The Princess of Wales’ Mother’s Day portrait is so full of errors it should never have seen the light of day, experts told today.
Prince William and Kate Middleton have been urged to release the original photo after at least 16 mysterious manipulations have been spotted in the 24 hours since its release.
The innocent Mother’s Day picture of the Princess of Wales and her three children has sparked an international scandal after most of the world’s major picture agencies ‘killed’ the image and questioned its integrity.
Kate apologised for her editing skills today but experts have had their say on what they think has happened and how the picture was digitally altered.
Some believe the Princess of Wales used an AI tool such as ‘Best Take’ found on a top of the range £1,059 Google Pixel 8 phone, which merges a burst of pictures into one perfected image to ensure all those in the images are smiling and have their eyes open, for example. But this can lead to blurred lines and glitches in final images.
Others have blamed ‘sloppy’ use of Photoshop or other computer software such as Topaz routinely used to improve images.
One photographer told today that the public can be sure of about the controversial image is that Kate was sat with her children for the portrait. But Katie Mortimore believes it was then ‘manipulated’ tremendously to create the ‘perfect family photo’.
Paul Clarke said he wondered if it was so drastically changed that even ‘snot on a sleeve’ of a royal child or another mark may have been removed to perfect every element of the final released image.
can reveal the verdicts of leading experts from around the world about the ‘CuffGate’ scandal, so named because Princess Charlotte’s left hand is misaligned with the sleeve of her cardigan, casting doubt on the authenticity of the image and leading to the rare ‘kill notice’ for a royal picture.
EPA are among the agencies to ‘kill and delete’ alert amid questions about how heavily edited the photo of Kate on Mother’s Day with her children really was
Charlotte’s floating left wrist is believed to be the reason that picture was pulled
has found at least 16 potential issues with the photo
Photo is manipulated using two or more pictures and software
Photographer Katie Mortimore believes the photo has been heavily changed using software.
She said: ‘The photo is clearly manipulated. What is not clear is if it is a combination of two similar frames to look its best or is a fabrication in parts.
‘I personally am fairly confident the Princess of Wales was sat in the chair with her children but without her arms around them. To be fair with recent major abdominal surgery that sort of reach of both arms would likely be painful.
‘I don’t believe this is the first manipulated image from the palace BUT this coincides with the Princess’ illness so only raises more questions rather than dispelling them.
‘The palace would be best to release the raw image to agencies but I would be surprised to see it happen. Why did the image get manipulated? I suspect the Princess did it as a keen photographer wanting to create a near perfect family photo’.
Google Pixel AI used
Patrick Whitty, who takes pictures for the New York Times, TIME and National Geographic tweeted: ‘My guess is that it was taken with the Google Pixel 8, with the “Best Take” feature, which chooses the “best face” for each person and automatically merges them into one photo.
‘There are so many red flags in this photo from Kensington Palace. Surprised the wires would move it’.
Cleaned up with a ‘clone tool’
Freelance photographer Paul Bevan tweeted: ‘I don’t think it’s dodgy. Someone was trying to clean the photo up a bit and used the clone tool and did not use it very well and they were pushed for time to get the photo out. I’d like to see the original version’.
Images taken at a single shoot were combined
Jon Mills, Group Picture Editor of SWNS, the UK’s second largest press agency told : ‘However the Palace ended up releasing this particular image it’s really clumsy editing, it wasn’t done by a professional.
‘But the quality of the image is consistent so my best guess is that elements from images taken at a single shoot were combined. It probably shows the pressure the Prince of Wales is under to show his family in the best light rather than any attempt to deceive’.
Removal of snot on a sleeve?
Paul Clarke, one of Britain’s most experience photographers, said that problems may have been caused by the search for a perfect picture, and perhaps trying to clean up imperfections.
‘Here we have puzzling decisions about the picture’s creation and it’s sloppy editing (a bit of snot on the sleeve? who knows) that just don’t make much sense’, he tweeted.
‘There are numerous 100%-certain photographic manipulations easily visible on that Kate photo. What were they thinking?’