Lesson of Kate-Gate? Bad Photoshop = good publicity! Royals gain 110K followers

Three days ago the media was in uproar over image agencies issuing a so-called kill-notice over some fairly easily spotted Photoshopping in the Princess of Wales's family photo. Now the incident is in the rearview mirror, with an admission of "experiment[ing] with editing" made by the princess herself, the real lesson might be more interesting – the royal social media accounts have surged by a total of over 110,000 followers in the brief window since the image was posted.

Even on accounts with very large numbers of followers – @princeandprincessofwales on Instagram now has 15.2 million – that's a substantial jump in a short period. It's also been only one of a number of royal accounts to have gained, apparently as a result of the attention, including @theroyalfamiily.

Not only that, but with the exception of the usual lunatic fringe determined to find evidence of some kind of conspiracy, most have been broadly supportive. Photographer and technique writer James Paterson said there was "nothing nefarious going on" (though to be fair he wasn't impressed with the editing prowess!).

That seems to be apparent in the charts we've made using the Instrack.app platform too, with the average likes rising as well as the engagement rate after the posting of the image in question.

Now I'm not naïve enough to suggest that all amateur photographers can learn from Kate Middleton's apparently disastrous image editing and turn it into what, ultimately, seems to be – under the surface – something of a win, but there is still a lesson for non-professionals.

It's something a lot of photographers don't always like to admit – but most people are a lot more literate when it comes the processes of image editing than they were even a few years ago. And a lot more forgiving too. As one comment – with over a thousand likes – said "Who cares if it’s photoshopped or not!"

Whether all pros will agree is another matter.

(Note: The facts of this story, while accessible to everyone who cares to look, were pointed out to me by several sources, including, but not limited to, OnlineCasinos365 who have undertaken the research. I checked all the stats myself, hence the use of Instrack.app.)