Category Archives: AI

AI, Photo

Bonphotage Photography aka Lumiere and Grain aka Simply Contract aka Bonphotage Petit in Chicago, IL

Website: https://www.bonphotage.com/
Website: https://www.bonphotagefamily.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bonphotage/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/serena.bonphotage.photo/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bonphotage.associates/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bonphotage_petit/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simplycontract/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lumiereandgrain/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bonphotage
Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/user47578277 (heavily edited since posting)

Since this is getting to be a novel I’m going to post the most recent update here. The rest of the updates will live before the body of the page like before

Update 6/29/2026 — I have had a wildly busy two months with weddings and finally have a small break to be able to catch the blog up regarding what has been going on.

Since my last update the Bonphotage listings on Zola and The Knot have been removed.

The Lumiere and Grain Instagram account appears to have been either deleted or renamed to Muse Roll Studio.

A lawsuit has been filed in Cook County against Bonphotage in Small Claims Court.

Things added to the post:

  • a stolen photo from 2016
  • multiple “struggling to write this” emails where Lynzie backed out of sessions and weddings at the last minute.
  • listing out the various ‘elopements’ on the website that were workshop/styled shoot/editorials and not real weddings.
  • Added emails from Lynzie calling me a psychotic woman and making other allegations about me to a client.
  • Added more reviews from past clients.
  • 6/30/2026 added a lawsuit section

Links about this case:

Don’t want to take my word for it? Here’s some other online discussions regarding Bonphotage and the litany of issues at hand.

Instagram post by Gert Huygaerts talking about the image Bonphotage stole from him: https://www.instagram.com/p/DXjvzHUCH5k/

TikTok video by a friend of a client who had Lynzie back out and send associate photographers and got horrible AI edited images: https://www.tiktok.com/@cassieea5/video/7632779167863491871

Reel by a client who chose to fire Bonphotage shortly before their wedding when they realized she wasn’t going to be the main photographer: facebook.com/reel/1292213949293042/

The Vendor Table Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7e8dFJrRZNQ

YouTube by Markie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvkjoClCGaE Part Two: https://youtu.be/o5wpz-IjshY?si=kTnr-W6jOnuLX6Nh

Wisdom in the Tangents Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yynIpUxtXas

Since the body of this post is getting weedy here’s some data:

Historic cases where the stolen image was removed: 3
Images stolen that are/were on the Bonphotage website or social media before this post was made: 58
Likely AI Images identified on Bonphotage Instagram as of 4/29/2026: 50
Likely AI Images identified on Bonphotage Petit Instagram as of 5/6/2026: 11
Likely AI Images identified on Lumiere & Grain: 45
Likely AI Images identified on The Knot: 14
Number of times a client got a last-minute switch to an associate: at least 15 (Covid, child has covid, child has surgery, death in the family, oral surgery, knee injury, shoulder pain are some of the excuses given)

TLDR; Bonphotage is a luxury wedding photographer based in Chicago that has been displaying imagery on their social media, website and other materials that are not their original images. Some of these images were created by photographers not hired or working for Bonphotage, some of these images were allegedly entirely AI created, and some of the images were allegedly AI edits of existing copyrighted images. In addition to these issues with the imagery, the owner of the company, Lynzie, has backed out last minute to numerous weddings citing an emergency when an associate was hired to cover the event often months before.

I’m having flashbacks to Lisa Saad from what I’ve been doing over the past 48 hours to figure out everything that’s going on with this photographer.

About 2 days ago I was sent a post on reddit about a photographer in Chicago that was called out for posting images of the Chicago Cultural Center that were likely AI. One of the images had an uncanny resemblance to another image taken by a different photographer.

The comments were full of stories about Bonphotage Photography – planners who had worked weddings where the owner Lynzie had backed out last minute sending in an associate who was booked months prior, clients who were upset at the AI edits to their photos but couldn’t write reviews because their contract had a non disparagement clause preventing anything but a glowing 5 star review, fellow photographers who had worked for Lynzie as an associate and not been paid, and one photographer who had proof Lynzie used an image of hers in 2017.

I started to dig.

