Photoshop Troll Who Takes Photo Requests Too Literally Strikes Again

Very Literal Photoshop Edits by James Fridman

Photoshop is a crafty tool, but it can be used in a light-hearted way that makes folks smile. Photoshop fan James Fridman takes people’s requests online and then produces something that’s a little too literal. Fridman started with “funny edits for friends and family” and now fields hundreds of requests from online fans. Take a look at these hilarious posts where photoshop troll James Fridman strikes again.

Bad Boy for Life

For our first entry, this friendly-looking chap has asked photoshop troll, James Fridman, to make him look like a bad boy. If this request was taken literally, this young man might be standing by a sports car in a desert, wearing a leather jacket and intimidating us with his brooding bad boy vibes.

Bad Boy for Life

However, Fridman has hilariously photoshopped in a sign that turns this man into a very specific type of rule breaker. The sign says no mustache, sir!

Botanical Gardens Gone Wrong

Many of the requests James Fridman gets online are from people who want random passersby removed from the background of their photos. You know the type – the tourist wandering across your Eiffel Tower snap, the child who popped their head into your selfie.

Botanical Gardens Gone Wrong

In this case, the poster wants the gardener – or “guy watering the plants” – removed from her cute picture. In response, our favorite Photoshop troll reminded her just what happens when you remove gardeners – you get lots of dead plants!

Acne Allowed Here

Every now and then, Photoshop troll James Fridman doesn’t alter someone’s picture. Usually, it’s in response to a request like this, where someone wants to change something about their physical appearance. This poster has had bad acne for a long time, and wants to see what they look like with a clear face.

Acne Allowed Here

Refreshingly, Fridman responds with a kind message that encourages the poster to embrace who they are. By not adjusting their image, he makes an even bigger statement. Kudos!

Sting Like a Bee

This excited couple managed to take a snap of themselves posing beside legendary boxer Muhammed Ali’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Instead of being content with this vacation snap, the posers requested that Fridman turn one of them into a boxer.

Sting Like a Bee

They might have envisioned boxing gloves and a mouth guard, but instead, the very literal James Fridman delivered a boxer dog. In fairness, surely this couple knew that their request would be taken this way. It’s just too easy!

Let There Be Light

Of course, many people wish they could remove items and objects from the back of their images. In the age of smartphones, we can take photos anywhere, which means there are all sorts of backdrops for our pictures. Whether it’s a poorly placed photograph, a messy room, or a light that’s throwing everything off, it’s annoying!

Let There Be Light

This poster wanted the lamp removed from her selfie, but of course, she didn’t quite get what she wanted. No lamp means no picture.

Mannequin, I Feel Like a Woman

We have to raise our eyebrows a little at this particular Photoshop request. This man has taken a seat beside a mannequin, posed with her, and then asked that she be turned into his girlfriend. Is this seriously a request to conjure a romantic partner from a plastic woman?

Mannequin, I Feel Like a Woman

Hilariously, Fridman did no such thing. Instead of waving his Photoshop wand and creating a girlfriend, he turned the man into a mannequin, making a fetching mannequin couple. Now walk away slowly…

Bye Bye Boyfriend

We’ve already seen what can go wrong when someone asks for something to be removed from their picture. When gardeners disappear, plants die, and when lamps are removed, pictures cease to exist. What could happen then if this random man was taken out of this couple’s Ferris wheel selfie?

Bye Bye Boyfriend

Well, we’ll never know, because random guy got to stay in the pic. Instead, our favorite fan of misunderstanding deleted this lady’s other half, leaving her holding a gruesome pair of free-floating arms.

Photoshop Purse Please

This poster got in touch with James in order to get a bag added to her cute vacation snap. When posing for this picture, this young woman must have adjusted her strap and ended up with her hand in a bit of a random position. Personally, though, we think she looks great!

Photoshop Purse Please

Obviously, when she asked for a Photoshop purse, she wasn’t specific enough. Instead of a designer bag, she got a garbage bag instead – complete with a dumpster.

