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That is probably the bullet trace from bullet passing by after grazing him.

Bullet trace is the refractive distortion from the air density shift across the shockwave of a supersonic bullet. It's an ever-broadening cone behind the bullet. It's a distortion of the background- in this case since the background is basically uniform blue it would be a minute shift in the sky hue itself. It's also far larger than the bullet itself. It's also generally virtually invisible from the side; there's a reason you only see it from behind in videos (it stacks up on itself over many feet from that angle). It takes a special technique and highly controlled circumstances / lighting to catch it from the side (Schlieren photography).

What's pictured in the photo is the motion-blurred bullet itself. I have no problem believing this photo is legit; I've seen airgun pellets, .22 lr and a couple .45 auto bullets in flight, and a camera has a way lot better 'shutter time' than my eye.

You can even discern the reddish color of the copper jacket. It's a hell of a photo...