Ki-Ki Cordola

Bad Photoshop! Bad Photoshop!

The article I have attached is related to the college admissions scandal where wealthy parents paid bribes to top universities to ensure their children would be accepted, in many cases fraudulently depicting them as top athletes, and in some cases providing photoshopped photos for their admissions record.

I believe this photo which is displayed in the article, is a reflection of the author’s sardonic sense of humor, in order to emphasize the absurdity of the scandal.

Thankfully, the scheme was uncovered and many of those involved have been discovered and charged. Obviously when photoshop is used for fraudulent purposes it is not acceptable.

However, there are cases where photoshop can come in handy. For instance, every Thanksgiving for as many years as I can remember, I have gone to my cousin’s house where a huge number of extended family members gather for a large Thanksgiving dinner, volleyball, games and fun. It is often the only time I see those cousins and family friends for the whole year. It’s an ongoing party which lasts two days; Thursday and Friday. Sometimes it will even bleed into Saturday.

As you can imagine, people come and go at different times. And every year, my cousin, Jerry, takes one big photo of everyone. Some of the people who leave early have him take their photos early so they can be “photoshopped in” to be part of the group photo. I never needed to be “photoshopped in” because I always stayed the whole time. But I know that the people who left early enjoyed being included in the photo. In addition to adding people in, he also touched up others.  

Recently I was reminded of this when I visited a cousin and saw a framed photo of one of our Thanksgivings enlarged and displayed in a prominent location in her apartment. We talked about it and commented on what a great job Jerry had done photoshopping her into the photo.  

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/03/college-admissions-scandal-kids-photoshopped-as-athletes.html