{
  "id": 10794930,
  "title": "‘ChatGPT for the win’: Parents are using AI to skip out on children’s school photo day",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/29/chatgpt-for-the-win-parents-are-using-ai-to-skip-out-on-childrens",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-09-29T22:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Fast Company",
    "slug": "fast-company",
    "url": "https://www.fastcompany.com/91615016/parents-using-ai-chatgpt-to-skip-kids-school-picture-day"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "As the new school year kicks off, parents are getting creative with AI to save on school photo day costs. Some are turning to ChatGPT to create school picture-style images of their children using at-home photos. Others are avoiding paying for final images by having AI remove watermarks from proofs. While these methods may save money, they come with hidden costs.\n\nOn TikTok, Carlie Bond went viral for her \"Mom Hack\" of taking photos against a plain backdrop and using ChatGPT to add a school picture background. Bond found the results acceptable despite the economy. Fellow parents commended her idea, noting the high costs of professional school pictures. However, not everyone was supportive of this strategy. Some warned that AI platforms like ChatGPT can distort images, while others expressed concerns about children's images being stored in AI memory.\n\nTikTok users have also shared methods of getting high-quality digital versions of their children's school pictures for free by asking ChatGPT to remove watermarks from proofs. However, this approach could lead to hefty fines for copyright infringement, as removing watermarks from un-purchased photos is illegal. While school pictures may seem overpriced, their costs are minimal compared to the potential legal consequences of such \"mom hacks\".",
  "summary": "With a new school year underway, kids everywhere are saying cheese for school picture day—but some penny-pinching parents are cutting photographers out of the equation. In their place, those parents are employing artificial intelligence to generate picture day-style images of their children. Others are getting their kids’ pictures taken as normal, but avoiding paying for the final images by…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}