Zara Phillips has launched a photographic exhibition in central London celebrating adventurers by unveiling an giant image of herself.

The 13ft portrait of the royal sportswoman is one of 10 pictures which depict individuals who have pushed the boundaries of their chosen fields.

Zara's portrait will hang alongside images of the former Archbishop of Cape Town Desmond Tutu, the marine explorer Fabien Cousteau and Dr Mae Jemison, the first black woman in space.

Supersize me: Zara Phillips unveiling a portrait of herself at London's Royal Geographical Society today

Another 50 archive pictures of politicians, rock climbers and rock stars complete the exhibition at the Royal Geographical Society in central London.

Alastair Thain created the 10 large portraits using an ultra-high-definition camera similar to the one used by Nasa to capture images of the Earth from space.

Entry is free but visitors will be able to make donations to the British Red Cross.

The 27-year-old granddaughter of the Queen said: "There are many different ways of interpreting 'adventure' and the people that have been photographed stand for a huge range of meanings of the word.

Snap decision: Zara's picture features in the the Portraits of Adventure exhibition

"It is a fantastic exhibition with some amazing photographs and I am sure it will be very popular."

The sportswoman is 11th in line to the throne and the reigning world three-day eventing champion.

And like her mother, the Princess Royal, she was crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

Last year she collected an MBE from the Queen for services to equestrianism but in June she was forced to pull out of this summer's Beijing Olympic Games following an injury to her horse, Toytown.