding objects in impossible or uncomfortable ways, with fingers bent at odd angles or gripping objects unrealistically.

If the image contains human figures, examining the face and hands can reveal tell-tale signs of AI involvement.

3. Strange Textures and Details in Backgrounds

AI-generated images may look flawless at first glance, but examining the finer details, particularly in the background, can often reveal inconsistencies or unusual artifacts. AI sometimes struggles with generating complex textures and coherent details in less prominent parts of the image.

Common Issues with Backgrounds:

• Blurry or smeared textures: AI often smooths out details too much in areas it deems less important, leading to unrealistic textures, especially in natural environments like foliage, rocks, or water.
• Repeating patterns: AI models sometimes use repetitive patterns to fill in large areas, which can lead to unnatural repetition in elements like clouds, trees, or walls.
• Disjointed objects: The background may include incomplete or cut-off objects, such as a half-drawn car or a chair missing one leg, since the AI might not prioritize accuracy for every part of the scene.

Look closely at background elements, and be especially mindful of unusual textures or repeated patterns that don’t seem to belong.

4. Overly Smooth or Airbrushed Appearances

One characteristic of AI-generated images is that they can appear overly smooth, almost airbrushed, especially when depicting people, animals, or skin textures. This can give the image an unnatural, almost plastic-like quality that doesn’t resemble the imperfections typically found in real photos or human-created artwork.

Signs of Airbrushing:

• Plastic-looking skin: In portraits, the skin may lack the usual pores, freckles, or subtle imperfections, making it look unnaturally smooth.
• Overly perfect features: AI-generated images often create unnaturally symmetrical and flawless features, which can give characters a doll-like or artificial appearance.
• Lack of texture: AI might fail to replicate realistic textures for clothing, hair, or fur, leading to overly simplified or flat areas that don’t match the rest of the image.

If the picture looks too perfect, with no visible imperfections or natural textures, it may have been generated by AI.

5. Anachronistic or Out-of-Place Elements

AI-generated images can sometimes combine elements that don’t naturally fit together. The AI might struggle to differentiate between time periods, cultural elements, or object proportions, leading to anachronisms or incongruous parts of the scene.

Examples of Incongruities:

• Mismatched time periods: An AI-generated image might place modern technology like smartphones in a setting with medieval architecture or historical figures.
• Unusual object proportions: Items like cars, furniture, or trees might be scaled incorrectly, appearing far too large or small compared to surrounding objects.
• Inappropriate clothing or accessories: The clothing or accessories in a portrait may seem out of place, such as a futuristic hat on someone wearing 18th-century attire.

When you notice odd pairings of objects, clothes, or proportions, it’s a good sign that AI has played a role in creating the image.

6. Odd Artifacts or Glitches

AI-generated images sometimes contain visual artifacts or glitches, particularly in areas where the AI struggles to maintain coherence. These glitches might manifest as blurry areas, strange shapes, or elements that don’t make sense within the context of the scene.

Common Glitches:

• Floating objects: Items may appear to float unnaturally or lack proper connection to the ground or surrounding elements.
• Blending issues: Different parts of the image may not blend smoothly, resulting in sharp transitions or strange borders between objects or textures.
• Jagged edges or pixelation: AI-generated images can sometimes show pixelation, especially around the edges of objects, where the algorithm had trouble smoothing out lines.

These artifacts can be subtle, so it’s worth zooming in and looking at fine details to spot potential AI-made flaws.

7. Unnatural Eye Reflections and Highlights

One of the most telling signs of an AI-generated image is the appearance of unnatural reflections or highlights in human eyes. AI often struggles with realistic reflections, either adding too much light or placing highlights in ways that don’t make sense given the scene’s light source.

Eye Reflection Errors:

• Misplaced highlights: The highlights in the eyes might not correspond to the light sources in the image, leading to an unrealistic gleam.
• Unnatural reflections: The reflections inside the eyes might show unusual shapes or details that don’t match the scene, like reflecting objects that aren’t visible in the image.

Eyes are one of the hardest features for AI to perfect, so inconsistencies in how light reflects in them can be a strong clue that the image is AI-generated.

8. Lack of Depth and Realistic Perspective

AI-generated images can sometimes appear flat or lacking in depth, especially in scenes with complex perspectives. While human artists and photographers take perspective into account when creating or capturing images, AI-generated pictures might not follow the same rules, leading to distorted perspectives or unnatural depth.

Perspective Issues:

• Inconsistent depth: Objects in the foreground may not appear appropriately sized compared to objects in the background, leading to a distorted sense of depth.
• Poor vanishing points: AI might struggle with maintaining consistent vanishing points in more complex architectural scenes, leading to skewed or unnatural angles.
• Unconvincing three-dimensionality: Some AI images may lack the realistic three-dimensionality that comes from proper shadowing and light direction.

Images that feel “off” in terms of their depth or perspective may indicate AI involvement.

9. Common AI Styles and Themes

Certain AI platforms, like DALL·E or MidJourney, produce images with recognizable stylistic features. These images may have a dreamy, surreal quality or exhibit a painterly style that hints at their algorithmic origins. In some cases, AI-generated pictures might also include recurring elements that don’t logically belong in the scene.

Stylistic Markers of AI:

• Surreal, dream-like qualities: AI-generated art often incorporates surrealistic elements, like glowing objects, abstract forms, or unnatural color schemes.
• Repetitive themes or objects: In many AI-generated images, certain patterns or objects repeat across different parts of the image, sometimes in illogical places.

Being familiar with the visual styles of popular AI image generators can help you spot AI art more easily.

10. Metadata and File Information

Another way to tell if a picture was made with AI is by checking the file’s metadata. Often, AI-generated images contain information in the file properties that indicate the software used to create them.

How to Check Metadata:

• Right-click the image file (on a computer) and select “Properties” or “Get Info.”
• Look for software or model names like “DALL·E,” “Stable Diffusion,” or “MidJourney” in the metadata.

While metadata can sometimes be stripped or altered, this is a helpful way to verify whether AI was used to create an image.

Conclusion

As AI-generated images become more sophisticated, the ability to distinguish between real and AI-created content is increasingly important. By paying attention to details like lighting, facial features, textures, and background elements, as well as checking for common visual glitches, you can improve your skills in identifying AI-generated pictures. Keep these tips in mind when examining images, and over time, you’ll develop a more discerning eye for spotting AI’s creative touch.