I Photoshop Myself Into Random Pictures When I Get Bored At Work

I saw the amazing work of @avaragerob and figured: "Why not try something like that?" And that's how I started creating these edits. Of course, I'm far from as elaborate and skillful as he is, but I had lots of fun.

The main goal of my edits is to make people go "haha aww!" We're constantly bombarded with bad news and disheartening content from politics and public figures. So why not spin it into a new, lighthearted story?

I worked as a video producer and used boring long rendering times as a creative break to get better in Photoshop. I tried (and mostly succeeded) to create every image in less than 15 minutes.

The most difficult part was matching the light source. I didn't really pay attention to it in the very first ones. And since I was too lazy to unpack my lamps and studio settings I just shot a picture with my phone wherever I was at that very moment. Made it more challenging for me—but hey, I wanted to get better at photoshopping things, not photography.

I used whatever funny or strange real-world picture got into my hands as inspiration. It's not meant as a commentary, just some lighthearted jokes.

My style is kinda... amateurish? "Random bored guy with Photoshop"? Some stuff could probably be filed under "political satire". I don't take myself or the world itself too seriously. We're here for a very short span of time, we'd better spend that time laughing with our best friends.

I started around half a year before I published them on Bored Panda three years ago. I didn't follow through with that for much longer than half another year before I moved back to my main field of interest: video & animation. Might pick it up again in the coming weeks, though, I just remembered how much fun I used to have making these.

(Political) news nowadays is oftentimes borderline a parody of itself. Weird people doing weird stuff, it feels as if we derailed some 6 years ago and went full alternative universe. So why not overdo this comical timeline a little more and bring some joy to the users seeing this content?

If you ever want to do anything creative—just start doing it. If I would have overthought it by trying to match the light in a studio setting, dragging my friends and real camera into it. Overthinking is the killer of most creative ideas. Just do stuff and improve once it's out there. Worst that can happen? You'll get ignored.

I co-founded and led the most successful social media content magazine in Switzerland where I spent almost three years doing what I love most with a handful of my now closest friends, before accepting an offer as "Social Creative Director" by one of the most influential agencies in Europe. In a nutshell: Still doing what I love most: Content that makes the internet a little bit brighter—except it's for clients now.