Hands-On Exploration of Generative AI by iStock with Real-World Applications
Generative AI by iStock is a text-to-image generator built on sophisticated generative AI models and trained with iStock's exclusive proprietary content. It aims to help you easily generate creatively spot-on and commercially safe images for your projects.
We gave it a test run with three real-world use cases to experiment and learn about its standout features, easiness of use, as well as potential improvements we would look forward to seeing implemented.
Join us as we explore the generation and editing of images, license coverage, and several other aspects of iStock's AI generator.
Generative AI by iStock: Nutshell Review
Generative AI by iStock is a text-to-image generating tool built on the NVIDIA Picasso model and trained solely with images and data from the iStock and Getty Images libraries (this is a fact that we highlight, as it guarantees that the images generated are commercially safe). It allows users to create unique and customizable visuals in a quick and easy manner, offering a wide range of options and easy-to-use tools. All of this makes it a great resource for professionals looking to enhance their projects with innovative graphics that can be used for commercial purposes and that are covered by the iStock license.
Price, Generation Process, and Features Included
To access this tool, you must buy a Generation Pack (costing $14.99 USD for 100 generations). Each time you hit the “Generate” button, the software creates four image variations based on your prompt and consumes one credit.
You can download images in Medium and Large sizes; the latter requires one extra credit in addition to the ones used to generate the image. If you go for Medium size, you can download all four variations created at no added cost.
A Generation Pack gives you full access to all available features, including editing functions like Refine and Expand (which we cover further below) and extra variations and retouches. Each edit made on an image consumes one credit and gives you four new variations.
All generated images come with iStock's standard license, including legal indemnification against copyright claims. This makes the generated images commercially safe and ideal for marketing and advertising uses.
We took this iStock's Generative AI for a ride to see if it is as good as it sounded. Read on to learn more about our experience!
3 Use Cases to Test the Generative AI by iStock
To get a real sense of how easy and practical it is to use iStock's generative AI to create images, we put ourselves in the shoes of three different users, each with specific visual needs:
- An architecture student compiling an inspirational lookbook based on their favorite styles and materials.
- A travel blogger wanting a picture-perfect image to upload their social media channels
- A pro advertiser in need of photos of people in their city for a tourism campaign
Creating Images with iStock’s Generative AI
During our experiments, we implemented the best practices and creative tips iStock provides in its User Guideline and FAQ for generative AI. They’re very helpful resources. See for yourself below how we used it for each example.
Prompt Writing – The creation process starts with the AI Generator Prompt Form. This is where you will write your prompt (your text description of the image you want to get).
In the first part of the prompt, we placed the main subject at the beginning of the prompt to give it a hierarchical priority. In case #1, for example, this part would be “industrial two story house with metal frames and wooden walls.”
In the second part of the prompt, we included crucial details about the scene and how it should look (style, aesthetic, lighting, background, perspective, etc.). In case #1, this part would be “luxury style, minimalistic, warm exterior lights, orange sunset sky, wide angle.”
In the custom Settings, which are on a panel to the right of the prompt form, we selected a few options to define our desired outcome further. Again, for case #1, we chose a 1:1 aspect ratio (square), Dramatic mood, and Photography style. However, you have multiple options to choose from, including aspect ratio for social media –like 9:16, for example–, different moods such as warm, cool, and more, and options to generate illustrations and digital art as well as “photorealistic” imagery.
For the architecture student's inspirational lookbook, we got good results straight off the bat.
When you hover over a generated image, you can see a button to rate the image and give feedback to iStock, as well as buttons to edit, enhance, or even generate more variations from that image with one click.
We like the results we got, and we actually used the quick-access buttons to generate 5 variations of this house with just one click. Afterward, we decided to Refine -in other words, to edit- the image a bit. More about this process below.
The initial results were good with the travel blogger beach snap, but the images need a little extra work.
