Royal photographer Arthur Edwards weighs in on Kate Middleton photo scandal

Arthur Edwards, who has been a royal photographer since the 1970s, has weighed in on Princess Catherine’s photoshop saga. Have your say.

Digitally altering any picture for public consumption is not okay.

It’s fine if you’re doing it for personal use but to distribute an altered image for an international news agencies is wrong.

In this day of modern technology, artificial intelligence can produce any picture it wants. And if a picture is found to be interfered with, then of course it should be banned. The agencies were right to ban Kate’s photograph. It was manipulated, although it was done with the right intentions.

It was a mistake, that’s all it was. It’s not a national tragedy after all it was only a picture.

Royal photographer Arthur Edwards. Picture: Getty Images

This is not about the press getting back at the royals for years of having to abide by their tight publication rules.

It escalated in the media because it’s a member of the royal family. And it’s Catherine.

She’s a megastar of the royal family. With the King out of action and her out of action, there has been a huge void in the royal coverage.

Photoshop is a beautiful piece of software.

You can use it to crop the image, sharpen and lighten it, but you can’t alter the image at all. You can’t even take the red eye out of the picture if you put it out on an international agency. Those are the rules but she obviously doesn’t know those.

The photoshopped image of Kate Middleton the Princess of Wales with children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. Picture: Kensington Palace/Instagram

We’re asking an awful lot of Kate to share her pictures – she’s got enough on her plate after undergoing a serious operation, managing three children in a household and her patronages.

But instead of hiding behind some vague comment, she just said it straight out, ‘sorry for the confusion’ … and said she got it wrong.

To me, always, first impressions count. I didn’t forensically examine Kate’s picture, I needed to need to. In the future maybe I will.

But she won’t do it again. You know, it’s a mistake. When you make mistakes, we learn from our mistakes.

I thought it was a beautiful photograph and was quite overcome by it.

Carry on snapping Kate, because, you know, your pictures are very, very good. And no one’s in a better position than parents to capture their happiest moments on camera.

– as told to Danielle Gusmaroli.

– Arthur Edwards has been a royal photographer with The Sun newspaper in the UK since 1977.

Originally published as Royal photographer Arthur Edwards weighs in on Kate Middleton photo scandal