(Pocket-lint) – Technology can be a wonderful, glorious thing. It can also be totally and utterly misused, especially when in the hands of buffoons.
Adobe Photoshop is a prime example of a tool that can make photos and images look spectacular, yet also create the most bizarre and, let’s face it, funny moments if used incorrectly.
We’ve compiled some of the worst examples of “Photoshopping” found on the internet – from the downright hilarious to the slightly disturbing manipulation of the human body.
There are awful images of celebrities and instances where companies have inexplicably changed reality for nefarious means. Take a look through the extensive collection and revel in the idiocy of Photoshoppers who, quite frankly, had no idea what they were doing.
There is no better modern cock-up than a Photoshop cock-up.
Freakishly long fingers
We know X-23 has Wolverine-style claws in Logan, but we didn’t realise that her fingers were also super long. This official poster image claims otherwise.
That’s plane wrong
Would you get on a plane with a missing front wheel? We’re not sure we would. The landing would certainly be rough.
Two right feet
Fifth Harmony. Two right feet. Nuff said. This is one of the classic Photoshop errors where you have to look close to see it, but when you do it doesn’t disappoint.
A mother to look up to
“When I grow up, I want to be as freakishly tall as you mum!” We’d imagine this young lad gets a lot of neck strain when looking up to talk to his mummy.
Tent dwellers
We applaud the appearance of a drone in this shot published by W Magazine, but apparently, Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner were born without knees. There’s also a disembodied hand floating out of the tent and tapping one of them on the shoulder
Free the nipple
Chrissy Tiegan, the model shot here, tweeted in response: “I have no nipples. I draw them on with sharpies each morning and sometimes I forget
A Photoshopping to the gun show
Do you even lift, bro? This guy clearly does. But only the left arm. Never the right. Never.
Lazy leg
Sun loungers only support one-legged models. It’s fairly impressive to be able to edit a photo and make someone who is clearly relaxed look awfully uncomfortable.
The angles are all wrong
The neck of this guitar appears to disappear through a mess of hair in ways that it couldn’t possibly have done. Another miracle of Photoshop.
Family faces
There’s certainly nothing wrong with multi-cultural families. Photoshopping faces in isn’t the best way to show them off though. Dad’s face is also creepily edited, the lighting is all wrong.
Levitating LeBron
Professional basketball player LeBron James is apparently not just incredibly tall and amazing at his chosen sport but he’s also capable of levitation tricks. Or at least appearing in photos without showing off his legs.
Opposites attract?
They say couples often look similar but this is ridiculous. Maybe they couldn’t find a lady to feature in the photo so just asked the male model to pop a wig on? We’re not sure what happened, but we love it.
A multi-angle shot?
A close look at this photo apparently shows someone laying down in the cornfield below the athlete. We assume they were trying to take photos from multiple angles, but the result is much creepier.
An interesting fit
The fit of this woman’s trousers is off. Certainly doesn’t look terribly comfortable.
Dad is out of the picture
A fairly sad shot of a family selfie where Dad has been removed from the photo. A hairy hand remains as proof of his existence.
A magic jump shot
This basketball player apparently has such a powerful jump it warped reality. A player casually sits watching the action from a nearby seat and is so impressed he’s lost his head.
A hand in celebration
For some reason, the editor of this photo decided only two footballers were needs and one was removed. The extra hand, as usual, is a telltale sign of the mistake.
See-through players
Imagine if you could make your players invisible during a game. Surely they’d have the upper hand.
Post-shoot addition
We assume they couldn’t find a baby to pop in the carrier when the original photo shoot for this baby carrier cover took place. Maybe they thought it would be easier to Photoshop one in afterwards rather than worry about the hassle of trying to get an infant to stay still.
Who’s missing?
We get the feeling that someone was hastily edited out of this photo. The all-consuming red mist eating away at their legs is the first clue. The second is the inexplicable extra hand in the top right.
Is that a doppelganger twin?
Is that a doppelganger twin or a glitch in the Matrix? You could be forgiven for thinking this little one was a real twin being carried in a backpack, until you see that Brad Pitt also has an extra leg.
Cuddle time
When she was younger Miley Cyrus was apparently really good at giving hugs. Thanks in part to her extra arms.
Multi-finger delights
We hope this is a Photoshop problem and not extra finger growth. It’s certainly one of those photos where once you see it, you can’t unsee it. We can’t stop looking.
