Expert: LizaL - 2/20/2006

Question
Can you tell me, is this picture FAKE or not?
If is it fake...can you tell me why?

Answer
Hi Maziar,

There's truly no way to tell for sure unless of course you were the photographer, or you know the people in the picture!

If this is two pictures combined in a program like Photoshop, the person who did it did a good job.

One big thing to consider is the light source in the photo(s). If you look closely at the people's feet you'll see that there are shadows cast from their legs on the road. The shadows look pretty realistic but of course this can be done in Photoshop. Personally I think the guy who's second from the left should be casting more of a shadow, though, which makes me think this was two pictures combined in Photoshop.

Also, the girl on the end has a very bright face. But the brightest part of the picture is really *behind* the people, not in front. This would also suggest to me that it's two pictures combined. I mean, you can't have two light sources in a picture -- if the light is shining on your face, it can't be shining on your back too!

So all in all, I'd have to say it could go either way. If it was a true photograph taken of four people along a road, the photographer possibly had some exposure issues with his camera. Or the photographer used some added lighting (like key lights) and didn't figure this might make it look like there were two light sources.

If it was two or more pictures combined in Photoshop, it was a very good job -- but there are some slight imperfections.

Hope this helps --

Lisa


P.S. Always look for a light source in a picture and then see where the shadows are -- this will tell you a lot about how the picture was done.