portrait

Remarkable photo editor

We have to admit we were skeptical. We've messed around in Photoshop before and had no idea what we were doing. Portrait Professional promised to be easy, but how easy could it be? Surely it would require some kind of photo-editing skills, right? Wrong.

We are not exaggerating when we say that anyone could use this program. It doesn't really get any easier than this. Open a photo, and the program guides you though the process of adjusting a series of outlines over the subject's facial features. Even this doesn't have to be exact. Once you'… Read more

Strap yourself in to the Self-Portrait Machine

You no longer have to be a Michaelangelo or Rembrandt to paint great portraits, thanks to technology. Jen Hui Liao's Self-Portrait Machine will machine-assist the "artist," via straps tied to the wrists, to sketch a self-portrait, after a picture is taken while seated at the device.

The Renaissance and Dutch masters talked about capturing the soul of the subject in their paintings. But hey, since I can't draw squat save for stickmen, this device (spotted at the Royal College of Art Show) will do just fine. However, since there's no word on a commercial launch, … Read more

Image airbrusher

Beauty Pilot lets users feel like a professional photo editor by giving them the tools to airbrush and lightly improve portraits. With an extremely focused set of tools, users will enjoy touching up their photos with this simple download.

The program starts off with a bang, offering a five-part tutorial (each takes less than a minute to watch) that teaches you everything you need to know about this user-friendly program. The action takes place on a screen with only a few tool icons, which keeps users from guessing and cuts right to the chase of improving snapshots. Actually changing the … Read more

Samsung CLP-315W printer yields disappointing results

The Samsung CLP-315W is designed for working professionals and entrepreneurs who want a laser printer for speed but also need to print out documents, photos, and presentations in full color. This version also has a wireless print server built into the device, a convenient feature if you have several computers attached to the same network that will share the same printer. Unfortunately, the CLP-315W is not without its serious flaws.

First, the quality of the printouts are simply unacceptable. The printer has trouble separating subtle gradations in color and tends to blur together close sections on the color gamut. Also, … Read more

'Biggest drawing' just a big hoax

A Swedish art student who claimed to have created the "biggest drawing in the world" using a GPS device and an international package delivery service has admitted that the drawing is a hoax.

Erik Nordenankar had claimed that he placed a GPS device in a briefcase on March 17 and then sent the case on a 55-day trip around the world with DHL. He originally stated on his Web site that he had given DHL specific travel instructions on the route that the briefcase should take to yield the drawing. After the package allegedly traveled over 6 continents … Read more

Self-portrait with GPS

Update, 5/27, 5 p.m. PDT: The student has admitted that his tale is a hoax. Read the follow-up here.

A Swedish art student has posted online what he calls the "biggest drawing in the world," though the picture would seem to be more accurately described as a drawing on a rather modest scale that came into being through a round-the-world technique.

Perhaps that's why a sort of subtitle on Erik Nordenankar's Web site, just above the image, is this: "GPS Generated Self Portrait."

The technique is described this way: "My pen … Read more