When I saw the headline on the CNN site last night, I couldn't believe it: "Reuters: Photographer Altered War Pics." My astonishment, however, did not stem from fact that a human being lied and cheated. My high level of cynicism tells me that people, in general, really suck, and will do anything to validate their opinion (i.e. this blog). What amazed me was the fact that Adnan Hajj actually believed that the poorly executed, piece-of-trash, amateurish and ridiculous piece of Photoshop-manipulated shit pictured to the right would actually pass as a legitimate photograph. The manipulation in this photograph is horrible and should be easily spotted by any seasoned Photoshop user. Hell, even someone with little or no photo-editing software experience should be able to see that smoke, like the smoke in the photograph, does NOT EXIST IN NATURE.What was he thinking?! If the point was to creat some sort of Israeli monster, it certainly turned into a metaphorical Frankenstein. Given the execution though, this creature resembles more the monster in Young Frankenstein with the surgically implanted brain of Abbey Normal.
A few bloggers on the right had already begun questioning the validity of numerous photographs that came out of Lebanon, but this incident will surely only fuel the fire even more. The spin has already begun, and it will be interesting to see how far it goes.
Honestly though, I can't say that I completely disagree with the wack-jobs on the right this time - only to a certain degree. These photos have not only put into question the validity of the 900+ other photos taken by Hajj, but there will now surely be an enormous amount speculation floating around concerning the amount of destruction caused by Israeli attacks. Bombing, fires, and destruction are usually bad things, in my opinion. Death shouldn't be 'measured' at any level, but certain folks on the right have already begun justifying civilian death, using the same 'Islamofascist' rhetoric that they supposedly oppose. They'll just use this incident to further justify their pro-Israel stance and make their wet dreams of Armageddon come true.
But anyway - back to the topic of this post: shitty photoshop manipulation.
I certainly do not condone the use of Photoshop to alter war photos. But I do, however, approve of the doctoring of things like, say, enhancing Ann Coulter's adam's apple....or Rush Limbaugh's he-boobies.
As a professional Graphic Designer and seasoned Photoshop pro, I offer a few rules to put you on the way Altered Photo Stardom!
Photoshop 101: How To Not Look Like An Amateur Dipshit.
- If it doesn't exist in nature, it probably shouldn't exist in photographs of nature either. In his manipulation attempt, Hajj obviously used Photoshop's Clone Stamp tool. This tool 'clones' chosen areas of the photograph and repeats them in an area of your choice. Hajj chose to clone - over and over and over again - the same two areas of the two large plumes of smoke. If you don't change up the areas you're cloning, you get a very repetetive pattern - just like the repeated pattern in the top part of each plume of smoke. Smoke doesn't repeat. Smoke is random. It doesn't make pretty patterns because cloned, repetitive patterns don't exist in nature.
If you find yourself questioning the quality of your finished
product, you probably shouldn't be handing it over to your boss for international publication.- If you're questioning your abilities in Photoshop, find a friend or colleague who's opinion you can trust. **Note: in the alteration of war photos, you may have to pay said person to shut up.
- There are other tools in Photoshop like the paintbrush tool and the blur tool. There's also the pen tool. The pencil tool. The dodge and and burn tool. The paint bucket tool. The smudge tool. Don't limit yourself and don't be afraid to experiment. And definitely don't forget to have fun!
Mr. Hajj - you still need your happy thought.