Questions like "how?" or "why?" are very natural when one comes across such images, and the artist happily explained: “One day I saw a product parody online and was fooled absolutely into thinking it was real. After a good laugh and sending it to all my friends, I thought I should try to get in on the fun myself.”
He also told about another reason why he started learning Photoshop. "I'm a big fan of comedy podcasts and a lot of times comedians will tell a joke or tell a story that just needs a visual. I bought and learned how to use Photoshop just so I could get in on the fun of making those images."
And so he did. The artist vividly remembers his first photoshopped image that went viral. "The first fake product I ever photoshopped was a Heinz flavor mashup called Mayonster, which was Mayo combined with Monster Energy Drink. After seeing how far it spread (pun intended), I knew I had to keep going."
He's been doing it for more than 3 years, and he told us about his plans of doing it in the foreseeable future."Mayonster is going to be three years old in August. I'll keep making them as long as I can think of ideas. (If you've got something you'd like to see created, reach out!)"
Though it looks easy, it's just an appearance. Doctor Photograph told what's the most challenging part of the process for him. "Rather than just photoshop a store in the background of my products, I like to go to supermarkets, video/music shops, or electronic stores to give them a realistic look. Obviously, this adds time that others probably would rather spend creating their next concept, but I feel taking that time to add the extra layer of reality will only help the final result."
As for the goal or the intent of these photo edits, he explained that "it's always to provide entertainment. Either by tricking people into thinking my 'doctored' images are real or making parodies so absurd, they can't help but laugh."
To make it even more interesting, the artist issued a challenge for you, fellow readers, : "Pick one of my posts and share it on your social media pretending you found it while you were at a store, just say 'omg what the heck??' Wait like two hours until you get a bunch of comments and then please tag me so I can read them all. Reactions like those are my favorite." (edited)
