This Photoshop Master Takes His Customer Requests a Little Too Literally and the Results Are Hilarious 

In a world where your brunch didn’t exist unless you posted a photo of it on social media, it’s no wonder people are constantly snapping away. Long gone are the days of taking your camera film to the store to get it developed, as selfies and dog photos can be available in an instant on modern-day smartphones. But while we have these pictures quite literally at our fingertips, the perfect photo unfortunately doesn’t exist.

Whether it’s an unwanted photobomber or an ex-boyfriend in the shot, people always want to change something about their photos. And that’s where British Photoshop wizard James Fridman comes into the picture. This graphic designer has been taking photo requests for years, but during that time he’s also been able to turn trolling into the ultimate art form. Yep, the people who ask James for help obviously didn’t get the memo that you need to be careful what you ask for…

Straight in the Back Pocket

Getting multiple people to stand still and look at the camera for a photo op can be extremely difficult. There’s always someone who wants to sneeze at the exact moment you press the button, and there’s always someone who decides to scratch their itch just as the camera flashes. The whole ordeal can be a nightmare, and Tom found that out for himself.

When Tom took a photo of the ladies in his life, his sister-in-law’s strange arm placement threw off the whole aesthetic. So, he asked James to make her arm look a little more natural – and we have to say that he absolutely nailed it. By adding a pool table into the mix, the sister-in-law now looks to be in the perfect position to pot the ball straight into the back pocket. It’s a win-win situation, really.

Just Act Natural

James has certainly had his fair share of niche requests over the years, and it’s not everyday someone asks him to make them look more natural with an octopus in their hands. And while it’s normal for many people to have a full-on photoshoot with their meals, octopus isn’t normally on the menu – especially in its full form. So, James had a big task on his hands when this woman asked him to make her look less awkward with the sea creature in her hands.

In the end, the only option was to make Weijing work for the octopus… instead of the octopus working for Weijing. The eight-legged creature obviously needed to be the center of attention, which is why James decided to use his Photoshop skills to take the young woman from the restaurant and into the depths of the ocean. We have to agree. It’s much more natural.

The Plumber Is on It

While it’s James’ job to offer Photoshop solutions to the internet’s photo problems, he’s not a miracle worker. Because of this, he could only offer a basic solution to this bride’s request. After all, she may have wanted a pipe removed from her stunning wedding photo, but he’s not a plumber. He’s just a graphic designer with a mean set of Photoshop skills.

In the end, he could only do what he had in his locker; use his Photoshop skills to solve the problem. Because of this, he couldn’t remove the pipe entirely, but he did add a plumber into the mix who could remove the pipe. He dropped the plumber into the photo and let the professional take over the job, and we have to give him credit for realizing where his talents end. What a legend.

Problem Solved

When you’re trying to take a group photo and everyone is ready to go, it’s important to just press the button and get it over and done with before people start moving again. However, this rush can leave some people in strange positions that they normally wouldn’t be in; like this woman with her hand over her chest area. When she saw this photo, she wasn’t impressed – so she asked James for help.

On this occasion, James solved the problem, but he didn’t exactly do it in the way that she asked. The woman asked him to move the hand over her chest, but James instead moved the chest away from the hand. The end result saw them far away from each other, and the end result was also pretty hilarious.

When You See It…

When you’re on vacation and exploring tourist sights, it can be impossible to take a picture-perfect photo. Although you might want to stand in front of the pyramids, the waterfall, or the temple, there’s always going to be someone else who wants to do the same – and you can almost guarantee that they’re going to be in the background of your photo. But James can help you with that.

When Nina wanted the man in the background of her photo to be removed, James did exactly that – but he added his own creative license into the mix. At first glance, it may look as though James simply replaced the man with another statue, but he actually turned the man into the statue! There’s a huge amount of detail that went into this transformation, so let’s all give a round of applause to James.

Looking Remotely Happy

Most couples are made up of two very different people. There’s one person who loves to take 1,276 photos before leaving for date night, and then there’s another person who would rather stick pins in their eyes than take another photo. We can only assume that Martine’s boyfriend is part of the latter category, which is why she asked James for help to make her boyfriend look happy to be with her.

You can’t say he didn’t absolutely nail this request. After all, words can be interpreted in very different ways – and technically he did make Martine’s boyfriend look remotely happy. He’s remote from his laptop, and he has a smile on his face! We don’t think this was exactly what Martine was after, but she should have been more specific.

As if Like Magic

Whether it’s for your headshots at work or whether they’re pictures of celebrities, many photos often have watermarks all over them. These watermarks protect copyrights and prevent image theft, but when a picture of you has a watermark on it, things can get pretty annoying. This guy in the photos obviously thought so too, which is why he decided to ask James for some Photoshop help.

