How To Tell If A Photo Is AI Generated And Spot Fakes

Even outside of the photography world, AI-generated images can have serious consequences, both socially and politically, meaning that more than ever we need to train ourselves to recognise whether a photo is authentic or not. As image generation models become more sophisticated, we can no longer rely on the obvious giveaways such as disfigured faces, strange body parts, or nonsensical lettering. Thankfully, there are still several key details to look out for, so in this article I shall help you spot AI photos much more quickly. Let’s take a look.

Obvious Cues

Eyes and Eyelashes

The first place to look is at the eyes of the people in the image. AI-generated eyes may look mismatched, with iris patterns appearing too chaotic or the shades of the eyes being slightly different hues. There may also be unusual reflections in the eyes, or reflections may be missing altogether when you would normally expect them. Eyelashes may be uneven across both eyes, with varying lengths or a lack of the fine detail you would see in natural strands of hair.

Hands, Fingers, Limbs

Generation models are becoming better at producing hands and fingers, as it was not uncommon a few years ago to see people with seven or eight fingers per hand in AI images. However, although they may now get the number of digits correct, discrepancies can still appear. Fingers may be fused together, missing joints, or bent in unnatural ways. Wrists and other joints may also look unusual or even appear to be missing.

Hairlines and Stray Hairs

Hair has always been tricky for photographers and editors to work with in Photoshop, and it seems AI faces the same challenge. Hairlines may appear too pristine, overly perfect, or form clumped areas that look plastic and unrealistic. You should also check for stray hairs, especially with longer hairstyles, as natural hair will have strays. In AI images, strays may appear detached from the head, blend into the background, or change direction abruptly. It is worth noting that the absence of strays is not always a clear giveaway, as photographers often tidy them during retouching, but if strays are present, be sure to zoom in and examine how natural they look.

Background Errors and Environment Oddities

Pattern Repetition

Time to zoom in on the background of the image and look for any mishaps in how it has been created. Look for patterns that repeat, such as brickwork or leaves on the ground. You may notice that AI tries to add realism through wear and tear on the bricks or scattered leaves, yet those details may appear again elsewhere in the exact same formation. For anyone who plays video games, this is similar to repeated props used to fill environments, and the same thing can occur in AI images.

Impossible Geometry

Look for straight lines in your image, especially around buildings and other tall structures. AI can struggle with perspective, so you may see lines that look unnaturally straight or warped in strange ways. With real cameras, straight vertical lines near the edges of the frame will often lean inwards or outwards, particularly when shooting tall buildings with a standard lens. Architecture photographers use tilt-shift lenses to correct this distortion, keeping vertical lines straight. However, if you are looking at a portrait, and every vertical line in the background appears perfectly straight and without any natural perspective distortion, it is highly likely that the image is AI generated, as portrait photographers do not use tilt-shift lenses for their shots.

Lighting Inconsistencies

This one can be tricky, but more experienced photographers and editors may spot it quickly. The most obvious giveaway is when there are several lighting directions despite there only being a single light source such as the sun. Shadow softness may also vary across the image with no clear reason as to why. You may also notice shifts in colour temperature in the background, where some areas look warmer or cooler for no apparent reason.

The Finer Details

Jewelry and Buttons Mismatching

This one takes a keen eye, but it is worth zooming in on smaller details such as earrings to see if they match precisely. The patterns in the stones often look uneven or may even be entirely different from one side to the other. The same issue can appear with buttons on shirts, which may vary in shape, shade or pattern, or have inconsistent spacing. These tiny inconsistencies are strong indicators that the image may have been AI generated.

Teeth and Mouth Shape

Teeth remain an area where AI often struggles. Some creators avoid showing teeth at all, so if everyone in the image has a closed mouth without any clear reason, it may be because generating a natural smile proved difficult. When teeth are visible, they may look oddly shaped, with extra teeth appearing between the front and canines. You may also see lips blending into the teeth, or gums showing inconsistent spacing and colour.

