The magic of PhotoShop

Photographs involving officials must conform to the hierarchy so inexorable in Chinese tradition. Sometimes the shady practice of 'touching up' is used to achieve that goal.

PhotoShop is such a magical application, combining the veracity of photography with the artifices of old-style portraiture. When a moment of random truth is not ideal, one is tempted to fiddle with it, touching it up to the level of presentability.

The latest illustration involves a group photo of a graduating class in Guangdong province. As four of the top administrators of a high school could not make it to the scene, the front center of the picture was reserved for them and their images were later digitally implanted. But whoever was assigned post-production did a poor job, with the coloring of the two portions incongruous with each other, and one of the teachers even missing a leg in the final printout.