This week, the Daily Mail has reported yet another Photoshop blunder, this time from the photographers for jeans designer, J Brand. The image in question features a model holding a giant bicycle whilst showcasing the brand’s 910 Sterling Sparkle Jeans. The Mail has insinuated that the photographer, in their post-shoot edits, has removed the model’s right hand and the second half of the bike, including the wheel.
Photoshop errors are something of a running joke here in the Turn Key office. Big brands make the same mistakes over and over again and, as creative enthusiasts, we often pick up on them before anyone else. Extra arms, missing fingers, airbrush disasters; you name it, we’ve seen it!
Our design team are sceptical about J Brand’s reported mishap however. When researched further, the shoot seems to have captured a number of images, some with the model holding the bike itself, and others focussed on the jeans, with her clasping the bike wheel alone. It could be therefore that the wheel has not been edited out at all; it was simply missing from the bike in the first place meaning it wasn’t shot.
On further inspection, the angle of the bike also implies that its frame is hidden out of the shot too. As our Creative Director, Rich’s overlaid image proves, the bike – even with the second wheel attached – would fall behind the model, no matter how tiny she is!
Could it be then that the writer of the article has jumped on the story without researching it fully? Possibly. Although whether the author is right or not, this has awarded J Brand more publicity than the image ever could have on its own.
The story does go to show however, the importance of retouching images with care, as the devil is always in the detail. This example may be a misjudgement, but checking images for visual errors is a key part of the overall image design process and something that we at Turn Key pay utmost attention to. So fingers crossed, we won’t be the Daily Mail’s next victim!
