Faking It Winner Shane M. Shares the Creation of “Paranoia”

Photoshop’s Faking It Contest has seen it all: Ghosts, “Manimals” and even the extraterrestrial. Inspired by the Faking It: Manipulated Photography Before Photoshop exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the Faking It contest took place on the Photoshop Facebook page for eight weeks and collected nearly 400 manipulated submissions.

We’ve had a great time celebrating manipulated photography with you. Now that the contest is over, there’s only one more thing to celebrate: our grand prize winner, Shane M., whose photo titled “Paranoia” was chosen by the Photoshop Facebook community. As part of his grand prize, Shane will receive a trip for two to the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, TX to see the Faking It exhibit in person.

“I grew up learning Photoshop years before I ever even picked up a camera,” said Shane in his video. “It’s very interesting how my work really gravitated more toward this fictional use of the camera.” He describes his wining photo as, “a moment that was created rather than captured.”

Shane’s photo and video were submitted in the  “Ghost in the Machine” category, which challenged Fans to create a “spirit photograph” by compositing a ghostly subject into the background. He created the dreamlike image by merging several shots of a fake scene, using a sheet as a wall and applying Photoshop effects including burn, dodge, noise creation and sepia toning.

“While currently working towards my MFA in photography, I am always in search of new inspiration. I told everyone that all I really want is to see this “Faking It” exhibition with my own eyes, but it had never occurred to me that I would actually get to go,” Shane said. “Thank you to my family, my friends, my teachers, my students, my fellow classmates, my love and everyone who has supported and inspired me. Also, a huge thank you to Adobe for this incredible opportunity. Without Photoshop, none of my ideas would be able to leave my head and I would be lost in a world without dreams.”

To see “Paranoia” and the rest of the Faking It images, visit the contest tab on the Photoshop Facebook page. Thanks to all who submitted to the contest!

Shane’s winning video submission, illustrating his photo-creation process, is below.
http://blogs.adobe.com/photoshopdotcom/2013/02/faking-it-winner-shane-m-shares-the-creation-of-paranoia.html