Instant Slimming from HP Photosmart R967

HP Photosmart R967

Have you heard about this one: a camera that can make you look thinner? No Photoshop needed, just the camera. Atrocious!

The HP Photosmart R967 does its own image manipulation inside the camera, while taking the photograph, because of a special software that offers an optional “slimming” function. Users can modify their photos directly on the camera, rather than uploading images to a computer. The in-cam software does its trick by elongating a person in the center of a photo while widening the edges to maintain perspective.

Won’t I look funny with that? No, HP said. The effect is subtle and can be adjusted for a more dramatic effect. Here, take a look at this photo from Wall Street Journal’s resident photo expert Elva Ramirez, and judge for yourself:

photo comparison

Ramirez says losing weight the digital way can distort the rest of the photo, so thinning down a heavier subject might make an adjacent person appear emaciated. She says that while it might be handy to tweak photos directly on the camera, HP’s tools offer less control than PC photo editors like Adobe Photoshop.

[Via: WSJ Gadget Gallery]
[Photo courtesy of The Wall Street Journal]

Published by Chris Malinao

Chris teaches Lightroom as workflow software to photography students at the FPPF, Federation of Philippine Photographers Foundation. He also teaches smartphone photography.