Photoshop with a twist!

Designer Krishna voluntarily offers his photo-editing skills to strangers for free. What’s the catch, you ask? He accepts the photos, manipulates them to comic effect and sends them back with a message. From requests of being on the red-carpet to political morphing, he alters the images to perfection. A man who requested to ‘make his grandfather look younger’, (sic), was blown away by Krishna’s work.

Krishna, who has 1,35,000 followers on Twitter, was apparently inspired by James Fridman, a US-based Photoshop artist.

Yet another, who asked for his son’s photo to ‘look cute’, was filled with joy after seeing the work. Krishna, who has 1,35,000 followers on Twitter, was apparently inspired by James Fridman, a US-based Photoshop artist. He says, “Three years ago, I started exploring Photoshop software in my laptop. After I joined Twitter, I saw James Fridman, who is very famous for taking requests from people and photoshopping their images. So I thought why can’t someone from India do it and create a trend?”

The ‘terms and conditions’ on his page are interesting.

So, how does it work? “People can send me their Photoshop requests via an email on my profile. They can also reach me via Instagram or Twitter. I do it free of cost and don’t accept any gifts. People tried giving me money, but I did not take it because it is my hobby, not profession,” says Krishna.

I do not accept requests to Photoshop images of women — Krishna, Designer

The ‘terms and conditions’ on his page are interesting. It reads ‘Do not submit any personal photos that you do not want to be made public.’ Krishna explains, “I request people only to send their family photos or pictures of men and boys. I do not accept requests to Photoshop images of women because I can’t authenticate who she is exactly. It might land me in trouble (smiles). So I only do it for fun and just for laughs.”

On the challenges he faced, he clarifies, “It is only challenging if I take this up as a profession.”Born and raised in Odisha, Krishna relocated to Visakhapatnam in 2009 for the sake of his career, but he refuses to divulge what he does for a living! “It’s a secret, I can’t reveal it because people who hate me will come to know about me,” he says, adding, “I might get into a legal tangle if anything goes wrong; you never know, there are so many mischievous people around. Once, I was trolled for supporting Modi. So I am available only on social media and will not share my number. There are haters who might take my work (political Photoshops) seriously and harass me. Ironically though, the same haters appreciate my work too.” Interestingly, Krishna’s real name is Radhakrishna Panga, but he reveals, “I am an atheist and hence, have kept my Twitter handle so @Atheist_Krishna.”