The Princess of Wales has been open about her passion for photography, and Kensington Palace has often released candid pictures taken by Kate to mark special occasions.

Dating back as far as 2015, Kate has taken pictures for birthdays, Christmas and Father’s Days – including taking the first official picture released of Princess Charlotte, along with her brother Prince George, in 2015.

She even launched a project during lockdown called Hold Still in which she encouraged members of the public to submit photos of their lives during the pandemic.

The winning images formed part of a virtual exhibition with the National Portrait Gallery, of which the princess is a patron.

Sunday’s controversial Mother’s Day photograph – which Kate has taken the blame for editing – however appears to be the first time Prince William has had one of his images published.

The photograph was pulled from major picture agencies after concerns were raised over manipulation of the image, which captured Kate and her three children.

Read more:
Kate pictured with William after photo controversy
The major questons raised over ‘manipulated’ photo
Photo agency unimpressed by editing

Here, Sky News looks back on a selection of Kate’s images over the years.

The princess captured her only daughter Princess Charlotte and published the photograph ahead of her eighth birthday last May.

In April last year, Kensington Palace published a photograph taken by Kate of the late Queen with some of her grandchildren and great grandchildren on what would have been her 97th birthday.

For Charlotte’s seventh birthday in 2022, the princess released three pictures of Charlotte, including one with the family dog.

Four pictures taken on a beach were released for Prince Louis‘s fourth birthday in 2022.

For Prince George’s eighth birthday in 2021, the then Duchess of Cambridge released this picture of the young royal.

When the Queen guest edited a special edition of Country Life magazine in 2022, Kate was on hand to take the front page photo, with the magazine also providing a backstage picture of the princess at work (click to the third image).

Kate captured the then Queen and Prince Philip with seven of their great grandchildren in Balmoral Castle in 2018.

For Father’s Day in 2020, the palace released an image of the now King and Prince William.

From children carrying stacks of bricks on their heads in dusty kilns, to youngsters breathing in dangerous dust in gold mines, Lisa Kristine has photographed child labor from South Asia to West Africa.

Ahead of #MyFreedomDay, a day-long student-driven event to raise awareness of modern slavery, she spoke with CNN about her work and its impact.

The interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

CNN: What first inspired your idea to work with victims of modern slavery?

Lisa Kristine: I have been documenting humanity around the world for the last 30-plus years in so many countries and when I first learned that modern-day slavery existed, I was struck by the very idea that I didn’t know. My whole occupation is based on seeing others, and I totally missed it. So it sort of shook up my trajectory a little bit and I began really focusing on modern-day slavery and child labor. Because I felt like, gosh, if I didn’t know it exists, how many others don’t know?

CNN: How did it impact you when you first started documenting modern slavery?

Lisa Kristine: When you’re actually on the front lines and you’re seeing very intimately how people are treated and what they have to endure without pause or break frequently and for so many hours a day, it’s pretty heart-wrenching. Especially when you see kids who could otherwise be in school and gaining an education.

CNN: How do children respond to you taking their picture? Are they worried or are they excited, like most children are, to have their picture taken?

Lisa Kristine: The children responded in different situations, in different ways. I never photograph without permission, so I’m always in there with abolitionists who have brought me in and I suppose that imbues some sort of trust within them. So I felt like the kids were, for the most part, really open as children often are. Sometimes they would be excited if they had the spaciousness emotionally to get excited. And sometimes you could tell they were a little nervous, especially on Lake Volta [in Ghana], when they’re forced to work on bodies of water when they don’t even know how to swim. And they’re very cognizant about trying to keep focused on not toppling over [their fishing boats], so those situations have to be dealt with in such a sensitive way.

CNN: What were some of the most difficult images you documented?

Lisa Kristine: So much of what children are expected to do in terms of child labor, whether it’s abroad or in the United States, is treacherous. You’ve got kids in the US working on construction sites or in auto-making plants and there are kids working in gold mines in Ghana which are extremely dangerous – breathing in constantly the dust that’s coming up from the mines and from the breaking of the stone containing the gold.