Ghostly apparition?
At first glance, it’s hard to see what’s wrong with this photo, until you notice the lady is apparently missing her arm or maybe she’s a ghost?
High seven
This one features multiple mistakes. It’s the movie merchandise that just keeps on giving. A hand with seven fingers, extra hands where there shouldn’t be any and some spooky appendages too. It’s a true work of art.
A hand-maidens fairy tale
It seems that even romantic tales have hidden delights. This princess has much more going for her than just her looks, an extra limb will surely come in handy. Not classically beautiful, but not boring either.
A fresh new hairstyle
There’s no denying that hair editing is hard. This designer appears to have given up halfway through and left an awful mess behind.
A hand for Phelps
Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time, was once questioned over whether he used performance-enhancing drugs to win his 28 Olympic medals. No one ever asked if he had an extra hand in winning. Does this photo reveal a new truth to his swimming prowess? Or is it just another in a long line of Photoshop gaffs?
Not a swimming aid
Two hands plus one arm equals baffled. Obviously, swimming nappies aren’t going to help with buoyancy, so someone needs to be there to hold on to the nipper. That parent apparently has incredibly flexible arms.
Never work with children or animals
The old saying goes – never work with children or animals. Perhaps it should be never work “on” children or animals. This young lady has lost almost half her body during the editing process.
Flexible fingers
We’ve already seen plenty of fails in this list with people holding hands, but what’s going on with these fingers? Weirdly flexible to the point of being frightening.
Stick legs
You’ve heard of stick thin legs and legs as big as tree trunks, but what about weird contorted toothpicks? We’re not sure these legs would support anyone’s bodyweight.
The leg bone’s connected to…
These legs go and on and then stop short. Fairly impressive she can stand up like this.
Inexplicable angles
Not only has this person managed to squeeze their body into a figure-hugging outfit, but they’re also bending at inexplicable angles. Staring at this one for too long will hurt your eyes and your head.
This looks uncomfortable
We’re aware that young people are agile and more flexible than us older folk, but this is just daft. What is he leaning on? Where’s his hip gone? More questions than answers.
Flat stomach syndrome
Problems with missing belly buttons seem pretty rife on this list. We’re seeing a painful amount of them. Unrealistic body image also abound.
A hand for Highlander
Highlander is fairly renowned for his skills with a blade, but apparently holding his sword without actually wrapping his fingers around it is another hidden talent.
Allergic reaction?
It’s not clear what’s happening here, but it certainly looks painful. This lady probably needs to pop and see an emergency healthcare professional as soon as possible.
Dad still loading
It’s like something out of the days of dial-up internet when you had to wait for the full image to load. This weird family photo appears to only feature a fraction of Dad.
He’s behind me isn’t he?
The cast of 1984’s comedy “This Is Spinal Tap” appears in this Photoshop fail where an extra cast member has apparently been cut out of the image, but still wants to give a helping hand.
Rather hypocritical
This one really takes the biscuit. While drawing attention to Photoshop fails on the right this images sits on the left, oh dear.
Reflect on this
This SD card is having a bit of an identity crisis and can’t work out what size it is. 8GB on the card but not in the reflection.
Spare a thought for Beyonc
It seems that even the rich and famous aren’t safe from the disasters of Photoshop editing gone awry. Here Beyoncé can be seen with three arms, one of which appears to be growing out of her back.
Don’t let us keep you in suspense
There’s a wardrobe malfunction going on in this photo, but the good Doctor doesn’t seem to phased by it. Perhaps he has some sort of Timelord friendly trousers and the suspenders are just for show?
The illusion of speed
We’re not sure if this image is meant to give the impression that the car is moving or perhaps the car has those spinning alloy wheels that carry on moving while you’re stationary?
All fingers and thumbs
This guy is so happy with his secret flight deals he grew an extra hand. And, rather remarkably was giving a double thumbs up while also being asleep. Impressive.
Shadowy problems
This one takes a moment to spot, but if you look closely you’ll see the shadow isn’t quite right. Sometimes it’s the little things that cause the biggest problems.
The three-footed man
How many legs does it take to wash a foot? This Photoshopping error looks like it’s a trick of the light or a matter of perspective.
A leg over
Legless, in the non-traditional sense of the word. Veronica Kay, a professional surfer is shown on the cover of Stuff magazine while apparently riding a board and missing one of her legs.
