The convenience and power of photo-management software means that just about anybody with a computer can generate realistic-looking reproductions with a few mouse clicks. Not only can some new digital cameras from Hewlett-Packard get rid of the "red-eye" effect, they can also automatically take off facial blemishes and slim you down a few pounds.

"There's this misconception out there that the camera doesn't lie — well, it lies all the time," said Mindy Stricke, proprietor of a Web site called SingleShots. "It lies as soon as you pick it up."

SingleShots helps online daters gain an edge by fixing up their head shots. At rates ranging from $25 to $65 per picture, SingleShots can remove a double chin, lose the blemishes, smooth over those wrinkles and take a few pounds off. For Stricke, SingleShots is a side venture unrelated to her normal photography work — but, she says, her business-executive customers are starting to ask for the same work.

Stricke likes to think what she does for online daters emphasizes good looks that were already there in the first place. But sometimes, she says, working with clients can become a delicate negotiation because some people want more digital help than she's comfortable doling out.

Photoshop is the ubiquitous software tool of choice for folks wanting to muck around with photos. With a new version slated for release by the end of this month, the program's aim is to make image manipulation even easier.

Take the problem of getting a good group shot, for example. In the coming version of Photoshop, users will be able to stack up a series of group shots against each other and quickly splice together the photos that contain each subject's most flattering facial expression.

If, say, Joe has his eyes closed in one shot, you can just swipe the cursor over his face and see if he looks better in the next shot down in the pile. The software will swap heads for you, and chances are good that none will be the wiser when you send that spring break photo around.

Detecting image trickery is a budding industry, says Hani Farid, a computer science professor at Dartmouth College who also works as a consultant in legal cases in which there's a suspicion of image tampering.

Farid also serves as a consultant to news agencies trying to figure out whether a photo is real. A recent photo used to promote the Fox television show "American Idol" seemed a little suspicious to Associated Press photo editors, so they sent it to Farid to see if he could detect tampering.

Sure enough, Farid found that it was a composite: The proof was in the eyes. Zoom in on the photo close enough, and you can tell by the light reflected in the eyes of Simon Cowell and the other judges. Two of the people in the shot have two lights reflected in their eyes; the others have only one, indicating that the group shot was actually spliced together from two photo shoots.

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