Secure Computing: Sec-C

It is one thing to photoshop the image of a model in order to make her look thin. It is another thing to have TWO images with the same model on your site, with one grossly photoshopped.

Yes, this comes from Ralph Lauren... again. (Thanks to Photoshop Disasters for this one.) They are from the Australian women's collection (look under "The Collection" -> "Women" -> "Black Label").

Retrieving Samples

Ralph Lauren's site uses Flash for showing the images. Rather than just taking screen shots, I use forensics to find the actual images.

First, I used Wireshark to capture all of the traffic as I accessed Ralph Lauren's site. This allowed me to find the URLs that contained the images. In this case, the first used SWF and the second was a straight JPEG.

The SWF image came from http://global.ralphlauren.com/global/V2/commonGraphics/collections/ women/black/SP09_women_black_main.swf. To extract the JPEG that is buried in there, you will need swftools. Specifically, swfdump to find the JPEG id (in this case, it is 0002) and 'swfextract -j 2' to save the JPEG to a file.

The result of this forensic exercise is the extraction of a JPEG from a SWF for analysis. (This falls under an educational example and the inclusion of these pictures is permitted Fair Use under copyright law.) Here's the extracted image. This image is the "before" manipulation image.

This image is hosted at imageshack.us.

The second image is the "after" manipulation. It comes from http://global.ralphlauren.com/global/V2/commonGraphics/collections/ women/black/ads/SP09_Black05.jpg.

This image is hosted at RalphLauren.com.

Rather than using complex image analysis techniques to evaluate the images, I went for a more direct route. This is possible since I have two authoritative versions of the image for comparison. To show the amount of manipulation, I used GIMP to scale the after image (while retaining the aspect ratio). I aligned on the head. Mouse over the image to see the difference.



Since the after image was scaled larger for this comparison, the fuzziness from being scaled is apparent. However, the scaling does not account for the misaligned legs, hips, waist, and sweater.

With the alignment, you can see the following manipulations in the "after" image (starting at the top):

• The after image was lightened.
  
• Around her chest level, the artist removed the folds from the sweater and shirt.
  
• Then the artist went crazy. Her torso was significantly shrunk around the waist and the width of her pelvis was dramatically reduced. This manipulation is so severe that her left hip (image right) went from convex to concave.
  
• The artist thinned out her thighs and removed some of the fabric folds.
  
• The artist altered the coloring around her zipper (ah, modesty).

And people wonder why we are so focused on body image...

(And don't start thinking that the "before" is original. Notice the potted plant near her hand. Either that is one really odd shaped pot that just happens to follow the contours of her wrist, or it was part of a digital manipulation that dragged it into a droopy shape reminiscent of Salvador Dali.)

Intentional Deception

The only purpose for this type of manipulation is to emphasize the importance of an unhealthy body appearance. It is one thing for Ralph Lauren to claim that the manipulation of a model's body image was a one-time fluke. (Their exact words: For over 42 years we have built a brand based on quality and integrity. After further investigation, we have learned that we are responsible for the poor imaging and retouching that resulted in a very distorted image of a woman's body. We have addressed the problem and going forward will take every precaution to ensure that the caliber of our artwork represents our brand appropriately.)

This instance marks the fourth solid example in one week of Ralph Lauren grossly altering body images. (Two were on Photoshop disasters. The other two are the color sample images discussed in my blog.) Moreover, I have only looked at four, so this is 4 out of 4 so far. I am certain that the more we look, the more examples we will see. This is not an isolated incident. This is gross manipulation from a company and industry out of control.