Yes, that would and should be illegal. He certainly can't claim they gave consent, (being minors).
I supposed a jury will see the images and decide if it's an " art form ".
If it were a consenting adult, I could care less, unless of course he's doing on the school's dime and property.
Yeah, I get that. I’m assuming that the images never left his possession. If he published images of someone without permission then, yes, there’s something actionable about that though it’s probably more of a civil matter than a criminal one.
But photoshop allows the creation and manipulation of images that are a total fiction. It’s a product of mere imagination not unlike a drawing or a painting. Let’s say it was a painting of a disturbing scene and the face bears an unmistakable resemblance to a real person.
That it may be the product of a disturbed mind is likely true, but I’m asking a different question: Can it be illegal?