Kate Middleton photographs Camilla for Country Life cover with Canon EOS 5D IV

The Duchess of Cambridge's portrait of Camilla chosen for the cover of Country Life (Image credit: The Duchess of Cambridge for Country Life)

It's well known that Kate Middleton, HRH The Duchess of Cambridge, is a keen amateur photographer, crediting her love of photography to her grandfather. She is currently the patron of the Royal Photographic Society, and has been spotted with many brands of camera over years, including a Sony, Fujifilm and most often, Canon.

The Duchess of Cornwall has most recently put her photography skills into practice by taking cover images of Camilla, the HRH The Duchess of Cornwall, for a special anniversary issue of Country Life. The issue, set to be published on July 13 2022, is being guest-edited by the Duchess of Cornwall.

The charming portrait of HRH The Duchess of Cornwall was captured in the garden, to reflect her love for the countryside. She was photographed using natural light, and HRH The Duchess of Cambridge used a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with a Canon EF50mm f/1.2L USM, an incredibly popular lens for portraiture.

In terms of camera settings, a wide aperture of f/2.8 was used to throw the background into a blur and focus on the royal sitter, and along with a shutter speed of 1/800sec and ISO 320.

The cover of Country Life 13 July 2022, guest-edited by The Duchess of Cornwall. Credit: The Duchess of Cambridge for Country Life — The cover image of Country Life captured by HRH The Duchess of Cambridge (Image credit: The Duchess of Cambridge for Country Life)

According to Paula Lester, Country Life’s Managing and Features Editor, The Duchess of Cambridge was incredibly professional about the assignment, talking through the elements of shoot ahead of time. It took place at Ray Mill House in Lacock, which is The Duchess of Cornwall’s private home in the county of Wiltshire, UK.

"The Duchess of Cambridge took our cover images at the request of our Guest Editor", shares Paula. "She phoned me to discuss our requirements for the cover and subsequently composed a range of beautifully shot images. The Duchess of Cornwall, and we could not be happier with the results — in fact, the set of images she took was so good that we struggled to choose only three, from which The Duchess of Cornwall made her final selection."

The chosen cover image will grace the souvenir 244-page issue of Country Life, which will coincide with The Duchess of Cornwall’s 75th birthday.

Lauren is a writer, reviewer, and photographer with ten years of experience in the camera industry. She's the former Managing Editor of Digital Camera World, and previously served as Editor of Digital Photographer magazine, Technique editor for PhotoPlus: The Canon Magazine, and Deputy Editor of our sister publication, Digital Camera Magazine. An experienced journalist and freelance photographer, Lauren also has bylines at Tech Radar, Space.com, Canon Europe, PCGamesN, T3, Stuff, and British Airways' in-flight magazine (among others). When she's not testing gear for DCW, she's probably in the kitchen testing yet another new curry recipe or walking in the Cotswolds with her Flat-coated Retriever.

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