Clothing and Fabric

Take a close look at the clothing. Check for irregularities in patterns and textures, as these may be inconsistent or incomplete. You will also want to examine the natural tension of fabric, paying attention to folds that may look stiff, misplaced or entirely absent. Logos are another useful clue, as lettering may look distorted, nonsensical or appear to sit on top of the fabric rather than being part of it, which makes it look artificial.

Skin and Texture Issues

Flawless Skin

This can be a tricky cue to separate from professional retouching, as photographers and editors have been smoothing skin for years. The difference with AI is that the skin often takes on a plastic, overly perfect look with little to no texture. Look beyond the face and check the neck, arms and other visible areas. If pores, wrinkles and natural texture are completely missing, the image may be AI generated rather than professionally edited.

Strange Texture Patches

Zoom in closely and inspect the skin. You may find random smudging, blurred patches or odd artefacts that are clear signs of AI generation. These flaws can sometimes appear in poorly done manual edits too with healing and brush tools, so while this clue is helpful, it should not be the only factor you rely on.

Body Shape Inconsistencies

Although hands are improving in newer models, body proportions can still give away an AI image. Fingers may look too long or too short, limbs may not match in length, or the torso might appear slightly distorted. Collar bones can look uneven in a way that feels unnatural. Human bodies are never perfectly symmetrical, but AI often creates inconsistencies that stand out immediately once you take a closer look.

Subtle Visual Signs

Uncanny Valley

This visual cue comes from an instinct we all naturally have. Sometimes a face simply does not look quite right, even if you cannot immediately explain why. Expressions may seem a little lifeless, eyes may lack depth, or the overall symmetry of the face may feel slightly off. When I play video games that are praised for their visuals, I still struggle to see the characters as fully lifelike. My brain detects something that does not quite sit right, and the same thing happens with AI generated images. You may not be able to pinpoint the exact issue, but if something feels wrong, trust that instinct as it is often accurate.

Lettering and Fonts

A few years ago, AI struggled to create writing at all, producing gibberish rather than real words. It is far better now, although still not perfect. You may notice odd spacing between letters, inconsistent casing or slight differences in font style, even within the same word. Something I have noticed recently is that the fonts in AI images tend to look very similar across different pictures. They rarely resemble a genuine, recognisable typeface and instead appear to be AI’s own approximation of what text should look like.

Metadata and Technical Cues

Check the Metadata

If you want more clues that an image is AI generated, save it to your computer and check the EXIF data. This information normally includes the camera model, lens, ISO, shutter speed and aperture settings used when taking the shot. AI images will not contain any of this. It is worth noting that some photographers remove EXIF data when exporting their work, so this method is not solely reliable. Therefore, treat the absence of EXIF data as another clue.

Unrealistic Depth of Field

AI often struggles to recreate realistic depth of field. The subject might appear sharp, yet there can be uneven focus fall-off around them or blurred areas that logically should remain in focus. For portraits with a shallow depth of field, check around the edges of the model. If the blur is uneven or behaves in a way a real lens would not, this may be a sign that the image was generated.

Pixel-level Artefacts

AI generation and AI upscaling often leave behind tiny artefacts that become visible only when you zoom right in. You may notice soft or smudged pixels, a watercolour-like texture or slight computer-generated glitches that stand out from natural image grain. Take the time to zoom in and inspect the finer details, especially in areas with smooth gradients or low contrast.

The Bottom Line

Despite AI image generation becoming more sophisticated, it still leaves behind telltale signs that are easy to spot once you know what to look for. Start with the obvious cues such as skin texture, fingers, limbs and repeated patterns. From there, zoom in and examine the finer details like jewellery, clothing and pixel artefacts to confirm any suspicions.

For me, the most reliable clue has always been the uncanny valley effect. If something in the image feels off, even if you cannot immediately explain why, that instinct is usually correct. If your brain is telling you something looks strange, trust it and work through the suggestions outlined in this guide. This will help you quickly identify AI-generated images with confidence.