Texture tells: plastic surfaces, missing grain and painterly detail

Real cameras add noise and imperfections. Generated images are often too clean.

Every real sensor adds noise, especially in dim light. A night scene with no grain at all is suspicious. Generated images often have an even, polished surface where every material, from wood to skin to fabric, has the same smooth finish.

Zoom in and the illusion can break. Fine detail like hair, grass and fabric weave may turn into brush-stroke patterns or swirls that no lens produces.

Real photos also show compression artefacts, chromatic aberration at high-contrast edges, and lens vignetting. These are flaws, but they are honest ones.

Checklist

• Look at dark areas for grain. Is there any?
• Zoom into hair, grass and fabric for swirls or painterly strokes.
• Check whether different materials have different textures.

False alarms

Phones apply heavy noise reduction and sharpening, which can make real photos look painted.

Test yourself

Put it into practice in the daily AI or Real game or the endless quiz.

Other tells

• Hands and fingers
• Text and signs
• Reflections and mirrors
• Light and shadows
• Skin and faces
• Background details
• Physics and logic
• Repetition and symmetry