The photographer behind Prince William and Kate Middleton's family portrait for their Christmas Card 2023 praised them amid the criticism of his works.

On Saturday, the Prince and Princess of Wales dropped a black and white family portrait for their Christmas Card this year. In the snap, Prince William, Middleton and their three children, Prince George, 10; Princess Charlotte, 8; and Prince Louis, 5, wear matching white button-down shirts and dark pants.

Josh Shinner, who captured the shot, gave fans a glimpse of how it was working with the royal family.

"It was such a pleasure to photograph The Prince and Princess of Wales and their family for the Christmas portrait this year," he wrote on Instagram alongside the controversial photo. "Without [a] doubt, one of the most relaxed and enjoyable sittings I've ever had."

"And I now have a whole new set of jokes that are right on my level, thanks to the children," he added.

He concluded the post by thanking the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge for choosing him for the job. Several royal photographers also showed support for Shinner amid the backlash from the critics.

The stunning shot received flak, with some alleging that it was Photoshopped and poorly edited.

"Beautiful image Josh, congratulations. Love your work," royal photographer Matt Porteous commented. He has worked with Prince William and Middleton multiple times, including the Cambridge Christmas Card photo in 2018, Prince George's birthday photos and the family's stunning shots at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2019.

"Such a lovely portrait -- huge congratulations, Josh," Millie Pilkington added. Pilkington served as the private photographer for the Cambridges' royal wedding and was behind Prince George's 10th birthday photo, taken in Windsor in July.

The criticism sprang from the alleged discrepancies in the photo. Some questioned why Prince Louis reportedly had a missing finger, others weren't sure if they were seeing six fingers, several also asked where Louis and Middleton's legs were, and some pointed out why Prince William's legs were seemingly off.

"Why is your son missing a finger? And whose legs are those?" one commented on X, formerly Twitter. Another user asked, "Where's William's thigh? Where's Kate's other foot?"

Meanwhile, others defended the photographer. One said Prince Louis' appeared to have a missing finger because his fingers were split in the shot.

An unnamed insider also told Us Weekly that the royal couple didn't expect the backlash from the photo. They were reportedly "embarrassed" and "were as shocked as everyone else" by the reaction the snap received on social media.

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Prince William, Kate Middleton