We were not among those who initially discovered Washington MOM had Photoshopped a photograph of White House Press Secretary Jay Carney’s family
We felt we could add a bit to the existing analysis of the Photoshop.
A Daily Mail analysis claimed to find 12 separate Photoshop edits.
Our analysis of the altered photo indicates that a vertical slice (bounded above with yellow dots) of the Carney bookshelf was reproduced twice, with a mirror image version used to pad out the right side of the family photograph. The regular copy occupies the left side of the photo. Another series of edits helped the new books blend in, changing the appearance of the bookshelves behind the fake books to offer an illusion of consistency. At least one of the lead edges of a shelf to the right was edited in, covering young Mr. Carney’s stray finger (circled in red in our image). We put black stars on three shelves we think were pasted in. Note their color doesn’t match that of the top shelf on the right.
All of the books appearing in the gold-shaded areas right and left are duplicated images.
It seems to us unlikely the alterations were meant to fill open spaces in the existing bookshelves.
Why was the image altered? We’re guessing somebody didn’t like the proportions of the original photograph. And eventually decided to get the wider view by faking it.
Correction April 15, 2014: Edited the title of the piece, omitting “the.”
