Harry and Meghan's photographer denies photo editing claims
By Madhurima Haque|
P?rince Harry and Meghan Markle's photographer Misan Harriman has defended himself against claims the Sussex couple's pregnancy announcement photo from 2021 was "doctored".
Multiple media outlets alleged the image จC which saw Harry sitting in their garden with Meghan lying in his lap, both of them smiling จC was edited to change the surrounding greenery, including the superimposing of a "willow tree" in the background.
After the controversy emerged, Harriman posted a video hitting out against the claims made by the outlets.
Watch the video above.?
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Harriman said the outlets claimed he was "switching out trees and meadows", which they said he "admitted to" in a podcast episode of Private Passions hosted by Michael Berkeley.
He said the host "asked me a few leading questions in this interview," explaining "some journalists... make a statement as fact and they hope you respond or add something to it. I get that a lot in regards to Harry and Meghan... And that's exactly what happened."
Harriman explained to Berkeley that he had taken the photo via a virtual shoot, a common practice during lockdowns.
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"The technology allows you to take over a phone or iPad and they can hear my voice and I can still press a shutter and compose with ease,"? he explained to Berkeley in an audio clip of the 2022 interview he played.
Berkeley then asked him of the photo, "They weren't actually under a willow tree, they were lying outside in a meadow, Harry and Meghan, when you took a photo of them?"
Harriman answered with, "They were lost in, in their life at home, in their garden, comfortable celebrating new joy, new life... And so it really was a particularly joyous image to celebrate life itself."
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"So, how that exchange could amount to me admitting to doctoring an image is insidious and really dangerous journalism. Any mention of meadows and willow trees came out of the person doing the interview, not my mouth. I did my best to ignore it and focus on what I wanted to talk about," he clarified in his video.
"To see an article saying - as fact - that I did what I did not do is extraordinary to me. And then to try and merge it with this current news cycle...is tragic to see.
"It was a virtual shoot that I shot on an iPad - an eight megapixel iPad - and the only thing that was changed is the black and white colour? grade. That's it."
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He then said the media "has to be better than this. It's dangerous and unacceptable behaviour?."
Afterwards he released the original unaltered image in colour, as well as a screenshot of the metadata, showing the only alteration was changing the colour to black and white.
"No trees or meadows were moved or swapped, this is the image straight out of camera," he wrote. "Also that is a Jacaranda Tree, not a willow tree."
Harriman added he "expect(s) a full apology and retraction" from the media personnel who made the original claims.
