How similar are Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle’s beach clips?

Prince William and Kate Middleton opted for ‘casual’ poses and ‘wistful’ colour filters compared to the ambiguous black and white snap of Meghan Markle and son Archie on the sand, photography experts claim. 

Kate Middleton, 39, and Prince William, 38, posted a short clip to the Kensington Royal Instagram page showing themselves enjoying the great outdoors as they thanked supporters for sending ‘kind messages’ on their tenth wedding anniversary.

Joined by their three children – Prince George, seven, Princess Charlotte, five, and Prince Louis, three – the clip gives an unprecedented glimpse into their family life.

They are seen embracing the company of their children as they climb the sand dunes on the beach in Norfolk, sit around the campfire toasting marshmallows in the countryside and play in the garden of their Anmer Hall residence.  

The beach scene has drawn comparisons to similar candid footage shared by Meghan Markle and Prince Harry of son Archie playing on a beach, which was aired during their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey. 

Speaking exclusively to FEMAIL, Aina Gomez, Lead Photographer at Family Memento, commented: ‘Meghan Markle’s photo at the beach is the one that looks more staged. In fact, as a photographer, I do shots like this one.’ 

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge used a soft colour filter to lend the image a romanticism and wistfulness in an image of Kate carrying Prince Louis up the sand dunes that was shown in a clip from their tenth wedding anniversary montage. Pictured, on a beach in Norfolk 

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry shared candid footage of Archie playing on a beach during their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey. Pictured, on a beach in LA

She continued: ‘It is a great way to get that motion while not looking posed – which is not the same as staged, let me add. It is also in black and white, which highlights the fact that some thought has been put into the postproduction of the photo.’  

Lauren Pinhorn, Branding & Portrait Photographer from Buckingham, noted that while both images show a mother and her son, there are obvious differences – including the filters. 

‘One is black and white whilst the other has a soft, slightly de-saturated, colour filter over it,’ she explained. 

THE MAN BEHIND THE CAMERA: WHO IS WILL WARR?  

Will is the owner and creative director of Detail Films, which largely produces branded films and creative campaigns for corporate companies. He also does wedding videos – and has beautifully captured the loving relationship between William and Kate.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge chose London-based advertising filmmaker Will Warr, pictured, to capture their tenth anniversary video

Brands he’s worked with include Uber Eats, Red Bull, Miele, Bloom & Wild, Diageo, ergobaby, Puma and Holland Cooper. The slick advertising filmmaker was also behind the recent Tesco Food Love Stories ads.

It’s perhaps telling that William and Kate opted for a videographer of his experience to adeptly present ‘brand Cambridge’ – and if the brief was to capture a ‘normal’ down-to-earth loving family unit with a passion for the outdoors, he has certainly succeeded.

According to his website, after training as a designer Will set out on a ‘one-man mission to create beautiful, engaging visual content’ – and five years on has ‘a portfolio of world-leading clients with whom he creates story-led branded content, corporate films and commercials’.

From creative design and artistic direction through to post-production, including animation and sound design, Will and his team ‘build close working relationships with clients from initial concept through to high value finished product’.

He’s also one half of film production duo Topjaw, where along with his friend Jesse, he produces videos of ‘his favourite things to eat, drink and do’.

Will, who now boasts 11,700 followers on Instagram and counting, is followed by Made in Chelsea’s Jamie Laing – having produced content for his brand Candy Kittens – and Matt Porteous, the award-winning Royal Family photographer who captured images of the Cambridge family used for their most recent official Christmas card.

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‘Black and white can be used to concentrate the viewer on the subject of the image, or to give it a slight sense of ambiguity, whereas the soft colour filter lends the other image a romanticism and wistfulness.’ 

After watching the footage, Lauren suggested the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s footage came across more ‘homemade, relaxed and natural.’

She explained: ‘Having seen The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s tenth anniversary video montage, it’s more styled and would therefore suggest more planned, meaning the nature of spontaneity is reduced, somewhat; This is shown by the use of soft music and slow motion.’

Both lovely in their own right, they definitely show the distinct styles of both families and how they wish to portray themselves.’     

Photographer Andy Gotts noted: ‘Once upon a time ago we used to say photos don’t lie, now we know they can.’

‘Even what looks like an off-the-cuff holiday snap that has been captured in haste, now can “look” that way but behind the scenes there has been efforts to look that way.’

He went on to note that taking both the two photographic images at face value, they are both happy random family snaps – with the mothers wanting to place the focus on their children.

‘They are actually very similar in many ways,’ he explained. ‘Both of the mothers are avoiding eye contact with the camera, which usually alludes to the fact the person doesn’t want to feel they are the centre of the photograph. 

‘In these cases the obvious stars of the show are the children.’

He added: ‘The colour shot has a slight more constructed look, like the pair are getting ready for a photo, wheres the monochrome shot does look like a more traditional random shot that was just taken during a walk on the beach.’

‘Colour photos are usually more for a family album or for Grandmother to put on her mantelpiece. 

‘A black and white shot is usually taken for the “art” aspect where you put a nice frame around it and hang it on a wall.’

It comes after a photographer revealed the sharp differences between portraits released by the ‘honest’ Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the ‘PR-minded Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Portrait photographer Glenn Gratton told FEMAIL Prince William and Kate Middleton’s photograph, which was taken by celebrity snapper Chris Floyd, best known for his Britpop portraits of the 1990s, was ‘a lovely, straighforward’ image.