The wormhole opened. Videos where the clients had uncanny resemblances to Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex and Olivia Wilde. Photos that didn’t match the blogged video of the same event. Photos where the backgrounds identically match up with another photographer’s but have a different couple posing. It goes on and on and on.

As I was documenting and researching Bonphotage was busy sending out C&D’s and blocking photographers from her Instagram.

There’s so many prongs to this story but I’m going to start with the original photo theft from 2017 (blaming an intern, BINGO!) and then the AI copies and move from there.

If you think your image may have been copied please reach out.

Also of note, it is alleged that Lynzie Hazan’s other company is Lumiere and Grain [which has since vanished since this post went live] which also has obvious AI edits posted to their feed (i.e. the Chicago Cultural Center does not have marble floors). Planners have confirmed that company belongs to her and you’ll see comments (and usually the only other comments) from her other companies Simply Contact/Bonphotage and it’s other IGs on it.


Update 4/20/2026 — As I was writing the newest update Bonphotage sent me a C&D and left comments on the Instagram. I asked for Lynzie to show me her RAW photo proving the image is just a coincidence but I have not heard back.

I also added the comments she has been leaving on the Instagram posts I’ve made at the end of the post and will continue to put her comments defending herself in that section at the end.

Update 4/21/2026 — Throughout the day yesterday I updated this post as more and more information came into my inbox. I will likely be doing the same as more photographers send me images they realize were AI’d. I’ve also been adding Google SynthID identification when applicable. More AI.

3PM — added stolen images with no AI, just straight up stolen.

Update 4/22/2026 @ 9AM — The images from the photographer she hired to document her pre wedding event in Paris that are in her portfolio as another wedding that Bonphotage photographed have a few images she forgot to rename. Whoops. Then there’s more photos from another photographer who confirmed Lynzie has never second shot or was an associate shooter for bonphotage whose images are in a different portfolio on the website. I was also sent historic evidence of her stealing from Elizabeth Messina. Added that along with more Google Gemini IDs.

Update 4/22/2026 @9PM — Added more images that were straight up stolen and live on her current website.

Update 4/23/2026 @12AM — Added 12 more stolen photos that are currently live on the Bonphotage website.

Update 4/23/2026 @7AM — Added copyright data info for the images remaining of Harriette’s on the website, Lynzie removed some overnight (most of the ones with Harriette Earnshaw Photography in the file name) but not all.

Update 4/27/2026 @ 7PM — Added more stolen photos that are currently live on Lynzie’s website, 2 stolen photos from her pricing guide as of early 2026.

Update 4/28/2026 @ 5PM Maxed out my daily AI identification with some images that are posted on Bonphotage’s profile on The Knot, Bonphotage’s profile on Style Me Pretty and their Instagram Feed.

Update 5/6/2026 @ 12PM — Since my last update it’s been a bit of chaos over on the Photo Stealers IG page. Someone sure wants into my account and it’s getting locked every hour.

Since I still wanted to go through the Bonphotage Petit IG and Lumiere and Grain IG I decided to do that. Curiously, the Petit IG page has had their grid edited which is a new feature and while some of the obvious AI images were removed (RIP tiny piano) there’s some she slid around in the grid and kept.

The bulk of the Lumiere and Grain Instagram is mostly AI images. Curiously the comments that were on the page from bonphotage and simplycontract have been deleted.

Update 5/29/2026 — This morning my photo.stealers Instagram account was removed. The reason was claiming that I was impersonating another business.

This was really confusing to me because there’s no other Photo Stealers out there that I’m aware of. Well, there wasn’t… that I *was* aware of.

Turns out there’s an account that changed their name a few days ago to “photo.stealers_fizzynipnip64” and became Meta Verified within the past couple days. In my opinion, this is the account that is claiming I’m impersonating them because the timing is uncanny.

Since my Instagram account is currently suspended, I cannot file an impersonation because it’s not able to be selected. I’m battling it all out with Meta right now and have also filed DMCA takedowns for the stolen images.

Why is this all here?

Because the timing is uncanny with Lynzie promoting a paid puff piece in the Chicago Tribune about Bonphotage that she placed with Ascend Agency on May 27th. Of course Lynzie posted it framing it as an interview and started her story scroll beneath the byline stating that Ascend Agency wrote the article or showing that the piece was branded content.

