Need help telling if photo is photo shopped.

[joegreen]

So i am looking at a basement waterproofing company and i would like to know if this photo is photos shopped. Specifically if the name on the side of the truck is photo shopped. I dont know anything about photo shop but i figured maybe someone in here uses photo shop for there profession.

 

[Kestas]

I believe one way is to play with the brightness and contrast of the image, pushing it to extremes to see if something appears unusual.

 

[The_Jeff]

I suspect it is just by the clarity. There's a perspective warp that will take a flat image (like that truck's side) and tweak it as seen. The shadows are also very soft and funky. This doesn't have the various ripples and lens flares of a google drive-by either.

If they're based out of CT/NY, does that house and its foliage look like they're from there? AFAIK both NY and CT require front license plates, where are they on that truck? The whole website looks like it was made out-of-state by some flashy yet generic web site generating conglomerate. Or they're loosely affiliated businesses getting referrals from that website.

The address from the website leads to https://goo.gl/maps/Uo673dJaqKQ2

As with most home repair, check references.

 

[joegreen]

its not a google street view picture. its a picture the company put up i think on the google maps image section.

 

[joegreen]

where the roof and sky meet looks weird to me.

 

[spasm3]

Originally Posted by joegreen
where the roof and sky meet looks weird to me.



I agree, the entire weathervane housing looks odd against the skyline.

 

[92saturnsl2]

That is absolutely a doctored image. Whether it was original (with the truck lettering and such being original) and then tweaked with, I can't tell. Find reviews, check references.

 

[Jethro_Bob]

The mailbox reflection bugs me the most, it doesn't seem to match the house or the truck.

 

[spasm3]

Originally Posted by Jethro_Bob
The mailbox reflection bugs me the most, it doesn't seem to match the house or the truck.



I think you have hit on it! None of the shadows, or lack of, make sense.

 

[anndel]

Judging by the clarity AND the brightness of that panel vs the adjacent truck door which is less bright though on the same side and facing the sun it's been Photoshoped.

 

[Lou_Boyle]

There are several things about the picture that seem odd and contradictory, and therefore would indicate alteration. As several have pointed out the shadows everywhere are unusual and soft, despite the sky being relatively clear. I cant tell much about the truck signage, but I would guess the entire truck was added to the picture based on the depth/perspective on the truck appearing more extreme than that of the driveway/house. You can also see a change in driveway texture about where the front wheel of the truck is located. It's as if the pavement had to be altered and expanded to accommodate a truck in the picture. I think the mailbox was also an addition to give the illusion of the driveway being a street, but the "street" has neither curbs or ditches, and the mailbox post appears too far away from the alleged street for a mail carrier to reach, plus again, the shadows and light reflections look like a studio rather than outdoors. My vote is heavily photoshopped.

 

[AZjeff]

Curious why you want to know? Photo manipulation is so common now that it's probably unusual if commercial photos aren't manipulated to some degree. If done well only an expert in the field will ever know. If done not so well you may notice some irregularities. I worked with Photoshop a lot in a previous job/life. Yes this photo has had some work done imperfectly. It looks like the blue sky was added. If the original photo had an overcast sky it would explain the lack of sharp shadows under the truck, mailbox, etc. The gable vent is distorted as well as the roof edge above it. This happens when photos are stitched together or areas are added from another photo in a sequence of shots that look better. The perspective of the lettering on the side of the truck looks correct but maybe there were some contrast values tweeked to try to make the letters stand out more.

The company has a good looking website and has a Ct. license listed. https://www.drybasementsystemsllc.com/

Looking at their website, in the slideshow you pulled the photo out of the man & woman with their thumbs up in the basement were definitely added to the empty shot of the basement.

In the testimonial video it's the same house as in the photo.

 

[joegreen]

The reason i am asking is because i got an estimate from dry basement systems llc. They were very nice and the few reviews they got online were all five stars. But i think they are the same company as american dry basement systems which did not get good reviews. Based on evidence from multiple online sources i believe these are the same companies. Here are the reasons why.

1. The guy that visited me from dry basement systems llc was named dennis and in a review from american dry basement systems someone mentioned the name dennis. So does he work for both companies?

