Reality Check

Spotting AI-Generated Images: Tell-Tale Signs and Skill-Testing Photo Examples

AI-Generated Image Recognition: A Comprehensive Guide and Interactive Challenge to Assess Your Observational Skills.

7 min readMay 7, 2023

AI-generated image of a woman with graphics of a camera and text ‘or ai?’ questioning if it’s a photo or AI-generated”

Picture this: You’re scrolling through Instagram and you come across the most aesthetic, picture-perfect café you’ve ever seen. The FOMO is real- it has the perfect minimalist decor, natural lighting, and beautifully arranged pastries- you can practically smell the artisanal coffee! But wait! Before you get too excited- plot twist- the photo isn’t real, it’s AI-generated. Welcome to 2023, folks! We’re now living in a world where digital deception is easier than ever before. In the world of AI-generated images, the line between reality and digital fabrication gets blurrier every day.

Collage of AI-generated peaceful cafes with natural light, wood craftsmanship, Japan-inspired interiors, coffee and tea shops, airy and tranquil atmosphere, featuring plants. Created with Midjourney. — Can you believe these cafés are AI-generated? I created them with Midjourney and they look incredibly peaceful and inviting.

As AI-generated content becomes more prevalent, we all need to get in the habit of questioning everything we see online. If there’s anything the last few months have proved, it’s that you can’t take anything at face value. It’s getting increasingly easy to make photo-realistic images. And the public keeps falling for them.

How Photo-Realistic Images Are Made

Text-to-image generators like OpenAI’s DALL-E, Stable Diffusion, and Midjourney are all getting very good at producing images that look like real photographs. Midjourney, one of biggest players in the AI-generated images game, released the newest version (v5.1) just this last week and the image quality is just… insane.

Collage comparing Midjourney v5 vs v5.1 output quality, featuring women in fashion and editorial-style shots, showcasing photo-realism improvements. — It’s amazing how Midjourney keeps improving. Compare side-by-side version 5 (released in March) vs v5.1 (released in May).

Over the past month, I’ve been somewhat addicted to Midjourney, generating around 9,000 jobs. From my experience, it can be nearly impossible to know whether or not some images are AI-generated. While some images make it obvious with something like a hand with six fingers or gibberish text, there are subtler indicators to help you tell whether or not an image is authentic.

As AI-generated images become more prevalent, we all need to get in the habit of questioning what we see and verifying its authenticity. This technology is only going to get better so we should start training ourselves to question things now.

Whether you’re an AI creator or a media consumer, learning tips to identify AI-generated images will help you to separate fact from fiction! Let’s dive in!

AI-generated vintage photo of woman in pink dress and pearls walking in a city, with distorted license plate on a car in the background, surrounded by city shops and pedestrians. Created using Midjourney. — Text can be a significant clue in AI-generated images. Check the license plate in this photo — something’s off.

Preliminary Steps to Determine Image Authenticity

In this article, I’ll give you some tips to help you identify AI-generated photos, though please note that this doesn’t mean these methods guarantee 100% accuracy. Before we get into the details of analyzing AI-generated images, let’s start with some basic preliminary steps you should take if you’re unsure about a photo’s authenticity.

A. Finding the source

The first thing you should do when you suspect an image might be AI-generated is to try to find its source. Images get shared on social media without credit all the time. Luckily, there are reverse image search tools like Google Images or Tin Eye that will help you figure out where the image came from. Now keep in mind, just because you find the source, that doesn’t automatically mean the image is authentic. But it does give you more info to work with for your investigative pursuits.

B. Compare the images with similar, known authentic images

If the image in question is of a public figure, celebrity, well-known city or landmark, etc., compare it to other photos of that person or place and look for discrepancies or inconsistencies. AI has come a long way in generating convincing photos of famous people and locations but there are lots of subtle differences that can help to give away a fake. Even if an AI photo looks like the real deal at first glance, upon closer inspection it may not be an exact match.

I tried my hand at replicating some outfits from this year’s Met Gala.