A Pizza the Action

We’re confused as to why anyone would make a serious Photoshop request to James Fridman. Surely they would know that he isn’t going to follow their polite instructions – right? Surely they know that anything they say can and will be used against them via the medium of photo alterations – right?

A Pizza the Action

This naïve requester asked to have the pizzas removed from the background of her picture. As we know, this only guarantees they’ll end up in the foreground. He strikes again!

Hey Cool Cats and Kittens

Ever since it aired, the internet has been consumed with Netflix’s true-crime docuseries Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness. For anyone that hasn’t seen it – it explores the dark world of exotic pets and roadside zoos, with a side-dish of murder plots.

Hey Cool Cats and Kittens

This Photoshop requester asked for a picture where this beautiful tiger is attacking him (each to his own). Instead, Fridman has added Carole Baskin, who may or may not be an expert at provoking tiger attacks. Did anyone say sardine oil?

Oh Dear, Another Deer

We’re slightly confused at the phrasing of this request, which asks for “another deer” instead of the dodgy background ornamental sheep. Is there already a deer in this picture that we aren’t seeing? Regardless, this pretty pair aren’t fans of their one-eared background sheep and would like something a touch grander.

Oh Dear, Another Deer

Clearly, they weren’t going to get what they wanted, especially not from James Fridman. The editing troll added antlers and hooves to this young man, making “another deer.”

In Need of Nail Polish

We do wonder what people think Photoshop is for. Obviously it’s software that edits photographs, but does it really exist to add and remove minor details of everyday pictures? We don’t think so. Clearly this person disagrees, as they’ve asked for some toenail polish on this picture of them smiling in a stylish room.

In Need of Nail Polish

Is there really any need for Photoshopped nail polish? Surely not! Evidently Mr. Fridman agreed, as he popped on some toe socks instead.

A Puppy Portrait

We’ve seen it before, and we’ll see it again – but purposely removing the wrong person from pictures is undeniably hilarious. This poser wanted “the guy in the back” removed from his picture so that the focus would be on the right person. Thankfully, our favorite Photoshop fan did just that.

A Puppy Portrait

James deleted the poster himself and kept a zoomed-in picture of his adorable little dog. Anyway, we have to agree that the background guy and the Yorkie look very cute together.

Look Into the Crystal Orb

Now, we know that our Photoshop troll can be prone to taking instructions too literally – we’ve seen that several times. But in this case, we aren’t sure that we blame Mr. Fridman for not following the instructions given, because honestly, they’re pretty darn confusing.

Look Into the Crystal Orb

What exactly did this poster expect when they asked for a hand adjustment and “a glowing orb/ball?” Well, we’re pretty sure they didn’t want this final product, in which they look quite like an animated character.

We’re Going Outside

This post makes us chuckle instantly – they were just asking for it! These three young chaps asked to have their picture Photoshopped so it looks like they’re standing outside. You know the type of prom photo they mean – them in their suits, with a fancy garden, or a limousine in the background.

We’re Going Outside

As always, Fridman took the request at face value and moved the lads outside. As you can see, the camera didn’t follow, so we’re left with a nice shot of the wall.

Bear With Me

It’s risky business to ask James Fridman to make something look more realistic. This man likes to be literal, so if you want a “realistic” bear, that’s absolutely what you’re going to get. This person wanted their cute photo adjusted so it looked like they were hanging out with a real bear.

Bear With Me

Of course, in reality, a bear – especially of this size – would immediately maul and destroy a human. This is now a photograph of a grizzly crime scene (excuse the pun).

Venetian Fashion Faux-Pax

We have to say that this lady really should have thought about her outfit before going on her trip down the Venice canals. Who goes on a gondola dressed like a gondolier? Surely people know that Venetian rowers wear stripes…right? This would be like dressing in a clown suit to go to the circus!

Venetian Fashion Faux-Pax

Hilariously, rather than changing this woman’s outfit, our photoshop friend dressed the gondolier in the same outfit as her husband. These people need to learn!

