WHEN I GOT THAT SHOT I THOUGHT... 'Bingo!'

All eyes immediately go to the bride in a wedding portrait, so you’d assume that a wedding photographer would want to make sure she’s looking absolutely perfect from top to toe. But for Hugo Burnand, who took the official portraits on Kate and William’s big day, it’s the imperfections that are truly beautiful.

That’s why, in his favourite shot of the wedding – one he dubbed The Tumble – it’s the details that weren’t smoothed out that he likes best. The Tumble, our main image to the right, features the bride and groom sitting with the bridesmaids and pageboys huddled around them. You can clearly see there is a crease in Kate’s skirt. ‘I love that,’ says Hugo. ‘I mean, it’s astonishing that it didn’t have more. I can’t believe what an excellent job the dress designer Sarah Burton did smoothing it out in no time at all, but there is that lovely crease.’

The hurried nature of the shot, taken at the last minute, helped achieve just what Hugo was aiming for. ‘I had this idea of them sitting down, and right at the end we decided to go for it. It was done in about three minutes, but I was so pleased with it. It’s spontaneous and I love the way the bridesmaids are positioned – one leaning in, one with her arm like this. Every expression, movement and position in that shot is natural. Everyone contributed something that was very special. When I got it I did think, “Bingo!”’

The little bridesmaids and their antics helped enliven even the most formal of his portraits from the Throne Room (see detail, overleaf). ‘What I love is that image isn’t perfect,’ he insists, referring to the shot of the wedding party with the bride and groom’s families. ‘If you look closely you can see that one of the bridesmaids, Eliza Lopes, has something bright pink in her hand. It’s a wiggly worm toy. Prince Harry gave it to her to keep her amused in the carriage, I think, and she wouldn’t let go of it. The point is that it illustrates how this wasn’t just a historical record, but an intimate one – of a family wedding.’

There are other details in the portraits – viewed by millions around the world as soon as they were released – that could be perceived as imperfections too. No lampshades coming out of people’s heads or untidy cables, but a plug socket does make an appearance. Most wouldn’t notice it, but Hugo and his team did. ‘There was a temptation to remove it with Photoshop, but I wouldn’t do that. I said, “No, no, no, no, no”, this is real, and we want people to see how real it is. A blemish is a very human thing.’

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THERE IS THAT LOVELY CREASE IN THE DRESS

The portrait Hugo dubbed ‘The Tumble’ and (inset) the Winterhalter painting whose pose it echoes