Missing wheels
This Turkish Airlines plane appears to be defying gravity by not having a load-bearing front wheel. We’re not sure why it was removed, but we also wouldn’t feel safe boarding for take-off either.
Love is holding hands
Even Presidents aren’t safe from Photoshopping madness. This image of Barack Obama and his wife Michelle appears to show them holding hands while leaving Air Force One, but then she also has a spare hand too.
Something left behind
This editing looks like one of those panoramic photos gone wrong. Some unfortunate editing has turned what was presumably meant to be something romantic into something pretty hideous.
Crowd inception
We wonder what was going on in this photo that it needed this sort of editing. These lads and ladies have been added in several times – perhaps in an effort to make the crowd appear larger than it actually was?
Not how to sell a t-shirt
Just plonk the branding on there, nobody will notice. We’ve seen some fairly slopping photo editing efforts in this list so far, but this one is just terrible.
A colourful mistake
We’re not sure why, but this model’s briefs look like they’ve been splodged on in Microsoft Paint. This is certainly not one of the most professional pieces of work we’ve seen.
Headspace
This poor designer had to work out how to squeeze a great swathe of copy into a small space. We imagine they just got frustrated, gave up and just stretched the model’s head to make more room.
A foot in the past
Who wasn’t supposed to be in this photo? Their legs made it. If we didn’t know this one was the result of some shoddy Photoshopping we might be adding it to our list of the best ghost photos throughout history.
Well, that’s handy
Nice crop job designer. Just forgot the other person’s hand now didn’t you? In fairness, it would probably be fairly tricky to edit the extra fingers out, but we do feel like it’s more likely an oversight.
Two buttons
This poor woman. As if it’s not bad enough having fingers growing out of her thighs, she’s also apparently the proud owner of two belly buttons.
Attention to detail is everything
Even the big companies can get it wrong. A Microsoft US website posted a cheerful picture of American business types for an IT campaign, however, when the company’s Polish arm ran it, they clumsily replaced the head but not the hand of the black colleague. Ouch for many reasons.
Wave your hands in the air
You’d think editing a silhouette would be easier than some of the other photos on this list, but still it’s an awful mess. Clearly, not only does the winner of American Idol get a recording contract but has their left hand repeatedly slammed in a door.
Something in the water
This was in the American magazine Maxim. And they ask people to pay for it. Really. We have so many questions about this photo, it’s probably better to just not to know what’s going on. Ignorance is bliss after all.
Half a BBQ
We wonder if having half a barbecue and grill means the burgers are only half the calories?
Next season’s fashion
The latest handbag fashion is to just carry around a handle, don’t you know? We can understand what was happening here at least. The designers didn’t want to distract from the main focus of the photo – the dress. They Photoshopped out the handbag to keep things nice and simple. Surely a simple cropping would have been easier?
The physics-defying bouncy castle
Not only will this bouncy play centre keeps your kids amused, but it’ll also help them levitate.
Mostly armless
This is either a before and after shot of a woman who has recovered from a horrific accident or a mighty Photoshop calamity. A close look shows a leftover shadow where her hands used to be, presumably caused by the designer trying to make room for the product.
Off in the wrong direction
If you take a close look you can see this chap’s handlebars are facing entirely the wrong way. Cycling without any hands is a dangerous enough affair, but this is bound to end badly. In the next frame, he’s seen flying off into the ocean.
Drastic weight loss
We’ve heard about some pretty crazy dieting fads over the last few years, but this one really takes the cake – or leg? We have to admit a missing limb would make you a lot lighter. Fairly drastic measure though.
A helping hand
When you notice the mystery hand, you can almost forgive this one for being fairly impressive. The owner of the disembodied hand is otherwise nowhere to be seen.
Vampire child
Another poor child turned into a terrifying demonic-like beast. We’ve seen some pretty hideous kid photos over the years, but this one really bites.
The Tardis tent
“Dad, we seem to have built the tent over a sink hole!”
Fake money
You can forgive the incorrect spelling of “hundred” when you’ve invented a cheque that doesn’t cast a shadow. We love the reflection in the car too. Imagine the original photoshoot – “just stand with your arms wide and we’ll Photoshop the cheque in later”.
Sex sells
We all know that sex sells. Maybe this designer just figured adding some cleavage and extra make up to this model would be enough to help sell some guitars?