Analyzing the Image- First Steps

Now that we’ve laid the groundwork, let’s talk about the two main parts of our image: the subject (or main features of the image) and the background. I always look at the background first. The AI puts more weight on whatever is at the beginning of the prompt which, is likely, the subject of the photo. Finding inconsistencies and errors in the background can be an easy way to spot an AI-generated photo.

A. The Background
🔍 Blurriness: Examine the backdrop for any blurriness or unusual focus.
🔍 Pixelation: Look for pixelated or blocky areas in the background.
🔍 Inconsistencies: Identify objects or patterns that seem misplaced or illogical.
🔍 Distorted faces: Check background people for distorted or unrealistic features.

Midjourney was used to generate this vintage photo of woman in red dress at a beach house with friends admiring her, featuring ocean background, distorted faces, and asymmetrical dress collar. — At first glance, everything seems normal! But upon closer inspection, notice the distortions in the background and the main subject’s dress collar.

B. The Subject
🔍 Hands and feet: Inspect for extra/missing fingers, distorted proportions, or abnormalities.
🔍 Other body parts: Examine body parts for inconsistencies or unusual features.
🔍 Skin: Look for overly smooth or inconsistent skin textures.
🔍 Hair: Check for unnatural appearances, odd hairstyles, or hair blending into the background.
🔍 Eyes: Look for mismatched colors/sizes or misaligned/distorted shapes.
🔍 Ears: Examine for incorrect shapes, sizes, placement, or asymmetry.
🔍 Mouth: Inspect teeth and lips for signs of distortion or unnatural appearance.

Woman in mustard yellow dress sitting at a table with green place setting, wearing sunglasses and elegant jewelry, holding a yellow stemmed glass, surrounded by green floral wallpaper, created with Midjourney. — Keep an eye on fingers — this woman has six! Plus, her jewelry and the floating cup seem off.

The Subtler Signs of AI- General Characteristics to Examine

🚨 Composition: Assess the image’s balance and arrangement.
🚨 Context: Check for anachronisms or inconsistencies in the represented time period.
🚨 Cultural elements: Examine for missing or misrepresented cultural symbols, attire, or customs.
🚨 Social context: Consider relationships, body language, and mood for inaccuracies.
🚨 Historical events/figures: Cross-reference well-known events or figures for accuracy.
🚨 Background elements: Investigate landmarks, geographical features, or public spaces.
🚨 Language and text: Ensure appropriate language, check for inaccuracies or odd phrasings.
🚨 Lighting: Examine shadows and light sources for consistency.
🚨 Patterns/symmetry: Analyze patterns and symmetry for potential artificiality.
🚨 Text: Pay attention to distorted, inconsistent, or nonsensical text.
🚨 “Too perfect” feeling: Consider if the image appears too clean or lacks imperfections.

Woman in white silk outfit and cowboy hat sitting in a vintage record shop, with neutral colors and record-like objects, looking off into the distance, created with midjourney. — Woman in mustard yellow dress sitting at a table with green place setting, wearing sunglasses and elegant jewelry, holding a yellow stemmed glass, surrounded by green floral wallpaper.

The Devil Is In The Details — Specific Elements to Inspect

🚩 Excessive symmetry/asymmetry: Check for areas with too much symmetry or illogical asymmetry.
🚩 Floating/improperly connected jewelry: Examine jewelry for floating items or improper connections.
🚩 Clothing anomalies: Inspect clothing for oddities, such as issues with zippers, ties, belts, patterns, or asymmetrical elements.
🚩 Facial expressions: Be aware of “lifeless” or neutral expressions that may indicate AI generation.
🚩 Unnatural/distorted animals: Look for anatomical anomalies, unrealistic fur patterns, or unnatural poses in animals.
🚩 Incorrectly generated electronics/objects: Check electronics or everyday objects for distorted or unrealistic appearances.
🚩 Unidentifiable artifacts/pixelated blobs: Look for hard-to-identify objects or pixelated blobs, which may signal AI-generated images.

