August 2006 Archives
Photoshop Tips—Creating a Political Faux Pas
with experts Adnan Hajj & Ohio Republican Mike DeWine
One of my dentists was recommended to me by a friend from California. "Open wide." I spent way too much time in that torture chair when I was a kid—nobody told me wedging that Atomic Fire Ball behind my last molar for an hour after lunch everyday was a bad idea. The sound of a drill in close proximity to my inner ear was enough to convince me that frequent brushing and thorough flossing was the only way to age. So when I was told that I had 4% bleeding and the dentist recommended a deep cleaning for anyone with over 3%, I was suspicious. That deep cleaning included scraping your gums down to the root and cost around $2000—good profit margin for the dentist since her hygenist did all the work. I thought I might have imagined I was pricked and pierced in a few places with that sharp little tool she poked me with, but it was the hard sell after the exam
that convinced me I was being manipulated. My dentist had crossed the ethical line required in the medical profession—between what I really needed and what she wanted to sell. Maybe that’s why the American Medical Association dragged it’s feet to allow healthcare professionals to pursue business with advertising. Yes, Frank Zappa was right when he said, "Hmmmm . . . no foolin’."
Maybe you’ve heard about the recent foofah concerning Adnan Hajj, a middle eastern based freelance photographer who submitted doctored photographs to more than one well respected news agency. It was discovered by Charles Johnson who has a website named Little Green Footballs and a background in graphic design.
An unfortunate fold created an embarassing gap in the model's pants, making it appear as if they were unzipped. I spotted this just as the photographer snapped a polaroid. I mentioned it to the stylist—who immediately alerted the model. “Oh, that isn’t necessary,”said the elderly man, “you can stick your hands in there. I don’t mind being touched.” The stylist discreetly declined, suggesting he take the pin into the men’s room to made the adjustment.
Part of being an art director is preparedness (and to borrow a tidbit from Gene Roddenberry, creator of Star Trek, “to boldly go where no (wo)man has gone before.” Especially on photo shoots, where every mismove costs someone money or time, every save of the day keeps things smoothly running and on track. One company finally relented and agreed to use a professional photographer for their corporate head shots; yes, I finally convinced them that K-mart Dave’s Wedding Photography no longer suited their corporate image. Laugh if you will, monkey boy, but it happens more often than we would like to admit. How could anything go wrong? Anything that involves human behavior seems to encourage the unpredictable.
