Remember back a few weeks ago when the world looked a lot more normal and Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were out and about in London on what many called their farewell tour as senior working royals? Those were the days, huh?
Markle really pulled out all the stops, fashion-wise, in an array of bold colors. But there was one instantly-iconic image in particular that stood out from the thousands taken of the Sussexes as they attended the Endeavor Awards. You know the one: The duke and duchess are gazing happily at each other under an umbrella as camera flashes lit up the rain drops in the background.
Now, the photographer who took the shot is letting the world in on exactly how he got it. “It was pouring down with rain, which can be very tricky when shooting flash photography,” Samir Hussein, a longtime Getty photographer who often covers the royal family, told Vogue. “[It] also meant Harry and Meghan would be under an umbrella, which usually means it’s hard to get clean photos of the couple. Little did I know these elements would come together so spectacularly to produce a timeless image.”
Before they arrived, Hussein talked to the royals press officer so he could try to position himself in the right spot in the photographers’ pen. “As they walked toward me, I noticed a flash going off from a camera in the crowd behind them,” he said. “I knew that if that light could be lined up to be right behind as they walked, then it could create a dramatic photo, acting like a backlight in a studio shot. I managed to maneuver myself to line up the flash behind them and then had to work quickly, with just a second or two to get the shot as they smiled wonderfully at each other.”
“It’s a one in a million, when all the elements you could wish for as a photographer come together—perfect timing, great lighting, strong symbolism, and amazing subjects,” he said.
We just hope Meghan Markle and (Prince) Harry have this framed somewhere in their house in Canada.
