They Are Watching You
June 14, 2008
Have you seen a truly awful piece of Photoshop work? Clumsy manipulation, senseless comping, lazy cloning and thoughtless retouching are our bread and butter.
That’s the description of the Photoshop Disasters blog, which has quickly become one of my favorite feeds. Page after page of Photoshop disasters submitted by readers.
A recent post included this intriguing shot of Tiger Woods that appeared in a Washington Post publication, where Phil Mickelson (at left) looks like he’s both in front of and behind Woods. Turns out it may just be a trick of the lens rather than an unethical use of Photoshop.
As a photojournalist who strives to work with high ethical standards, I’m conflicted about the mob mentality of the site. I want the public to see how artificial commercial and celebrity imagery has become. And I certainly want to see unethical photographers exposed. I’m glad that the public is watching, and skeptical.
But let’s not hang someone who may be innocent. Of the millions who saw the Tiger Woods photograph when it was initially labelled a Photoshop job, only a handful saw the updates explaining it was most likely a legitimate photograph.
Once you’ve thrown mud at an innocent news photographer’s reputation, it is nearly impossible to clean off.
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