It’s extremely sad to see children who are forced to work in brothels, whether they’re helping out in the brothel or they’re being forced to sell their young body. There aren’t too many circumstances where you see kids in positive situations when they’re laboring in some of these places. Equally so in textile factories – kids are working on these looms that are extremely powerful and their fingers could get snapped off. That’s deeply sad. I saw children carrying stone that weighs more than their own body weight down the Himalayan range.

CNN: How have these experiences impacted you?

Lisa Kristine: When I initially saw slavery and forced labor existing, it was in the brick kilns. And the heat was so strong and where you’d see these kids, as well as elders, stooped over and covered entirely in this brick dust. You know, you just see them with these kind of deadpan eyes, stacking bricks on their heads and walking to trucks nearby. And it really did strike me. I remember I started to have a little tear come down my face and somebody was like, Lisa you can’t do that. The abolitionist was like, “it’s not safe for you or them and you’ve got to stop.” But I think when you see people working really hard, when you know that they don’t have a choice and it’s a dangerous space in which they’re forced to labor, then it’s really sad.

CNN: I’ve been to a lot of the same places that you’ve documented in your work, but I’m always surprised by how dramatic and poignant they appear in your photography. What do you look for when you when you’re taking a photo?

Lisa Kristine: Well, I make my work very intuitively. So the obvious thing is that I’m looking for, in this case, child labor but I think I’m drawn to just the spirit of who somebody is. It’s really what I see to be visually moving and it’s all very instantaneous and fast for me.

CNN: What was your idea for incorporating hands and candles in your “Shine Light on Slavery” series?

Lisa Kristine: Whenever I was in the field working and documenting people when they’re forced labor, I would also bring these bundles of candles that I’d shove in my backpack. And then if there was a moment where it was safe for them and also safe for me, I would pull out these candles and with my translator, explain what we were doing and really quickly make these images. Like within 30 seconds, they were no-nonsense, very fast images. But the intention behind them of course was to shine a light on these people’s issues and I let them know that people would be seeing their images, that I would share their stories as much as possible and help them as much as possible.

CNN: What would you say you’ve learned from your travels and expeditions regarding forced child labor?

Lisa Kristine: When you think about the millions of kids that are forced to work, I think a lot of people have ideas that families are poor and that the kids will help out the family. And it’s all in good faith. And sometimes it is. But more than that, children are offered these jobs and forced to work without pay or very little pay. And what that does is take part of the work away from their parents and adults that could otherwise do those jobs and bring home a living while the kids go to school. I also feel like child labor happens so much more frequently than we imagine. Even here in the United States, there’s like 10 states over the last few years that have been pushing for legislation to loosen the labor laws for kids, and kids are getting killed and corporations are not taking responsibility for it and I think it’s a pretty scary situation.

CNN: What is the response you get from kids when they see these kinds of images?

Lisa Kristine: Absolute and utter empathy. I find that sharing the images of slavery and forced labor, especially when it has to do with kids, has a profound impact on young people and that they actually experience, many of them, a feeling of guilt. Because they’re safe at home and they’re going to school and these other kids who are exactly their age … I think they have a lot of heart around it.

CNN: What would you like people to take away from your work documenting forced child labor?

Lisa Kristine: I would like that when we see a child, if they’re in a circumstance of forced labor, to recognize that they are our child, that all children are our children. And, that we owe it to them and to ourselves to help them.

American photographer Keisha Scarville has today been awarded the coveted new Saltzman Prize, an arts award presented in cooperation with the Center for Photography at Woodstock (CPW) and PHOTOFAIRS New York.

Keisha’s work was recognised for reflecting the symbolism of Caribbean and African diasporic figures and the immigrant experience of her Guyanese-American parents. Notable examples include her important series Mama’s Clothes, in which she created portraits using her deceased mother’s clothing.

The prize, which pays tribute to art patrons and designers Ralph and Muriel Saltzman, sees Keisha receive a $10,000 award and additional funds to support a solo exhibition of her work at the Javits Center on September 6–8, 2024.

