Kate Middleton’s Mother’s Day Photo Had at Least 16 Editing Errors as Experts Find Proof of Photoshop

Photography experts and amateur detectives alike analyze the official picture of Kate Middleton and her children released for Mother’s Day in the UK

The Princess of Wales, 42, issued an apology and admitted that she “occasionally experiments with editing” after a number of global photo agencies pulled the Mothering Sunday image due to suspected manipulation.

Looking closer at the picture, Daily mail identified 16 issues with a portrait of Princess Kate with Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5, in which Prince William was credited as the photographer. Editing errors include apparent blurring around Princess Kate’s hair and Prince Louis’ fingers while adjacent areas are in focus, alignment issues with Princess Charlotte’s left wrist and skirt, a skewed pattern on Louis’ sweater, and the zipper on Kate’s top looking sideways.

The post you talked quoted multiple photographers who said the image looked edited, although their professional opinions varied as to whether Photoshop was used or not.

Kate Middleton seen leaving Windsor with Prince William for private meeting after issuing photo apology

Errors in Kate Middleton’s Mother’s Day photo.

The Prince and Princess of Wales/Instagram

1. Princess Charlotte had part of her sleeve removed above her left arm.
2. The zipper on Princess Kate’s shirt looks neat.
3. Princess Charlotte’s hair is unusually cut.
4. Princess Charlotte’s skirt seems to stick out in an odd way around her waist.
5. Princess Charlotte’s knee appears blurry.
6. The pattern on the sleeve of Prince Louis’ sweater is distorted.
7. Prince Louis’ right thumb looks blurry.
8. There is a dent in the edge near Prince Louis’ hand.
9. Another distortion can be seen on the ledge.
10. The step behind Prince Louis looks crooked with the floor.
11. Prince Louis’ finger appears to have been severed.
12. The hem of Prince George’s blue sweater looks improved.
13. Princess Kate’s hand is out of focus, but the area around it is.
14. Princess Kate’s hair looks combed.
15. Princess Charlotte’s hair looks weirdly pulled back.
16. The sleeve of Prince George’s sweater has strange lines.

Sky News analyzed the metadata of the image file, claiming to have discovered evidence that Photoshop was used on the image.

Sky News said the image was saved twice in Photoshop on an Apple Mac, “but it is not clear whether it was saved on the same device.” The outlet said the image was first saved Friday night at 9:54 p.m. and again Saturday morning at 9:39 a.m. The same time was reported by the BBC.

Findings from the outlet also confirmed that the photo was taken at Adelaide Cottage, where the Prince and Princess of Wales family live in Windsor, with a Canon 5D Mark IV professional camera with a Canon 50mm lens.

Kate Middleton and her three children (L-R): Prince Louis, Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

The Prince and Princess of Wales/Instagram

Sky News science and technology editor Tom Clarke said in a video published on Monday: “Images can be manipulated, but modern cameras don’t lie…if you can access the metadata embedded in the image file, which we did.”

The portrait drew extra attention as the first official image released of Princess Kate following her abdominal surgery on January 16. The hype is only heightened by the fact that the Princess of Wales has not been out in public since Christmas, and Kensington Palace He said she “probably won’t return to public duties until after Easter.”

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 at Sandringham on December 25, 2023.

Samir Hussein/WireImage

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The AP issued a “takedown notice” for the image, writing in an alert to reporters that upon “closer review, it appears the source has tampered with the image. A replacement photo will not be sent,” according to a screenshot shared by the royals on X reporter Chris Ship.

Competitors also made similar statements. A Reuters spokesman said: “The source of yesterday’s photo said she was experimenting with editing. The altered photo did not meet Reuters’ image quality standards and that is why we pulled it yesterday.”

PA Media reportedly became the fifth photo agency to release the footage from its archives on Monday. In a statement, the agency explained: “Like other news agencies, PA Media yesterday released in good faith an image of the Princess of Wales and her children that was provided by Kensington Palace.”

“We have become aware of the concerns about the image and published a report on it last night, making it clear that we are seeking urgent clarification of the image from Kensington Palace,” the PA continued. “In the absence of that clarification, we are killing the image from our image service.”

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According to the BBC, AP, Reuters, Getty, AFP and PA will no longer publish the image of the Princess of Wales and her children.

Although the palace released the image presumably in hopes of dispelling rumors about Princess Kate’s health that have been circulating online, Mark Borkowski, a public relations and crisis communications expert based in London, tells PEOPLE that the controversy surrounding the image “made things worse.”

“Now some people are wondering if it’s all AI generated or if it’s Photoshopped photos. It’s not something you want a royal brand to be aligned with,” he says.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education