Pole Pulling Prowess

Again we have a hopeful poster that fails to be completely clear and specific with their Photoshop request. This young woman wants to look like her hands are holding onto the travel pole, but James Fridman had different ideas.

Pole Pulling Prowess

Of course, he did what she asked, just not exactly what she asked. Instead, it looks like our lovely lady has pulled the pole from the floor, and is casually resting it on her knee. For the record, we don’t think her hands look weird at all.

Put Me Somewhere Cool

Why oh why does this young woman not think that a lake is a really cool place? Surely, a sun-dappled selfie with blue water and sky in the background is the ideal situation? What would be “cooler?” Maybe a bustling European city? Or a bouncing nightclub?

Put Me Somewhere Cool

Obviously, this poster didn’t get what they wanted. They did end up in a “really cool place” though, and it looks like they stayed in their cute pose until they froze over. Smile!

Ent-er At Your Own Peril

Ha-ha – this trolling Photoshop edit absolutely cracks us up. This smiling lady wanted to look like she was “in” the tree, and instead was turned into one of those walking tree creatures from The Lord of the Rings. Seriously, if people want pictures to be a certain way, why not just take those pictures in the first place?

Ent-er At Your Own Peril

For example, if this lady had just climbed into the tree, she wouldn’t have ended up looking like Grandmother Willow from Pocahontas.

A Hole New World

This Photoshop requester already knew that her original picture was a little off. Rather than a cute picture of her lying on her front, with her partner by her side, this couple photo looks like one partner is poking out of a hole in the floor. The original photographer should have caught this optical glitch, but sadly they didn’t.

A Hole New World

Since the poster didn’t want to look like she was emerging from the floor, James moved her to a hole in the ground. Sorted!

Straighten Yourself Up

This must be one picky parent, because they seem positively perturbed by their young son’s crooked bowtie. Come on! Who would have noticed this if it hadn’t been pointed out? This uptight parent cringes when they see the offending item, so they asked James Fridman, Photoshop pioneer, to straighten it up.

Straighten Yourself Up

Naturally, Fridman adjusted the entire boy so that the bowtie would be nice and straight. We wonder how the final result went down – we think it looks fabulous!

Life’s a Beach

We’ve seen it before, and here it is again. Does this joke ever get less funny? Because from where we’re standing, it keeps making us chuckle. As always, this poster loves their picture except for one thing. In this case, it’s the fellow snapper on the beach, messing up this couple selfie with his existence.

Life’s a Beach

Foolishly, whoever sent this message asked to have the “other guy in the white hat” removed from the pic. Since both men are wearing white hats, our main guy is gone.

Pass the Peking Sauce

You may ask, is it reasonable to go around taking pictures and then asking for random things to be added? Surely, if you go to take a picture with some ducks, and there aren’t any ducks, then you would just not have a picture of yourself with ducks. Right? What would be the benefit of adding false ducks later?

Pass the Peking Sauce

James Fridman must have agreed, because he gave this duck-loving couple a slightly different, and much more crispy duck background scene.

Saving Private Sleepy

We do have some sympathy for this student who ended up looking a little too relaxed in his senior pictures. He and his pals went down by the river to take some snaps, and his pose was so chilled that it looks like they’re carrying him. We aren’t sure what exact fix this chap wanted, but obviously he ended up with something a little different.

Saving Private Sleepy

The final result looks like a scene from a war movie, where an injured soldier is carried back to safety.

Reflection on the Bean

This request reminds us of the orb/ball post from earlier in this list. Where that young woman wanted to be holding an orb, this one wants her face to reflect “in the sky reflection on the bean.” Now, that’s just asking for trouble.

Reflection on the Bean

As with the previous orb post, the instructions are too vague and confusing to result in anything worthwhile. Of course, when we’re dealing with a Photoshop troll, there’s even less chance of a good outcome. Looking good!