By sharing a couple’s portrait, the couple followed in the footsteps of Prince Harry, 36, and Meghan Markle, 39, with the snap, who recently released two black and white photos to announce Meghan’s pregnancy, posing in the grounds of their $14 million Californian mansion in front of a ‘tree of life.’

Photographer Glenn said the ‘clear differences’ between the two images in terms of poses and editing indicated their approaches to royal life, explaining: ‘It shows the two brothers are looking for different things in terms of public relations and people’s perception of them as people.’

He said that while ‘neither can be criticised’, William and Kate’s photos look more natural, while ‘PR conscious’ Harry and Meghan’s appear to be staged.  

Tender moment: Kate and William hold hands in a new image captured in the garden at Kensington Palace. Pictured, Kate opted for a £195 bohemian-style blue patterned wrap dress by Ghost, while Prince William donned a familiar blue jumper and shirt

Prince William and Kate followed in the footsteps of Prince Harry, 36, and Meghan Markle, 39, with the snap, who shared several pictures last month as they posed in the grounds of their $14 million Californian mansion in front of a ‘tree of life’. Misan Harriman released this photo of the couple hours after their bombshell Oprah interview where they revealed they’re having a girl

To mark their tenth anniversary today, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have released two stunning new portraits taken this week at Kensington Palace.

The couple turned to celebrity snapper Chris Floyd, best known for his Britpop portraits of the 1990s, including Oasis, Supergrass and The Verve, as well as Sir Paul McCartney, David Bowie and artist David Hockney.

Kate and William are pictured standing in the courtyard at their official London residence as well as sitting in the garden. In each, it is clear the couple have an easy, affectionate confidence with each other.

A youthful Kate, 39, is wearing a bohemian-style blue patterned Avery wrap dress by Ghost costing £195. William, 38, is smart casual in a blue jumper and shirt. The duchess’s hair is styled into waves instead of the more formal dark curls she favoured early in their marriage – William would be the first to admit, jokingly, he simply has noticeably less hair. 

Photographers have revealed the sharp differences between portraits released by the Cambridges and the Sussexes after Kate Middleton and Prince William posed in front of a tree, weeks after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle did the same 

Glenn contrasted the images with snaps shared earlier this year by Prince Harry and Meghan, who also chose to pose in front of a tree, in the grounds of their incredible Santa Barbara mansion. 

One of the black and white images showed the couple sat under a tree in Los Angeles, with Harry resting his hand on Meghan’s head as she lay in his lap cradling her bump.

The couple released the photo earlier this year to announce that Meghan is pregnant with their second child. 

Meanwhile another image shared on International Women’s Day showed Prince Harry cradling Meghan while she held their son Archie in her arms. 

It was released by photographer Misan Harriman within hours of their bombshell Oprah interview, where they announced they were expecting a girl. 

At the time, the importance of the backdrop was highlighted by photographer Misan Harriman, who talked in an interview about the ‘tree of life’ and the ‘garden representing fertility, life and moving forward’. 

Prince William and Kate followed in the footsteps of Prince Harry, 36, and Meghan Markle, 39, with the snap, who shared several pictures last month as they posed in the grounds of their $14 million Californian mansion in front of a ‘tree of life’. Misan Harriman released this photo of the couple hours after their bombshell Oprah interview where they revealed they’re having a girl

Vogue photographer Harriman claimed that Meghan and Harry were ‘so comfortable chatting and being in the moment that they were not fully aware that he was shooting a piece of history’. 

However Glenn disagreed with the photographer, saying: ‘So the difference is quite clear because Harry and Megan are so very conscious and PR-minded with many of their images that they send out.’

The photographer said the Duke and Duchess’ picture was far from candid, adding: ‘These images are usually black and white for a start- and quite a lot of post production work has been done – discreetly but clearly been done on their images.’

Meanwhile he called the images of Kate and William ‘beautiful’, adding: ‘Neither can be criticised, but for sure William and Kate aren’t trying so much, with a more honest straightforward approach to their images that get sent out to the public.’ 

Glenn also revealed Prince Harry and Meghan appeared ‘posed’ and said the images from their photoshoot appeared to have been staged.

He said Kate and Prince William appeared to be sitting ‘more naturally’ together and said he thought the couple looked ‘relaxed’. 

One of the black and white images shared by the Sussexes showed the couple sat under a tree in Los Angeles, with Harry resting his hand on Meghan’s head as she lay in his lap cradling her bump. The couple released the image to announce that they’re expecting their second child 

Meanwhile he added: ‘Harry and Megan are so posed and too considered, yet William and Kate are more naturally sitting relaxed with each other because it’s not staged.’ 

Aina Gomez, Lead Photographer at Family Memento agreed, saying: ‘The main difference therefore would be that Kate Middleton and Prince William’s photo focuses on them and their love but Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s photo tells more of a complex story, one with plots and subplots.

‘If you ask me which is more posed, I’d have to say it’s Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s.’

Navid Razazi, founder and CEO of photo-sharing platform YouPic explained: “While they may appear similar on first inspection, both images use a floral backdrop to convey very different messages.

‘Immersed and almost camouflaged in the surrounding foliage, Harry and Meghan are part of a heavily curated image designed to symbolise a oneness with nature and health that also evokes a sense of freedom. 

‘Meanwhile, in contrast, the image of William and Kate has been intentionally cropped to remove the wider landscape of the Kensington Palace gardens, so as to not distract from the two subjects. 

‘The out of focus backdrop of greenery provides the image with a semblance of the organic and genuine, designed to indicate the nature of their relationship.’