Fauxtography in Texas

Sat, May 17, 2008 at 2:21:05 pm PST

Looks like someone got a little ... uh ... over-zealous with Photoshop in a yearbook for McKinney High School in Texas: Students’ photos altered in McKinney yearbook.

Imagine posing for a yearbook photo and ending up with someone else’s body – or looking nude – in the final product.

Yearbook photos for 583 McKinney High School students were altered by a national photography company. The yearbooks were delivered Monday.

Some girls’ heads ended up on boys’ bodies, and vice versa. Some necks were stretched, and some outfits were altered.

McKinney school officials say they are appalled by the changes and called them unethical. “I cannot even figure out why they did some of the things that they did,” said Lori Oglesbee, the school’s yearbook adviser.

The problem photos are obvious. One girl’s arm is missing. Another girl is missing her clothing – and was left with a blurred chest. Multiple students have the same body and clothes. Some shirt colors were changed, while patterns and wording on other shirts were wiped out.

At least 34 students had someone else’s body.

The photography company’s excuse ranks right up there with Adnan Hajj’s “I was only removing dust and scratches...”

Officials from Lifetouch National School Studios Inc., the Minnesota-based photography company, said someone at the company made the alterations in an attempt to comply with the school’s photo guidelines.

This school must have some pretty cool guidelines.

UPDATE at 5/17/08 2:40:00 pm:

Eden Prairie company will assume cost of reproducing Texas yearbook where photos were altered.