It’s almost weird that everything was calm for a few weeks and then chaos again right when that piece is published, right?

I have no current proof, this is all in my own opinion but I felt that it was important enough to post an update about while I’m waiting to see what Meta decides.

Also of note is that the majority of the stolen photos and the AI photos and videos have been removed from the Bonphotage Instagram and website, not all but the majority. If this was all an elaborate lie by me, wouldn’t the images remain unchanged?

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AI

Meg Bitton

This post today isn’t about stolen images!

PS Facebook Page Discussion Post

This post is about misrepresentation by an industry leader who claims this is her art and offers classes and assets based on AI renderings she has appeared to have created with Midjourney.

Whether or not it is hers is currently a debate in the court system but the current ruling is that artwork generated by artificial intelligence is not eligible for copyright. There is some debate if entering the prompt is enough to give the “human input” part that makes it copyrightable and basically it seems to all depend on what court you land in but the Supreme Court seems to be upholding the idea it isn’t copyrightable.

On top of the above, Meg is using a platform that had faced criticism (even has a class action lawsuit) for stealing copyrighted works of art. Note: the legalese bascially says you can use these creations as you wish *but* you do not have a copyright to them and basically anyone with an account can download them from your gallery.

Late Monday night I sent out a substack post and talked a bit about Meg’s possible use of AI bots to create her new “medium” as she calls it on her page.

I wasn’t sure if it was AI so I tried to see how easy it would be to create some of these images and sure enough, it was not hard to get close enough to be able to write the post with some confidence that she was using AI as some part of her process. Especially when you looked at the art and saw some of the obvious AI tells like additional fingers.

Meg though posted a few times throughout the day saying it was HER art and outright denying AI by the end of the day saying it was an action and everything she’s learned.

Here’s some of the rebuttals against the allegations regarding AI:

I don’t think this image is AI created and it is an action but it doesn’t look like the other styles she’s been posting and what my substack was about.

Comments on various posts including the alleged AI artwork:

Jessica is employed by Meg (and has her own midjourney account)

Don’t worry Dana, you too can teach anyone how to write, “whimsical watercolor illustrated…” into midjourney and have results!

Anyway, the substack started a discourse about the whole case.

Throughout the day I had been sent various things behind the scenes that were eye opening but none so much as this. NOTE: to view Meg’s profile you have to have an account with midjourney!

That’s just a small amount of Meg’s profile. Update on 9/27 in the evening – she has since made her work private and her username has changed. I downloaded everything she created though since I had a hunch she’d do this (reminder, this is legal per midjourney’s TOS).

Here’s a crash course in what the sources below that I’ll show you will look like.

At first I was curious if it was just a coincidence so I scrolled a bit and within a second or two I found this post on “megbitton’s” profile:

If you are unfamiliar with the platform what this is is showing the user “megbitton” and the artwork she got “upsized” from the grid of 4 images she got after using the prompt, “Whimsical painted watercolor illustrated posed portrait head and shoulders image of a beautiful 6 year old girl with shiny beautiful long brown hair blue eyes posed with hands against face head tilted to the side couture lace pastel pink silk dress high neck turtleneck carolina hererra meg bitton”

After that prompt in midjourney she got this group of 4 pieces:

She chose to upsize the 4th option (U4 if you’ve done this on the app).

At the bottom of each link you can click the “parent” to get the original grid for the upsized artwork Meg used.

Note that the date it was uploaded predates my post on 9/25.

Does this look familiar to you?

When I saw that match I decided sleep is for suckers and got to work.

I don’t have time to resource every bit and bob that Meg has posted that is “NOT AI” but I think I have enough to make my case solidly now that she is using AI in part or in whole depending on the piece to create her new “medium” in photography.

She also has used many of these pieces created in midjourney to sell on her assets page. I am not a lawyer so I can’t tell you if it’s legal or not but I thought it was worth noting.

Note again that the links I’m sharing will only work if you are a member of midjourney. Since most aren’t members, I’m adding a screencapture of the image on Meg’s profile after the link.

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