Gosh now I lost all the things I wanted to reply to from the last thread. Ok, I don't consider any photo I see as not being photoshopped. Their wedding picture from 2011 looks wonky. Even the first picture of George taken by Michael Middleton looks strange and it's not because of the bad lighting.
I'm glad papers are finally starting to talk about how ridiculous this whole thing is. I don't care about hands, are the faces real? Are the kids real? Are the poses real? Good enough for me. If I had photography skills I would go thru every photo published by AP and Reuters that is clearly photoshopped.
If William and the palace did request that the photo of Carole and Kate in the car not be published then I theorize this hoopla is revenge for not allowing a photographer to take the photo. If it was really about "is Kate ok" then seeing 3 images of her that shows she's ok would have been the headline. But it's not about concern for Kate, it's about access, privacy, a narrative, and control.
Kate has been the public eye for more than 20 years and has genuine fans who care about her welfare. The fans agree that Kate is entitled to privacy, but the communication strategy or the lack thereof has been a disaster. Even genuine fans of Kate (not trolls) are now worried about Kate b/c the communication has been so bad! This is about
the incompetence of Palace Staff (or maybe Kate&William if they insisted on this strategy). Their lack of strategy and understanding how PR works in the modern world is laughable and concerning. It is a case study of how
not to communicate. Every time they try to pivot just make it worse.
Why try to supress the publication of that picture of Kate in Carole Middleton's car? Just b/c British papers don't publish, doesn't mean people can't see it. We all have smart phones and computers. This comes across as arrogant at best and shady at worst. What are they trying to hide? That Kate looks a bit puffy? It just gives fuel to conspiracy theories.
Now we have a second picture of Kate in a car. Only, she is looking away, so nobody can be sure it is Kate. All we see is brown hair and neck. If this is an "authorized" picture because it was published by British tabloids, then Kate & Willliam must have known ahead of time that a picture would be taken. Kate could not bother to look at the camera instead of a brick wall? To give a little wave to indicate she is alive? What a joke!
It is not about the photoshop itself but trying to distribute it via AP/Reuters, etc. Someone
should know that this photo does not meet the standards of international photo agencies. These are
journalists, not
sycophants. If the palace just posted on Instagram or twitter, there won't be kill notice issued by AP, etc.
Kate's entire persona is about being perfect. Less than 8 hours after giving birth, she stood before us with perfect hair and makeup, not a thing out of place. I wish someone could tell her to relax. It is okay to look a little worse for wear, she just had major surgery! A picture like that would have elicited sympathy rather than ridicule.