For this refreshing beach cocktail, we tried to generate variations of the image we liked (the one on the left). We ended up generating 17 versions of the same image within minutes. We were presented with a lot of different versions, which shows how helpful AI is when it comes to finding the perfect image: it just generates and shows you the variations in minutes.
In the next steps, you will see how we got rid of the one part of the image we didn't like. Stay tuned!
Since the advertising photo involved a couple and we wanted to get it right, we used the prompt builder and a negative prompt “car” to eliminate parked cars in the images. The results were pretty good!
Below, you can see our first version of the results. We then decided to click “Generate more” to get more images (it costs another generation—remember you get 4 images with 1 Generation).
Here, you can see all the variations we did (total cost of 3 Generation Credits for 12 images) in one screenshot. The results are pretty good, and the variation is great. Keep in mind, that we have NOT changed the prompt, but rather used the “Generate more” button to see different versions from the same prompt.
Analyzing and refining results – We selected the best version in all cases and tweaked it using the different available features to craft the ideal photo.
After we chose the variations from the industrial cabin picture, we added a bit of greenery to make it more lively. We used the Refine function, which you can choose on every image preview or thumbnail.
Here is the result after we added green bushes in minimalistic pots in front of the house after refining via the new AI function. How do you like it?
The fix for the beach drink image was obvious: We needed to remove the odd-looking fruit…
… and show more of the beach.
Here is the result after we removed the “fruit” and enhanced the image to see more beach background. Would you believe it is an AI generated image if it popped on your social media feed?
For the couple photos, we wanted variations of the subjects with a focus on ethnicity. The setup should be used for advertisement, i.e., in a touristic setup. The results are some of the best we've seen in a legally safe AI-generated tool!
As you may remember – above, we showed you that we have created 3 variations of the same prompt to see what the AI is capable of.
We decided to create another variation with the same prompt, which actually led to even better images. You can see the results down here. The details of the image are below.
After going through all the variations – we decided on those 4 couples, which we actually used without using any of the Refine or Enhance features.
Making a final choice and downloading the images: In all cases, we downloaded all four initial variations in medium size at 1024×1024 pixels at no added cost; it gave us creative options within one visual concept, which would be enough for creating a lookbook and for social media posts – use cases #1 and #2.
Remember that ALL images you have generated can be downloaded at NO additional costs in the medium resolution. Only the large resolution with 4096×4096 pixels, in our case, would cost you 1 Generation credit to upscale it.
In the gallery below, you can see the images in detail.
Bonus Tips and Tricks for Image Resolution
Since use case #3 involved an advertising campaign, it would’ve made sense to spend an extra credit on a Large download for the advertising photo to get the highest resolution possible. However, we found a cool hack: we downloaded the Medium-sized image and processed it with Stockphotos.com Image Upscaler.
We obtained a high-res picture at a very small cost (you can even use this app for free), and the results were fantastic, especially in variations where the subjects are looking into the camera (sideways-facing people still have some issues with the image upscaler.)
Below is a comparison of the large resolution with 4096×4096 pixels upscaled by iStock (left) and the same image upscaled with the Stockphotos.com upscaler (right).
We think both upscaler options are usable and most likely good enough for most usage in social media or in smaller print resolutions. What's important, as we mentioned, is that our imaginary advertiser would have peace of mind using this image commercially for their multimedia tourism advertising campaign!
Our Top Highlights from iStock's AI Generator Experience
This is what we liked the most about iStock's AI generator after our test run:
Areas for Improvement in iStock's Generative AI
We did find some downsides and things to improve. We are sure iStock will work on most of them, and the software will get better every day. Here is the report:
We think these are things that will be easily solved and improved in the near future.
Use Generative AI Creatively with iStock
We believe Generative AI by iStock delivers decent to impressive results in AI image generation. Being legally safer, it's a good option for generating images intended for commercial use.
While it still has little bits to fix and improve, the license coverage from the reputable iStock and its assisted approach to the creation process compensate for those downsides.
We are eager for you to explore generative AI technology for images on iStock.
Try the iStock AI generator and share your thoughts!
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