Woman lying in bed surrounded by pink feathers, talking on a phone with falling buttons, in the style of iconic movie shots, created with Midjourney. — Check out these unusual electronics. The buttons are falling off! And don’t forget her teeth and fingers.

I know examples can be helpful for me so below I’ve provided you with a few more photo examples. It’s kind of like a modern twist on those “spot the difference” games we used to play as kids (or, at least I did). You’d better brush up on your skills because up next, I’m testing YOU! Think you can identify signs that the images were generated by AI? Keep scrolling down!

AI-Generated image of Woman walking down a New York City street in summertime, wearing a travel outfit with long brunette hair and a missing strap on her clothing. — Spot the missing strap and unusual fingers.

Close-up of a woman’s bright orange beaded turtleneck with inconsistent bead patterns. — Inconsistency with beads.

Woman in white walking down the street with a full white outfit, classic style, carrying two purses, and wearing aviator sunglasses, near a corporate building with marble stone pillars. — Too many purses! But the real issue is with the fingers.

AI-generated photorealistic image of a Woman in a yellow silk dress lying on a bed with aqua silk bedding in a bright teal room, with short brown hair and red lipstick, in the style of 80s celebrity portraits, created using Midjourney. — This photo would’ve been perfect, if not for the missing sleeve on one side…

🔔❗YOUR TURN❗🔔

Alright, now that you’ve become familiar with some of the tell-tale signs that indicate a photo is AI-generated, it’s time to put your newfound skills to the test! Can you spot the signs in these photos? I’ve pointed out what I’ve noticed in the caption below each image, but there might be more to discover. Did you notice anything else? Test your abilities and see how well you can identify AI-generated images. Happy hunting!

Woman in a bright pink outfit walking the streets of London, wearing sunglasses and a pink beret, gloves, socks, and purse, with a bright red bob, reminiscent of the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Created using Midjourney. — What I noticed: eyes distorted looking, abnormalities with glove holding purse, inconsistency with pattern on skirt, random strap hanging over shoulder, random tall black railing in background

Woman in pink sparkly jumpsuit sitting on a red velvet couch in an apartment with purple carpet and orange curtains, with red twinkly lights on the wall and warm lamp lighting. Image generated using Midjourney. — What I noticed: legs aren’t actually crossed- one leg is coming out from the other leg, excess fabric on earring, asymmetry/abnormalities with clothing, potential abnormalities with index finger/ear on that side, lights appear to be floating

AI-generated image of woman leaning against a wall in an all-green space, wearing a green outfit, brown metallic leather jacket, sunglasses, and holding a tennis racket with a discolored string. Created with Midjourney. — What I noticed: random string discoloration on tennis racket, extra finger that curves around the wrong way, clothing abnormalities with jacket cuff, buttons, and zipper, sunglasses curve before getting to ear it seems, whatever she’s leaning against almost curves with her body

AI-generated image of an energetic woman in an orange jumpsuit standing on blue outdoor stairs, holding a camera next to her face and the railing with the other hand, in a sunny and vibrant California setting, created with Midjourney. — What I noticed: abnormalities with teeth, too many fingers on one hand, other hand/arm looks distorted, railing only continues on one side, abnormalities on the heel of one of her shoes

Woman sitting in a room with 70s color palette patterns, wearing an orange jumpsuit, sitting on a coffee table with a floating overhead lamp, looking directly at the camera. Created using Midjourney. — What I noticed: Inconsistent patterns, heel only on one shoe, random ottoman w/abnormalities, skin-colored blob on her upper arm, floating overhead light

The Future of AI Detection

Today, AI-generated images still have quite a few tell-tale signs that help us to identify them, but detecting fake images will inevitably be harder as technology improves. It’s important that we all educate ourselves and learn to adapt to AI being an even bigger part of our life. I hope you learned something about identifying AI-generated photos. Stay curious and informed, my friends!

Thanks for reading! For more, you can follow me on Twitter @brittanynpotter or contact me at workwithpotter@gmail.com.