Remini
Whenever somebody posts a "How can I fix this blurry picture?" question in my group, there's always somebody who is quick and eager to suggest the Remini phone app.
I get it. At first glance, Remini seems like amazing magical technology, creating focus where only blur existed before.
Please don't fall for it. Give it a second glance and see what a horrid job it does in a lot of cases. It has two irredeemable drawbacks:
- It doesn't actually find detail in the blurred photo. Instead, it borrows other people's facial features from its massive library. It's clever technology, but with Frankenstein results.
- It only does faces, and leaves bodies and other areas blurry. This results in very strange images.
So why do so many people recommend it as a great solution? I think it's because they've only ever used it, or seen it used, on photos of people they didn't know personally. If you don't know what somebody really looks like, it's easy to think the Remini result looks great. But if you do know what they look like, Remini's concoction of pieces borrowed from other people will appall you.
This is why I have zero patience for Remini suggestions in my group, or in any photography group. It's particularly tasteless when somebody asks for help with a photo for the funeral of a recently deceased person. That person's family are already grieving, so to offer them a photo of their loved one that doesn't look like them would be staggeringly insensitive.
Wanna see how bad it can be?
Here's one that Brian B posted in my group. Check out the weird eye, and the double ear:
And if you want to be really creeped out, check out the Remini did me dirty Facebook page.