The Duchess of Cambridge is praised for her skills behind the camera by the Queen's photographer who says she could even make a career out of taking pictures

She often takes her own portraits of Princess Charlotte and Prince George rather than commission a professional, and is known for her fondness for photography.

Now the Duchess of Cambridge has received a glowing endorsement of her talents from the Queen's photographer who has praised skill behind the camera. 

Hugo Rittson Thomas said that Kate, 34, is so talented that she could have forged a career in photography under different circumstances.

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The Duchess of Cambridge has been praised by the Queen's photographer for her skill behind the camera. Pictured: Kate takes photographs as Prince William performs helicopter manouvres on an official visit to Canada in 2011

Hugo Rittson Thomas, pictured at the launch of his new book The Queen's People, said Kate's portraits of her children perfectly captured their joy and youth

Speaking to People magazine at the launch of his book The Queen's People, a book of portraits of the monarch and her staff, Rittson Thomas heaped praise on the photos Kate has taken of her children.

'I thought they were wonderful pictures, beautifully shot,' he said.'She captured the joy, happiness and youth of her children which is a wonderful thing and sometimes hard to do as a parent.'

The Duchess broke with tradition by taking the first official photos of Prince George and Princess Charlotte together in May last year, shortly after Charlotte was born. 

At the time photographer Hugo Burnand, who took the official Royal Wedding pictures in 2011, praised Kate’s skills with the camera. 

A photo of Princess Charlotte taken at Amner Hall ahead of her first birthday on 2 May 2016 was released by the Duchess the day before she turned one 

Princess Charlotte playing at Amner Hall in an image taken by her mother to mark her first birthday in May 2016

The Princess pictured at Amner Hall ahead of her first birthday. Rittson Thomas said Kate had done a 'wonderful' job capturing images of her children 

Princess Charlotte ahead of her first birthday in May 2016. Her mother has bucked royal tradition by taking her own snaps of her children instead of arranging an official photoshoot

‘They’re utterly beautiful images which Prince George and Princess Charlotte will treasure forever,’ he said.

She followed up by taking photos of Charlotte which were released to mark her six-month birthday. 

When Prince George started nursery at the Westacre Montessori school, the proud mother snapped the toddler with his backpack on the first day. 

A photo of Princess Charlotte taken by her mother in October 2015 was released to give the public a glimpse of the youngster at six months old 

Rittson Thomas said Kate had managed to capture the joy and happiness of her children perfectly. Princess Charlotte is pictured in October 2015

And the milestone of Princess Charlotte's first birthday was also marked with a selection of portraits, taken by her mother.

It turns out that Rittson Thomas has experienced Kate's skill first hand after meeting her when he was shooting Prince William in 2012.

He revealed that he was 'taken aback' by her knowledge of photography when she quizzed him about how he was preparing for the photo shoot.

Kate's photo of Prince George on his first day at the Westacre Montessori nursery school near Sandringham in East Walton, King's Lynn, Norfolk in January 2016

Proud big brother George with his newborn sister Charlotte when she was a few weeks old in May 2015

'She asked a lot of technical questions about what I was doing and the set up,' he explained. 

'She almost caught me out a few times actually.'

He added that had Kate not become the wife of the future thing, she would be skilled enough to take up photography as a full time job.

Rittson said that Kate, who took this portrait of Prince George and Princess Charlotte together in May 2015 could have been a professional photographer 

A photo of her children taken by the Duchess of Cambridge at Amner Hall in May 2015. Professional photographer Hugo Rittson Thomas said he was surprised by her technical knowledge 

'If circumstances had been different, she could definitely have had a career in photography – she has a lot of talent,' he said. 

The Duchess has been honing her skills behind the lens for several years now. 

Back in 2012, photos taken by Kate during a trip to Borneo with Prince William were published on their official website. 

A photograph taken by The Duchess of Cambridge during a private walk through part of the jungle, close to the Danum Valley research station, Borneo in November 2012

A photograph taken by The Duchess of Cambridge of a palm oil plantation during a flight to the Royal Society research station in Sabah, Malaysia in November 2012

The pictures captured the couple's awesome surroundings in the jungle taken on their private walks through the Borneo forest. 

They also spent a day at the Danum Valley Research Station to highlight the work being undertaken to protect the rainforest and its wildlife, including the orang-utan, and Kate captured one of the endangered species in silhouette.

Images were also captured as the Duke and Duchess were flying to the Solomon Islands on their official tour of Southeast Asia and the South Pacific.

They received a mixed reaction from professionals who described them as a ‘good first effort’ but ‘not technically brilliant’.

Her shots in Malaysia were taken on a fairly bog-standard Canon Powershot G12 pocket digital camera, which retails for around £285.

But it's thought she's upgraded to something more professional for taking portraits of her children.