Our Latest Exhibition

Again, we have a group of young friends who want to be transported from their perfectly pleasant setting into a new and random environment. Is it standard for a group of lads attending a formal event to be posing in a museum? That seems like a specific and strange request to us.

Our Latest Exhibition

Unsurprisingly, the Photoshopped final image has taken their request literally and placed the pals in a museum exhibition. Sadly they’ve lost all of their organs and skin, but their hands are still in place.

The Background of Liberty

One of the most frustrating things about visiting a landmark or a heritage site is the hordes of people standing in the way. You can’t see Machu Picchu without getting past hundreds of tourists, and you can’t get a clear view of the Mona Lisa without craning your neck around a bunch of smartphones.

The Background of Liberty

The point is, dealing with crowds is just part of visiting famous spots. You can’t expect to get a perfect picture with the Statue of Liberty, right?

Belt Buckle Badness

These two posers have a good photograph on their hands – they’re smiling, they’re generally looking in the right direction, and the background doesn’t involve any offensive or out of place items. Just leave it be fellas! Don’t come looking for trouble!

Belt Buckle Badness

Obviously the young man on the left doesn’t feel as positive about this picture as we do, and requested a larger belt buckle. As always, James Fridman obliged, giving him the biggest belt buckle he possibly could. Howdy partner!

A Face Full of Leaves

Again we have a person that wants to control nature. Public service announcement – if you want to take a picture beside a tree with leaves, then take a picture beside a tree with leaves. There are plenty in the background!

A Face Full of Leaves

Instead, this young man requested a couple of leaves be added digitally, so it looks like he picked out a blooming young tree to pose by. Unsurprisingly, Mr. Fridman responded with a face full of leaves. Serves him right!

The Agony of Aesthetics

More like this please! This hilarious image shows what happens when you aren’t totally specific with your Photoshop request. This guy has a great picture of himself chilling in the garden, but isn’t pleased with the aesthetic of his chair. Presumably, he wanted something chic, or maybe a little rustic.

The Agony of Aesthetics

Instead, James Fridman turned the man into a chair. The request to “make it chair” was followed to a tee, and this garden recliner is now a recliner himself.

We Come in Peace

This self-conscious young person took a picture with his pals and then thought his head looked a little too round. We get it – we’ve all been in a situation where we’re scrutinizing a picture. But honestly, this kid has nothing to worry about.

We Come in Peace

Photoshop troll James Fridman must have agreed, because he chose to make goofy edits instead. Now all three people in the photo have distorted heads that remind us of the terrifying aliens in Tim Burton’s Mars Attacks!

A Graduation Reality Check

Graduation is an exciting time, and lots of people want sharp photographs that make them look like a baller. After all, these pictures will be all over social media, and hanging in frames on walls for decades to come. Understandably then, this chap requested something “a little more expensive” for his grad snaps.

A Graduation Reality Check

He might have been thinking of a Lamborghini, a Maserati or a Ferrari, but instead he got the most expensive thing of all – a stack of student debt.

Glasses, Be Gone

Glasses-wearers can sometimes be paranoid about their eye-wear. Despite them helping us to see, through movies and TV, we’ve been conditioned to think that glasses are nerdy or ugly. How many times have you heard “four-eyes?”

Glasses, Be Gone

This guy intended to remove his specs for this photo, and now wants them digitally deleted using Photoshop. The ever-literal James Fridman did remove the poster’s glasses, but then showed the shot from his perspective instead. It’s a tad more blurry, and definitely not what this dude wanted.

From Broom to Bald

James Fridman is a creative and funny man, who keeps making us giggle with his way too literal Photoshop edits. In this image, someone asks the whimsical Photoshop troll to take out “the broom”. Clearly, they want the broom in the background removed – you know, the thing you use to sweep the floor, the thing witches fly on, the broom.

From Broom to Bald

Unfortunately for this guy, his chosen hairstyle looks a tad broom-ish, so he’s basically bald in his final photo. Sorry!