He asked the Photoshop master to remove the watermark, but James is obviously pretty clued up when it comes to copyright protection. Although he COULD remove the watermark, that didn’t mean that he was going to do so without hilariously changing the photo in the process. We really hope this guy used the photo on the right for the company website.

Get Well Soon

No couple would be complete without having at least one picture on social media. They’re a way to show off your love, show off your adventures, and show off how gosh darn good you look together. But just with any other photo, there’s always going to be something that ruins a photo – and in this couple’s case, it’s the bowl of nuts on the footstool in front of them.

When this Star Wars fan asked James for some help removing the nuts, James took that request a little too literally. Instead of focusing on the nuts on the footstool, the graphic designer decided to focus on another pair of nuts instead. And these ones were a little more painful when they were removed. At least he put the guy in a nice hospital.

Fishing for Compliments

There are two kinds of people in this world. There are people who take photos because they want to look back on memories and share their experiences with their friends and family, and then there are those who prefer to take photos for the sake of fame, fortune, and popularity. We can only assume that this woman is the latter, as she posed for a fishing photo without actually knowing how to fish.

Of course, that didn’t put her off. She knew that she could just ask James for help – and that’s exactly what he did. But instead of having her rod capture the fish in the stream, he decided to Photoshop this photo so that she was quite literally fishing for compliments. That’s what it looked like she was doing from the get-go, anyway.

Put Your Toes Up

When you’re taking a picture with another person, it can often be hard to push back against the urge to curse in the photo. For some people, sticking one or two fingers up is just a natural instinct – and we have a feeling that the guy in this photo has it. When his friend or girlfriend took this photo, he just knew that the middle finger had to happen… although she wasn’t too impressed with it.

When she asked James for help to remove the middle fingers, this woman thought the request was simple enough. But what she didn’t anticipate would that, while James would remove the middle fingers, he’d simply give the man middle toes instead. It doesn’t quite have the same effect, but it’s certainly creepy. Good job, James.

Happy Homecoming

Sometimes the stars don’t align and what you hope to happen doesn’t happen. And it seems as though Kellie really wanted to be with her boyfriend for homecoming – but something stopped her dream from becoming a reality. She had a plan up her sleeve though; and it involved a makeshift green screen, her boyfriend posing up a storm, and James’ impressive Photoshop skills.

When she asked the Photoshop wizard to merge these two photographs together, she probably should have been a little more specific. After all, James did technically do what was asked of him – but we have a feeling that she wasn’t expecting him to choose the green screen over her. But that’s what you get when you enlist the help of a professional troller.

What a Long Neck

When you’re taking a photo outside, you have to realize that everything can be altered by the elements. The rain can make your makeup run down your face, the sun can make you squint your eyes, and the wind can make your hair go everywhere. Including on your fiancé’s face. Just like this woman and her beau.

Isabella asked James to Photoshop the image so that her hair wouldn’t cover her other half’s face, and James certainly made that happen. Although, he did alter Isabella’s proportions a little to do it. Now she seems to have the longest neck in existence, but at least her hair is no longer covering anyone’s face.

There You Go

Photoshop is a great way to add in something that you don’t have in real life. This woman couldn’t find an orb to hold in her hands during this photoshoot, so she decided to enlist the help of James to help her afterward. He was more than happy to help, but he wanted to do it in his own way.

While he managed to get the orb into the picture, we have a feeling that this woman wasn’t quite expecting this result. We think she wanted him to move her hands down slightly so that the orb was below her face. Instead, James decided to put the orb right in front of her face, creating the most hilarious reflection of her features.

Got That Mask

In the past two and a half years, photos have changed. Whereas before covid we could have our faces free and open to the elements, we now have to wear masks that protect ourselves and others from the virus – and this has posed a few problems for James and his Photoshop skills. The request below was a little easier, though.

This bride and groom had accidentally forgotten to wear their masks on their wedding day, and so when they asked James to add them in he was happy to oblige. Of course, they didn’t specify what kind of masks they wanted to wear, though, so he had to choose some himself. We think he went for a pretty nifty choice.

So Scary

Sometimes James has to deal with requests that can be a little subjective. Someone might ask him to make them more beautiful – but who decides who is beautiful and who isn’t? That’s not all, though. When this woman posed up a storm with this creepy ghoul in the store, she wanted James to make the background scary… but what’s scary to one person isn’t scary to another.

In the end, it seems as though James went ahead and chose something that he found particularly scary; unaffordable housing, rising energy prices, the unemployment crisis, and more. We have a feeling that the woman was expecting more of a haunted house, but subjectivity is a big thing when it comes to online requests. You’ve gotta be more specific, people.