“It is a wonderful honour to be awarded the inaugural Saltzman Prize,” said Keisha. “Photography has been my obsession from the first time I stepped into a darkroom. It has brought me solace and entangled me at the same time. I feel the utmost gratitude to be the recipient of an award that advances and fosters the path for future image makers.”

The Saltzman Award is the latest accolade for Keisha, who was recently shortlisted for the Aperture/Paris Photo First PhotoBook Award for her book lick of tongue, rub of finger, on soft wound. This title reflects on her artistic journey and her family history via materials such as stone, water, skin and fabric.

All of these materials and other textures tie back into how the land acts as “a platform for movement; a movement that one must take to begin a journey and re-emerge.” Keisha’s parents undertook such journeys while immigrating from Guyana, and she herself took many trips back and forth from the United States to Guyana.

Keisha is currently an adjunct faculty member at the International Center of Photography and
Parsons School of Design in New York. Her work has previously been exhibited at the Studio Museum of Harlem, the Huxley-Parlour Gallery in London, and ICA Philadelphia. She has also participated in artist residencies at the Center for Photography at Woodstock, Vermont Studio Center, Lightwork, and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Workspace Program, plus many more.

“Our nominators and jurors for the Saltzman Prize were nothing short of impressive, and their selection of Keisha Scarville as the inaugural recipient of the Prize is a monumental acknowledgement of her sheer talent and artistic ambition,” said Lisa Saltzman, Founder of the Saltzman Family Foundation and the Saltzman Prize.

“I am beyond proud to present Scarville with this prize, which I hope will accelerate her photography career and enable her to receive further recognition for her talents.”

The judges for this year’s Saltzman Prize settled on a winner after each selecting two emerging artists to present as nominees. These nominators included MoMA curator Oluremi Onabanjo, British curator and cultural historian Mark Sealy, New York-based curator and writer Lyle Rexer, legendary American photographer Deana Lawson, and New York Times Opinion photo director Jacqueline Bates.

Keisha herself was then selected by a jury of three photography luminaries, including MacArthur fellow and photographer Deborah Willis, the President of the Magnum Foundation Susan Meiselas, and the Director of Asia Society Yasufumi Nakamori.

“We are delighted that our distinguished jury has selected Keisha Scarville as the recipient of the 2024 Saltzman Prize,” said Brian Wallis, CPW Executive Director. “Scarville was a participant in our Woodstock AIR residency in 2003, so her selection here, for the extraordinary work she has produced since then, is especially gratifying for all of us at CPW.

“We congratulate Keisha, and we thank CPW Trustee Lisa Saltzman for her generosity and foresight in acknowledging emerging photographers.”

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It’s the photo that’s got everyone talking, but what’s the problem with Kate Middleton’s Mother’s Day snap? If there even is one…

Several of the world’s biggest news agencies have pulled the picture of Kate, the Princess of Wales, and her three children from circulation after concerns were raised about image manipulation.

Kensington Palace shared the image on Sunday, making it the first official photo of the princess since her abdominal surgery nearly two months ago.

The start of 2024 has seen rife speculation over Kate’s whereabouts, with members of the public expressing concern for her health.

However, efforts to quieten the gossip backfired when royal observers noticed inconsistencies in the photo, leading to claims that it had been manipulated.

But is there a problem with the Royals using editing tools for their official photographs? And, more generally, when does the manipulation of an image become a moral issue?

Is the furore around the snap much ado about nothing? Or does it speak to a wider problem around transparency in the Royal Family?

Share your opinion by adding it in the comments and we’ll highlight the most insightful ones as they come in.

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Detail of Aerial Suspension, from the series Conjurations, 2009 by Clare Strand (see the original)

Eleanor Macnair began her Photographs Rendered in Play-Doh project on an experimental whim in 2013 and has since amassed both a large audience and an archive of nearly 400 recreated images. The images in Whilst The World Sleeps were created late at night using Play-Doh, an empty wine bottle as a rolling pin, a knife and a chopping board, creating an alternative photographic history. Whilst The World Sleeps is available from RRB books. A special edition with prints is also available