2. Both companies are located in brookfield ct which seems suspicious. dry basement llc has an address of a house and american dry basement systems has an actual address showing trucks.https://www.google.com/maps/@41.4520761,-73.4001996,3a,75y,250.78h,89.87t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s90n_8YCSFdcw-dylcBpnqQ!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3D90n_8YCSFdcw-dylcBpnqQ%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D343.48828%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

i thought the truck in the picture above might be one of american dry basement systems trucks with dry basement systems llc photo shopped on the side.


3. The brochure the guy gave me from dry basement systems llc has an almost identical picture on it from american dry basements website. coincidence?

4. when i looked up the guy i found him on linked in and it says he works for american dry basement. They why did he say he was from dry basement systems llc?

5. on home advisor it gives the description for dry basement systems llc


"Dry Basement Systems LLC is a consortium of waterproofers based out of Brookfield, Connecticut, with over 35 years of accumulated experience and the completion of 20,000+ basements. Together we reverse-engineered all the available basement waterproofing systems on the market today and came up with the absolute best and most affordable system ever designed. We offer a variety of service related to basement waterproofing, including crawlspace encapsulation, sump pump installation, repair, and maintenance, as well as basement wall and floor crack repair. Our service area extends beyond Connecticut into neighboring portions of New York including Westchester, Rockland, Dutchess, and Putnam counties."

What does this even mean "Dry Basement Systems LLC is a consortium of waterproofers based out of Brookfield, Connecticut"
It all seems a little weird. A little to weird to give a boat load of money to.

I am just having a hard time even getting contractors to show up. I get people that give me an estimate that we agree upon then never show up again. What gives with all these shady contractors.

 

[Onetor]

Did you check them through the BBB? Call the City they are based in and get license information. It will have owner contact information, how long they have had the license etc. You will be shocked what is public information. Also, they will have to get a permit to work on each job site. According to google, those pics were provided by the owner. So I'm sure they were edited. Also, all Exif data is stripped when you upload to commercial serves such as Facebook, Google etc.

If you have reason to question the company. I wouldn't use them. Move on. Judging from google maps there are several other Basement Companies. Go with your instincts tell you. Good luck!

 

[AZjeff]

Good job sniffing out the possible shady situation before you dumped money into it!

 

[weasley]

No question that image has been manipulated, but that in itself is not necessarily a problem. As noted above, many commercial images have been tidied up, modified or plain made up from composite images (check out any watch ad, you can tell the model wasn't wearing any watch when the image was taken and the watch has been added afterwards).

I would also add that the side panel has been added on - it was clearly a white box added to the side of the van, with perspective stretching to look 'natural'. However the edge of the white box can be seen at the rear vertical edge of the truck side, and it creates a non-parallel convergence of the 'vertical' lines of the body's frame. The lower left corner of this white box also appears to be pasted over some decals or other marking that were on the truck originally. And yes, the model of truck appears the same as the ones in the American Dry Basements yard on Google Streetview (although it is probably a common model).

Again, not necesarily bad but to answer the OP, definitely photoshopped.

 

[Johnny2Bad]

It's difficult to say, but it doesn't show most typical remnants of manipulation (cut and paste). The sharpening seems consistent through the image, the shadow towards the back of the side of the truck is consistent and doesn't look manipulated. But it must be said that if a competent graphic artist merged two photos or added text and logos, and then resized the image to 1503 x 847 @ 120 ppi (the image you posted) any telling details are lost at that point due to the resize losing all image detail.

I reviewed a copy at 8000 x 4508 @ 120 ppi and couldn't see any telling evidence, but note my previous sentence.

 

[The_Jeff]

The guy Dennis forming his own LLC may have worked for some guy across town, noticed the guy making money off his back, and jumped into the fray as his own self recently.

The website signals, "Hey, somebody make me a website... ok that looks good."

 

[Papa Bear]

Ask Dennis if it's "shopped"

 

[UncleDave]

Yes its manipulated. It's had a Chroma/ luma overall correction & the logo was either brightened or re corner pinned on the truck

Based on the direction of the shadow from the front of the truck and the boat on the side of the street, the side of the truck with the logo on it should be in at least partial shadow from the house.


UD