This Edit Makes No Fence

This is another classic example of “be careful what you wish for” when asking James Fridman for photoshop requests. There are many couples out there who have asked him to basically crop them out of one image and to superimpose them onto a background that is a bit more idyllic.

This Edit Makes No Fence

Take this couple for example, who asked James to copy and paste them onto a garden. Needless to say, James knew how to meet their request with a twist.

I Wood Move On

So many of us look back on our prom photos and wholeheartedly regret who we went to the dance with. Some of us hardly remember that person, while others end up tying the knot with the person they went to prom with.

I Wood Move On

This young lady seems to veer more towards the former kind of person. She was desperate to get this guy out of her photo. However, James felt like replacing the guy with a chopped up tree would suffice.

A Rocky Photobomb

Don’t you just hate it when you think you a have found the perfect photo for your profile picture but one of your friends is stealing the limelight in the background? This is how the following woman felt and asked James to see if he could fix her problem.

A Rocky Photobomb

We have no idea how James managed to do this, but he somehow made it look like the woman’s friend was forced into the rocks and became a part of the formation. Now she’ll never be able to get rid of him!

Sign of the Times

If we have learned anything by now about making requests to James Fridman, it is to make sure that the request is specific without any room for interpretation. Somehow, some way, though, James seems to find a way to twist the customer’s words in a hilarious way.

Sign of the Times

This is what happened when a woman asked if he could make it look like she was holding the following sign. Now she no longer looks like a tourist and actually looks like one of the members of staff.

Committed Like You Wouldn’t Believe

How desperate can you be to do this? Surely it’s easier to go and just find a real girlfriend. James was quick to punish him for his wild request and simply provided him with a tattoo of the word “Girlfriend” on his arm.

Committed Like You Wouldn’t Believe

Either way, both images make it look like the guy actually has his arm around an invisible woman. Either he is extremely desperate or we might be in the middle of a modern day horror movie.

A Hole Other Issue

This young lady was desperate to be closer in height to her prom date and asked to see if James had the tools to make this happen. She assumed that he’d simply make her proportionally taller, maybe by making her legs longer and everything else, for that matter.

A Hole Other Issue

But no, James had other plans to achieve this goal. Instead, he created the illusion that a hole had been dug and that her boyfriend had fallen into it.

Taking Cropping to the Next Level

While people might notice it in the moment, it is often impossible to ignore someone’s phone hanging inside one of their trouser pockets. It can be really annoying to look at and certainly ruins what could otherwise be a perfect photo.

Taking Cropping to the Next Level

This guy was determined to get his phone removed from this photo of him with his girlfriend. However, James decided to go the extra mile and simply tore the phone out of the guy’s pants, leaving a massive hole.

Mirror Mirror Not on the Wall

Let’s be honest, the following woman got exactly what she deserved for sending such a vague request to James Fridman. Maybe had she asked him to remove the mirror, then she wouldn’t have received such a radical change.

Mirror Mirror Not on the Wall

What was she expecting? Did she expect James to just remove her reflection from the mirror and make it look as if she was some kind of young vampire? Obviously she doesn’t completely get how mirrors work.

Oui Oui Can Fix This

There are some tourist attractions that people absolutely love posing next to in order to make it look like they are touching it. Some classic examples include the Tower of Pisa in Italy and France’s Eiffel Tower.

Oui Oui Can Fix This

The following photo was taken in front of the latter and this young lady failed miserably when trying to create the illusion, so she called upon James to fix her problem. However, she wasn’t so thrilled by the end result.

Marrying Stretch Armstrong

It’s only after we have our wedding photos taken that we notice things that shouldn’t have been there. In an ideal world, these newlyweds would have just sent this photo to a professional editor and have the car photoshopped out.

Marrying Stretch Armstrong

But they ended up contacting James Fridman. To be fair, it does make both the bride and the groom look like a pair of superheroes who both possess the power of stretching their limbs. If you are nerdy enough, you might just consider this to be kind of cool.

