Generative AI has infiltrated nearly every part of our online lives, and photography and other creative services are no exception. Getty Images is best known for its extensive stock library, and it began experimenting with AI back in 2023. Now, it has a collection of AI editing tools to help people who license the perfect imagery through its library. It also has an AI image generator that has one of the best setups I've ever used.
There's a lot to like about Getty Images's approach to AI. Any AI-created or edited images are commercially safe, meaning you can use them in business. Your generated images are private to you; other people can't license them. If a creator's original work is used as a reference to create new AI-edited images, those creators are paid. Most importantly, Getty Images' AI is trained exclusively on its creative library catalog -- not scraped from the open web, public domain or other outside data sources. As far as AI creative services go, it's a relatively safe and private option among a slew of competition that don't take the same level of precaution.
If you're a single Getty Images user -- meaning you're not on a business plan -- you'll need to purchase additional access to its AI tools. You can try out the AI tools with a $49 one time payment to receive 25 generation credits or $149 for 100 credits. If you're on an enterprise plan, your access will vary depending on your company's policy.
Here's how my experience went with Getty Images. For more, check out my hands-on with Google's Veo 3 AI videos and the best Photoshop AI features.
These are four images Getty Images created with AI based on one prompt. Created with Generative AI by Getty Images
Editing existing images
I've often spent time searching through Getty Images looking for that perfect image, and it's frustrating when you can't find it. Or worse, you find a picture that could be a good fit, if not for one small quirk or error. If that sounds familiar to your own Getty Images experience, I recommend giving its AI tools a whirl -- that's why they're there.
There aren't a ton of editing tools, but Getty has the basics. You can use AI to remove an image's background, add and remove objects and extend the image. The remove background tool worked really well. I was able to extend several images and resize them however I needed, which was great. I had better luck getting good images when I extended a more plain, not detailed image. For more detailed photos, I ran into a couple of instances where objects would disappear or overlap in the new AI-generated portions.
The add and remove object tool didn't really meet my expectations; it wouldn't match the vibe or colors of the current photo when I added new elements, and removing them caused me to run into issues too. I hope these tools get some refining in future updates because I think they hold a lot of potential. The AI image generator, however, surpassed my expectations, especially for photorealistic images.
Creating new images
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