Photo experts and amateur sleuths alike are analyzing theofficial picturereleased ofKate Middletonand her children for Mother’s Day in the U.K.
The Princess of Wales, 42, releasedan apologyand admitted that she does “occasionally experiment with editing” after multiple global photo agenciespulled the Mothering Sunday pictureover suspicions of manipulation.
Taking a closer look at the image, theDaily Mailhas identified 16 issues with the portrait of Princess Kate withPrince George, 10,Princess Charlotte, 8, andPrince Louis, 5, which creditedPrince Williamas the photographer. Editing errors include obvious blurring around Princess Kate’s hair and Prince Louis' fingers while the adjacent areas are in focus, alignment issues with Princess Charlotte’s left wrist and skirt, the pattern on Louis' sweater being skewed and the zipper on Kate’s top looking off.
TheMailspoke with and cited multiple photographers who said the picture looked edited, though their professional opinions varied on whether or not Photoshop was used.
Kate Middleton’s Mother’s Day photo errors.The Prince and Princess of Wales/Instagram
The Prince and Princess of Wales/Instagram
Sky Newsanalyzed the image file’s metadata, claiming to uncover proof that Photoshop was used on the image.
The outlet’s findings also confirmed the snap was captured at Adelaide Cottage, where the Prince and Princess of Wales' family live in Windsor, on a professional Canon 5D Mark IV camera with Canon 50mm lens.
Kate Middleton and her three children (L-R): Princes Louis, Prince George and Princess Charlotte.The Prince and Princess of Wales/Instagram
Sky News' science and technology editor Tom Clarke said in avideopublished on Monday, “Pictures can be manipulated, but modern cameras don’t lie…if you can access the metadata embedded in the image file, which we did.”
On Sunday, multiple global photo agencies including the Associated Press, Getty Images and Reuters removed the photo from their press libraries, citing concerns about manipulation.
Kate Middleton, Princess Charlotte, Prince George, Prince William, Prince Louis and Mia Tindall in Sandringham on Dec. 25, 2023.Samir Hussein/WireImage
Samir Hussein/WireImage
Competitors have also made similar statements. A spokesperson for Reuters said, “The source of yesterday’s handout photo said that she has experimented with editing. The altered photo didn’t meet Reuters standards of image quality, and that is the reason we withdrew it yesterday.”
“We became aware of concerns about the image and we carried a report about it last night, and made clear that we were seeking urgent clarification about the image from Kensington Palace,” PA continued. “In the absence of that clarification, we are killing the image from our picture service.”
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According to theBBC’s tally, the AP, Reuters, Getty, AFP and PA will no longer be running the picture of the Princess of Wales and her kids.
Although the palace released the image likely with hopes ofsquashing rumors about Princess Kate’s healththat have been circulating online,Mark Borkowski, a London-based public relations and crisis communications expert,tells PEOPLEthat the controversy surrounding the image has “made it worse.”
source: people.com