Totally Heavy Metal

Isn’t it funny how certain words have totally different meanings? You know, like the word metal. When rock bands use this word, it sums up their genre and their vibe for life. But when scientists and construction workers use it, it alludes to a material. Because of this, things can get pretty confusing for James.

When this rock band asked James to make them look more metal, he did just that – but in the wrong sense. He turned them all into the tin men and even added some rock and roll chains into the mix. He did also issue them with a warning because we all know what happens when you leave metal out in the rain. It doesn’t end well.

White and Bright

We live in a world where everyone wants brighter and whiter teeth, but not everyone has the funds to shell out for veneers or teeth whitening. This leaves many people insecure about their appearance, especially when they wear white clothing that makes their stained teeth look even darker. So, Tim hoped that James would be able to help him with that.

When James read this email, he obviously noticed two issues; the white shirt and the teeth. So, he decided to work with both of them. He not only made Tim’s teeth whiter, but he also decided to get rid of the white shirt altogether. We think it’s a good look, but it might not fly in an office environment.

Getting Older

Did you even have a birthday if you didn’t pose in front of balloon numbers and post it on Instagram? We think not. Everyone on social media is celebrating their birthday in this way, but posing in such a way can be difficult when you’re outside. Especially when it’s windy. And this 17-year-old found that out for herself.

When she realized she held her numbers the wrong way, she decided to ask James for help – but he didn’t exactly do what was asked of her. Instead, he changed her age entirely, in both senses. He switched around the numbers, and he even made her older. Can you spot the glasses and the shorter hair? To be fair, he’s made her look good for 71.

Mind the Pole

Let’s be honest; the practical side of the world can ruin the aesthetic of many photos. From scaffolding around historic buildings to telephone wires intertwined with your mountain landscape, there’s always going to be something. This couple realized this for themselves when their wedding photos were ruined by a pole in their wedding tent.

Although they asked James to remove the pole, he quickly realized that the pole was there for a reason. Every practical thing out there is normally there because it has to be, and because it serves a purpose. In this case, the pole was holding up the tent. Without the tent, they had no wedding. And without the tent, they had no picture in the first place.

What Friend?

There’s nothing worse than finding the perfect photo for your new profile picture and then realizing that there’s something or someone ruining it. It might be a huge dumpster in the background, it might be a bird relieving itself at that exact moment, or it might be someone photobombing you.

While this woman knew that this had solid profile picture potential, she wanted James to get rid of her friend in the background to make it perfect. So, James used his Photoshop camouflaging skills to blend her friend even further into the background, and he almost succeeded in removing him altogether. There’s just a few teeth and eyes left.

Covering Up

Looking at your camera roll right now, would you feel comfortable sending all of the photos you have to your mom? There’s a high chance that you wouldn’t and that you’d prefer to censor some of them to ensure that they pass the mom test. This guy knows exactly what we mean, as Ariyan didn’t want to send this photo of a naked statue to his religious mom.

Instead of ditching the photo altogether, James decided to help him out. He managed to transfer the nakedness and covered up the statue just as Ariyan asked. That did leave Ariyan without any clothes on himself, but you can’t say that he didn’t get the job done. He did follow the request to a T.

A Real Bad Boy

When you think of a bad boy, what do you see? A man covered in tattoos wearing all black? Or a man defying all of the carefully laid out rules that are quick clearly behind them? Well, James the Photoshop wizard obviously thinks of the latter, which is why he had no problems turning Greg into the ultimate bad boy, as per his request.

Here, we can see Greg defying every single rule in place at this location. He’s wearing sunglasses, he’s wearing a fanny pack, he has tattoos, and he even has a mustache. Plus, it looks like he really couldn’t give a darn that he’s defying the rules. Greg is smiling and mocking the sign behind him, and you can’t really get badder than that.

Height Is Everything

Many men and women have a real issue with height. Sometimes they want their partner to be taller than them, and sometimes they want to be the same height. When Brooke looked at this photo of her date, she realized that she wanted to be the same height as him. So, she knew that James would be able to help her out.

With just a few Photoshop tricks here and there, James was able to make her date the same height as her – but he didn’t make Brooke taller. Instead, he made her date shorter using a shovel and some hard labor. In fact, we’d even go as far as to say that he actually made Brooke taller than her date.

The Water’s Gone

What some of James’ customers don’t realize is that their requests have an impact whether they like it or not – especially if they wanted the same thing to happen in the real world. So, when this woman wanted the guy watering the plants in the background to be removed, James wanted to let her know that this would have changed the photo entirely.

After all, when there’s nobody to water the plants, the plants die and change the whole background. What was once a luscious green walkway has been turned into a desolate, dead landscape. Sure, the woman still looks like she’s smiling – but the situation behind her looks pretty sad.