TinfoilCamera

So photons just started doing this in recent years?

They have always done that.

The less complicated the lens, the less it controls for flaring, aberrations, loss-of-sharpness etc etc.

Why are modern prime lens so big and heavy?

Simple (not really): Every time a photon passes through a medium, like say - glass - that photon gets distorted, at least to some extent. You must now correct for that distortion and you do so by... wait for it... passing it through another medium.

Uh oh. You've distorted it in an entirely new and exciting way. Which must now be corrected for. Guess how that's done?

It's enough to make an engineer weep.

Read this: https://www.dpreview.com/opinion/9236543269/why-are-modern-50mm-lenses-so-damned-complicated

Pixabay's usage restrictions are virtually identical to everyone else's including iStock.

" You cannot use any Content on or in conjunction with anything pornographic, obscene, offensive, illegal, immoral, infringing, defamatory, hateful, threatening or libellous in nature "

The clause is there specifically to keep the images from showing up on adult web sites, which is exactly the use the OP wants (even if the site is fake and made-up just for the film)

There is no copyright on AI images

Nitpick: Be sure to check that first as some of the online generators absolutely do restrict usage of the content you create using their tools.

So my question is are there any stock image websites that would allow such use of their images? Or is my best bet trying to find a photographer who takes such images and making a deal with them?

Neither.

If this is just going to flash by with little time for critical examination of each image then why not just generate the content yourself? There are plenty available at the end of a google search. They produce results good enough to get thousands of thirsty followers on instagram so they'd be more than good enough to use in a film where viewers aren't even being given the chance to really look at them before they're gone.

Double check the usage restrictions (if any) of generated content and just make whatever you want.

No licensing issues, no model records to maintain etc etc.

In addition to what has already been mentioned: Have you ever heard someone mention that an image looks like it was "airbrushed" ?

Today the word is "photoshopped" but Back In The Days the meaning was the same - used to describe an image that appears to have been overly manipulated in post.

They used to literally spray paint the master.

Look at any of the old propaganda photos from Germany in the late 30s and early 40s, because they in particular were really heavy-handed with it.

https://cdn.britannica.com/13/11413-050-75DC0AD1/Hermann-Goring-Storm-Troopers-1933.jpg

The technique was used (and improved/refined) all the way up to the digital age. Any of the old magazine advertisements from the 70s & 80s - especially any kind of hair care or make-up products used it extensively.

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/62/28/e9/6228e989947af398d362d574c2df892c.jpg

It's a major US company

OK - the cruise ship (and by extension the line) is probably not at fault. Whomever they bought it from is the actual infringer.

First things first - before contacting a lawyer you have to register the copyright on your image, presuming you haven't already.

You can not litigate copyright infringement or even threaten to without registering the copyright first - and it has to be registered, not simply filed for. File for the copyright and then contact an attorney - they can send a demand to the cruise line to reveal the source they bought the print from. The cruise line does not have to answer that demand because there's no litigation yet - but they will. Once you know who to go after, your lawyer will take it from there.

Note that this is worth litigating - willful infringement of a copyrighted work is worth treble damages and it's per infringement... and if it's in one cruise ship it's probably in more than one, and elsewhere as well. All kinds of infringements might come to light once subpoenas start getting tossed around.

tl;dr -- file for your copyright today, then call an attorney.

But the real problem is that even the pictures i take myself, outside work, let’s say i call a friend out or take pics of my girlfriend and want to post them on my page, they won’t let me post without their presets as well

If they're willing to pay you for those shots too then I'd milk them for every nickel.

Then start up a completely different IG (you're allowed to have more than one you know) - and post your own creative stuff there, using a different business name.

There is nothing intelligent about "A.I." and letting it make decisions for you is a recipe for disaster.

Sometimes the mistake makes the photo rather than breaks it.

I was hoping this would solve my problem of culling thousands of pictures thst i take for events each week

You already have something better. It is usually located somewhere between the keyboard of your computer and your chair.

So to repeat the advice you've already been given - do your own culling. Not only are you actually intelligent about your selections, but you'll be able to recognize what no "A.I." can - the potential in an otherwise flawed image.

Yea culling is work - it's a grind - but that's why it's called work in the first place.

how do they get light without addind too much gain an grain ?

With the giant ball of plasma in the sky you can shoot at 1/3200ths, f/5.6, ISO 400 - or 1/800ths and ISO 100.

I don't see what the problem with either of those would be?

Not only have I been a victim of someone editing out my watermark and not paying for the package

If you're feeling vindictive...

Send them an invoice for triple the original package price.

Removing a watermark is an automatic win if you have to take this in front of a judge (you won't) - as it constitutes what is to a judge a magical phrase: Willful Infringement.

It means the person cannot claim ignorance or "innocent" infringement, like they didn't know what they were doing was wrong. They knew it was wrong to do that, they did it anyway, automatic /gavel for you. (Edit: Oh, and you get to claim triple because it was willful)

So anywhoo - send them an invoice for triple the price, and if they don't pay it, file against them in small claims. If the treble amount is high enough, you can just sell the debt to a collection agency for 10 cents on the dollar. You earn a little money from that bad debt, and the collection agency gets to hound them for the next 7 years or so - and it shows up on their credit history.

1. Years of experience - in most cases, decades worth.
2. Professional lenses that cost North of $12,000
3. Planning and patience so they can...
4. FILL that frame.

You think they gear up in camo from head to toe, crawl into a pup-tent at 3am to shoot through a tiny hole cut in the side whilst dousing themselves in stanky deer piss because any of that is fun?

You should watch some of the BTS for the camera operators that did the various BBC "Planet Earth" shows. What they do to get the shot in some cases is insane... but given the quality of the footage they brought back, absolutely required.

If you're just heading down to the local lake and strolling around with a $300 lens attached, well, you're not going to get what they get.