David Bailey has refuted a BBC report that he took his trousers off while photographing Lord Lichfield in order to make the Earl smile and create a better shot.

Bailey denied that he resorted to using such measures during a portrait session with the Earl. ?It is all not true,? he told AP but declined to comment further.

The claims appeared in an article published yesterday by BBC News Online about how to capture the best portrait photographs.

Lichfield ? the Queen?s second cousin ? reportedly told the BBC: ?I’ve heard all his [Bailey?s] jokes and they are very funny, but I was determined not to smile for him. I thought I’d got the better of him, but as he was taking the last picture I saw his trousers falling slowly down his legs.?

Lichfield, who is also a renowned photographer, added: ?David Bailey without his trousers is quite a funny sight. I couldn’t keep a straight face and I just cracked up. He got his picture.?