Strange Perspective in Photo of the Bidens and Carters
The Claim
A photograph of Joe and Jill Biden meeting with Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter appears fake and makes the Bidens look like giants.
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Emerging story
Last week, President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden traveled to Georgia to meet with former President Jimmy Carter and former first lady Rosalynn Carter. During the visit, the two democratic leaders posed for a photograph in the Carter’s living room. In the image, the Bidens kneel on either side of the Carters who sit in lounge chairs in the middle. The Biden’s seem to tower over both of the Carters, who appear as small as children. Even the furniture looks tiny compared to the long limbs of the Bidens. Serious questions as well as jokes about the bizarre image began to circulate on social media.
Misbar’s Analysis
The photograph's strange optical illusion is likely because it was taken with a wide-angle lens. This kind of lens stretches the visual field of a photograph so that you can capture a larger area within the frame. It’s great for photographing vast landscapes, or cramped interiors, but one side effect is that it can cause distortion. Foreground objects right in front of the camera come across as extra-large, while everything else seems small and far away.
According to analysis at The Washington Post, The image also appears to use a bright flash, which minimizes shadows and reduces depth. It makes President Biden and Mrs. Carter appear side by side when Biden may have actually been closer to the camera.
Both the Bidens and Carters are relatively averaged-sized people, with President Biden’s height clocking in at 5’11” and former President Carter at 5’9”.
The visit, which happened on Biden’s 100th day in office, was part of an effort to celebrate the president’s early accomplishments. Biden and Carter have a long-standing friendship, which started before Carter’s 1977 presidency.
