'Pretty limited in what we can do': Royal photo editing back in the spotlight as photographers reveal what is and isn't allowed

Royal photo re-touching is back in the spotlight thanks to new exhibition at Buckingham Palace, which includes a section on the subject.

However, with the Royal Portraits: A Century of Photography exhibition some three years in the making, it's unlikely to have been added to the display off the back of the controversy around the Princess of Wales' photoshopping of a family photo.

Royal photographers, brothers Zak and Samir Hussein, who also have their own photography exhibition currently on in Sydney spoke to 9honey about the realities of altering royal images - including what is, and what isn't, allowed.

READ MORE: Unseen photos of Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret feature in new royal exhibition

"It's pretty clear what we're allowed to do – we're allowed to basically use darkroom techniques," Samir, who has also taken official portraits of members of the royal family, tells 9honey in London.

Explaining what darkroom techniques entail, he explains: "So what photographers in the days when they were shooting film used to do in the dark rooms.

"We're pretty limited in what we can do, it's sort of a basic crop, maybe a bit of colour correcting and that's how we edit our photos basically.

"Sometimes you look at picture and you think 'Oh, if I crop it like this, it will stand out more, this will be more impactful'. So it's usually, if I'm honest, when looking back at the picture that's taken, that's the first thing I look at – how can this be cropped to make it have the impact that it should really."

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Zak, who has taken many famous images of Prince Harry and Meghan along with other members of the royal family, agrees, saying photographers try to get the shot right as often as possible to reduce any need for editing later.

"You try and get it right first time around when you're taking the picture," he tells 9honey.

"Ideally, you don't want to have to do too much to the picture but yeah, it's very basic what we do.

"I think cropping is really important because you're trying to find the best version of that picture, so if it means cropping in tighter to make it a nice portrait or keeping it wider to show more in what's going on in the event.

"It's pretty basic what we do to the picture because it's all about when you take the picture, you're looking through the viewfinder [and] that's when you want to get it right."

Darkroom techniques such as cropping and framing out backgrounds or brightening up levels are also explored in The King's Gallery exhibition, which runs until October 6.

The descriptions next to marked up negatives show the process is nothing new, with one label stating: "retouching is an essential part of photography.

"Analogue retouching can occur at three stages: Modifying the negative, Manipulating the image during printing, direct retouching on the final print."

The section also includes a letter from Princess Margaret's husband, Lord Snowden, a photographer who states that "something will have to be done about the halo of leaves round the top of Prince Philip's head" in one photo of Queen Elizabeth II's young family.

Another label states: "While some photographers prefer to retouch before providing the first proofs, others only do so on the selected portraits. Retouching may also be requested by the sitter."

The question surrounding the editing of royal images came to the forefront after Catherine, Princess of Wales admitted to photoshopping a family photo taken by husband Prince William which was released for UK Mother's Day in March.

The shot of Kate and her three children was later pulled from multiple international photo agencies, who issued a "kill notice" to their subscribers, labelling the image "manipulated" and prompting an apology from the royal.

"Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing," the Princess of Wales wrote in a rare personal statement issued on social media.

"I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused."

Zak and Samir's images of Kate and many other members of the younger generation of royals have been included alongside shots of Princess Diana, taken by their famous photographer dad, Anwar Hussein, as part of the Princess Diana: Accredited Access Exhibition currently on in Sydney.

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