Fore! Get About It

Let’s just get one thing clear, using your friend’s face as a golf tee is never a good idea. We’ve seen how this plays out in movies and it’s never good. Thankfully, these two just wanted to capture a funny photo and didn’t actually take any shots this way.

Fore! Get About It

So when they asked James Fridman to make it look like the guy had swung, the photoshopper simply provided the aftermath of the hypothetical scenario. It’s so realistic, we can’t handle it!

Equal in Every Way

In an ideal world, our differences in height, amongst other things, shouldn’t really matter when it comes to friendship. We can have friends of all different shapes and sizes.

Equal in Every Way

As long as we are around people who make us laugh, and we are comfortable around, what does it matter if a photo shows that three friends aren’t the same height? Apparently, this group of guys cares and wanted to be the same height. James knew exactly how to achieve this.

The New Water Filter

To be fair, this woman is right. It doesn’t really look like she is underwater and in order to make it more obvious, she would need some professional assistance from someone who knew their way around Photoshop.

The New Water Filter

James seemed like the perfect man for the job and was easily capable of applying a water filter to create the illusion that she was swimming beneath the surface. However, he once again came up with another idea, simply shoving her into a washing machine instead.

Is This Close Enough for You?

James probably looked at this and wondered why this woman would want to make herself look bigger. If he was to do this, it would most likely mean cropping out the beautiful scenery of the waterfall in the background.

Is This Close Enough for You?

To make this point, James went all the way, quite literally. He zoomed all the way into the woman’s pixelated face, with no sign that she was standing in front of a waterfall. We hope she understands why he did this.

Joined at the Hip

We get the impression that these guys made the following request because they wanted to make it look like they were part of the same tennis team. After all, the best indicator of this would be them wearing the same T-shirt.

Joined at the Hip

Of course, it’s understandable why James would interpret their request the following way. He knew it was an opportunity too good to pass up on and simply threw a giant T-shirt over both of them. Difficult to play tennis this way though.

Fountain Photo Fail

In the wonderful world of smartphones and international travel, we all have to suffer supposedly funny posed photos. It may be a person standing in front of the leaning tower of Pisa, with their finger in a position that makes it look like they’re holding it up. Or maybe they have the Eiffel tower in their palm, or a pyramid between their fingertips. Whatever it is, we’re bored of it!

Fountain Photo Fail

This guy was trying for a posed pic, and got something slightly different.

Wood You Mind?

This post is similar, in that the person involved wants to remove something that really doesn’t need to be removed. Come on, who actually noticed that small plank of wood in the first place? We get that bird poop is gross, but it doesn’t exactly distract from the lit-up Ferris wheel and cute tie-dye dress.

Wood You Mind?

This edit is actually pretty sound, as “the wood thing” has been turned into a luxury meal, complete with a serving towel.

Background Beach Buddies

And again we have a hilarious Photoshop fail that takes its instructions way too literally. This poster asked to have their friend removed from the back of their beach selfie, and ended up with them right at the front instead. Listen – when speaking to James Fridman you need to be super clear.

Background Beach Buddies

If you give this man any opportunity to misunderstand, that’s exactly what he’ll do. Remove from the back? Well, that must mean bring to the front… right?

Calling All Agents

Here’s another hilarious mistake that was totally made on purpose. This Photoshop requester wants his picture to be altered so that he looks like “some sort of agent.” Clearly, this pistol firing young man wants to look like a police agent, a government agent, or some sort of cool, renegade agent.

Calling All Agents

As is always the case, James Fridman had another idea. With a sign, rather than a pistol, he transformed this wannabe FBI agent into a real estate agent instead.

Just Horsin’ Around

Admittedly, it took us a while to spot the Photoshop edit on this picture of a young woman riding a horse. In the original picture, the horse rider is giving an unsavory hand signal, and their sister would like it edited out of the otherwise wholesome image.

Just Horsin’ Around

However, if you put one digit down, then another pops up. Those are the rules – right? Well, they must be for this Photoshop troll, as he made her middle toe the offending appendage instead.