Wigging out
If you want to sell a wig, make sure attention is drawn to the wig, not the wonky skin and hand.
Legs eleven
We wonder if this is as uncomfortable as it looks. We can’t even tell which leg is meant to be there in the first place.
Reflection-free mirrors
Just as we always suspected, Kim and Kanye are actually vampires. Now we finally have the proof. Or maybe these are just newfangled mirrors that don’t actually show people’s reflection.
A little monster
Warning, these nappies will turn your child into a monster. We know children can be little terrors at times. This one is especially scary.
Giraffe neck
It’s not just legs that get the elongation treatment. Necks too are apparently open to extending. Well, at least she can eat leaves off tall branches now.
Claw hand
There’s nothing sexier than having a claw. Er. We’re not really sure how this happened or what was going through the designer’s mind. Perhaps they hoped your eye would be distracted by other things.
That’s stretching things
Another case of unnecessary long legs. Ridiculously long shins and high heels that would make your ankles scream in agony. We can only hope it’s a Photoshop error rather than horrible deformity.
Lobster claws
You’re meant to cook the lobster, not turn into one. This Photoshopping has done something terrifying to this poor woman’s mitts.
Lumps and bumps
There are all sorts going on with this Victoria’s Secret model’s torso that we don’t know where to start.
Getting into the Christmas spirit
Who forgot the Santa hats? No worries, we can just Photoshop them on afterwards. Why bother splashing out on props when you can just edit the photos afterwards?
Flexible joints
“Now, if we just dislocate your thumb it’ll make for a better picture.” It might be plausible that this lady is double jointed or incredibly flexible, but we feel like there’s more to it.
Something’s missing
We’ve heard of people wanting a flatter stomach, but this is really rather ridiculous. This woman has lost her entire belly button thanks to the work of the Photoshopper.
Saving money on expensive photoshoots
Why do we need to get two separate shots? Let’s just slap an eye mask over the first. Job done. This Photoshopping disaster is a clear case of cutting corners to save money.
Legs that go on and on and on
We’ve heard that supermodels have to have long legs, but this is just silly. It’s hard enough for young ladies trying to live up to unrealistic body image standards, how are they meant to get legs like this?
Absolutely legless
By the looks of things, this shark has already made off with this lady’s legs. She doesn’t seem to phased though, which is impressive.
A matter of perspective
This is a really special Photoshopping where perspective has either been terribly skewed or there’s something horribly wrong with the world.
The Apprentice
Ghostly dog owners
These two dog owners appear to have floated up the stairs carrying their dog. Some spooky editing right there.
Family portraits gone awry
If you’ve paid a professional photographer to take some snaps of your family, you’d expect some pretty smashing results. This family got more than what they bargained for. The images went viral quite quickly and the family actually managed to find humour in the whole thing too.
Manipulating the truth
Sometimes, Photoshop is used for more nefarious endeavours, like manipulating the truth of a situation. They say you shouldn’t believe everything you read. You also shouldn’t believe everything you see.
Swordplay
We’re no experts at sword fighting, but we’re pretty sure that you don’t hold one like this if you want to keep your hands in tip-top fighting shape.
Bearded man
One of the best (worst) Photoshopped adverts for a t-shirt you’re ever likely to see. The highlight of which is the man in the photo doesn’t even have a beard.
Gamer?
There are so many things wrong with this image it’s hard to know where to start. The controllers by the TV are massive for a start, then her elbow is doing weird and wonderful things and where is she even meant to be looking? It hurts our eyes to even look at this one.
Mirror image
Like something out of a horror flick, this little girl’s reflection is terrifying.
A helping hand
It’s really important to supervise children while they’re in the bath. Someone forgot that when creating this image and tried to rectify it by pasting an arm in after. They forgot the rest of the body though.
A wet landing
Clearly, this edit was meant to show the potential views and delights that NYC has to offer, but at this height the reality would be very different. Essentially this plane is landing in the Hudson river.
Blowing bubbles
We now live in a world where face coverings are the norm and everyone is adapting to that. We think this advert might be a bit misleading though – good luck blowing bubbles through a plastic face mask.
Dressed to impress
We’re not sure what’s going on with this advert, unless M&S is trying to include those with disabilities in its advertising.
Writing by Rik Henderson and Adrian Willings.
