The Phelps disaster

A

alveraz

Veteran
I just got my SI issue with this cover a few days back in the mail and was appalled by this picture. It's a photoshop nightmare. It doesnt look as bad here as it does in person, so be sure to check it out at the newsstand.

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His face looks smaller disproportional to the rest of his body. His face also has a different color (pale) compared to the rest of his body and his "pasted" face seems to be at a strange camera angle compared to the rest of his body.
 
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Dude, what's up with his face?

...sad thing is... we are here talking about... and the photographer who made $15,000-$25,000 for this cover shot is laughing to the bank.
 
Sweet, so I'm not alone on this!

I'm telling you man, when it was delivered to my doorstep I almost gave it back to the mailman. It's friggin' TERRIBLE, and I can't imagine anyone green-lighting this! Not to mention I'm dying to see how much this photographer and post guy got paid for this, I mean it's the cover! His face is an abomination to PS owners everywhere.
 
alveraz said:
It's friggin' TERRIBLE, and I can't imagine anyone green-lighting this! Not to mention I'm dying to see how much this photographer and post guy got paid for this, I mean it's the cover!
Click to expand...

Cover shots for A-title magazines can start at $8-$15K just for the photographer. Some of my publicists said they've seen bids as high as 30-60K for a photographer. I know some people who do campaign shoots worldwide with celebrities where the shoots easily cost $50-200K after everything has been expensed out to the crew.

But yah... how this was greenlit is beyond me. I have a feeling it was not the photographer's choice though. This is the editor in chief's stamp of approval.
 
With no disrespect to Photojournalists........ Sometimes photojournalists or staff photographers get the job of shooting covers like this mainly because of deadlines and/or other logistics.

This is a photographic illustration..... A picture that is made from the ground up. Photojournalists for the most part are experts in capturing something that is happening, not at building an illustration.

They are two different disciplines. Most advertising illustration photographers would suck at shooting sports/news.

frisco
 
I for one didn't think the proportions were the problem. My problem was with the lighting and color adjustments used on his face in post. They did so much work on his grill it demolished the image. Again, you really need to see the actual cover to appreciate the poor quality and judgment used.
 
Yeah, but he should get some new trunks.
Looks like he´s wearing his little sisters underwear.

Frank
 
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