A photographer who captured a black and white portrait of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle has responded to claims he edited a willow tree into the background of the shot.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were caught up in the royal photo editing furore after the Princess of Wales admitted to retouching a Mother's Day photograph, sparking a global discussion about the ethics of photo editing. images.
In the wake of Kate's revelations, it was claimed that a large willow tree was added to the portrait of Harry and pregnant Meghan, taken on Valentine's Day by acclaimed artist Misan Harriman.
But Harriman has since criticized the claims, posting on X/Twitter that such suggestions were false.
He said: “Apparently it was changing trees and meadows. And I admitted it on an episode of a podcast called Private Passions. This is crazy.”
He added: “How so? [podcast] The exchange could mean that I admit that manipulating an image is insidious.”
Hariman also accused the podcast host of using leading questions, which he said he tried to ignore before denying any tinkering. He then shared the original image complete with a willow tree in the background.
The Princess of Wales's photo-editing faux pas put a number of other royal photos in the spotlight, and CNN and other photo agencies plan to review their back catalogues.
(Duke and Duchess of Sussex)
Meanwhile, sources at Page Six, an American tabloid site, claimed that Meghan “would never make that mistake” and that the Sussexes “would have been wiped out” if they had handed over edited photos of themselves.
Harriman, a photographer and close friend of Meghan, took the black and white photograph in her California garden. He later shared how he took the photograph thousands of miles from London using special technology on her iPad, which allowed him to instruct the couple in their poses and press the shutter remotely.
The original image before being converted to black and white.
(Misan Harriman @misanharriman/Twitter)
In 2022, during an appearance on BBC Radio 3's Private Passions podcast, he was asked about photography.
He said on the show: “It's amazing what you can do with technology.”
When the presenter asked the photographer if they were under a willow tree, he admitted that they were lying in a meadow.
The edited photograph that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge shared on Mother's Day
(Prince of Wales )
Harriman said: “They were lost in their love, at home, in their garden, comfortable, celebrating a new joy.
In another interview, she told Vogue: “With the tree of life behind them and the garden representing fertility, life and advancement, they needed no direction, because they are, and always have been, dancing through life together.” as absolute beings. soulmates.”
“When you see people who have the connection that they have, it's like reading the pages of a book.”
