Annie's First Family Portrait

<p>So what do you think?</p>

<p>

<p>I have a few observations. It seems a touch underexposed, the painting growing out of President Obama's head is distracting and the crop is poor; cut's the fingers off the president. Love the smiles. Attractive family.</p>

<p>Yeah, I like much of Leibovitz's work very much, but I don't think this is her highpoint. I saw the pictures through a link on Huffington Post and it showed some individual shots as well. In the main family photo, the little kid sure looks like Dad, and the bigger girl very much like Mom.</p>

<p>I'm actually sort of astonished at how pedestrian a photo this is, given the truly photogenic family involved, and the endless possibilities of shootable spaces in their (temporary) home. I'm afraid it's falling flat for me, mostly because of what it <em>could</em> have been. Truly curious.</p>

<p>"I'm afraid it's falling flat for me, mostly because of what it <em>could</em> have been. Truly curious."</p>

<p>Mr. Laur, well said.</p>

<p>It splits the family in two. The middle is empty instead of pulling them together.</p>

<p>I saw it earlier and admire her work but not this one.<br>

Conni</p>

<p>I'm not real impressed. She could have put Bo (the Portuguese water dog) in the center. Where is Bo?</p>

<p>I wish she would put in the portrait category of the critique forum, so I could critique it. I don't think she would be a happy camper. Of course, I am assuming she would care what I thought.</p>

Too many distracting elements. I would crop off that fireplace and the chalice on the mantle that seems to be a bit bent.

<p>Ok, it's just a picture. It's not perfect. I agree that the painting shouldn't be there. However, when Annie (or anyone) shoots for an official portrait like this one, the selection of WHICH portrait to officially release is up to the President and his advisors, not Annie. Who's to say there wasn't a better pose/setting that Annie liked better that wasn't selected? Has anyone read any interviews on this picture yet?</p>

<p>I feel, as a rookie, I could have quite possibly pulled this shot off...aside from the fact that I could never actually get that close to the First Family~ and I am not a huge portrait photog.</p>

<p>Is there any reason why this picture is not on awkwardfamilyphotos.com yet ?</p>

 

<p>Definitely odd choice, but somehow fitting. I am sure that they wanted something non traditional. Perhaps they even made a joke about it "Wouldn't it be funny if we chose the WORST picture?"</p>

<p>Among other problems, I find the lens distortion odd. Using my fingers, Michelle's whole head only comes up to Barack's eyebrows.</p>

<p>She should have sent this image to Pascal Dangin's Box Studio for a little photoshop magic. </p>

<p>OK, the composition is poor and the photo, as a whole, fails to meet my expectations for a "1st Family" portrait made by such a high-profile photographer...</p>

<p>...but the light on the subjects is very, Very Nice.</p>

<p>Cheers! Jay</p>

<p>Worst photo I have ever seen! Note you can see into the next room to the left! What was she thinking? Quick bucks to help her bankruptcy?</p>

<p>Glad i'm not the only one.<br>

I was going to post my impressions on this earlier but refrained for fear of getting flamed for daring to question the quality and artistic expression of the great Annie Liebowitz.<br>

When I saw this photo a few days ago, I was not impressed whatsoever.<br>

My immediate thought was that 50% of the ppl here on PN could have done better.<br>

I suppose this speaks well to "it's not how good you are, it's who you know."<br>

Ya, she's a big name..big deal.<br>

Perhaps her legal difficulties are stifling her creative thought processes?</p>

 

<p>First of all, this image was made with a Canon camera (1DS MkIII). If it had been made with a Nikon, it would have been much better! Especially the 'bokeh'.</p>

<p>I am NOT an admirer of Annie Leibowitz--IMO, most of her 'famous' images are about her, not the subjects. There are exceptions, and this is certainly one of them. The light is beautifully handled; there is no sense of 'superstar photographer' here. All of the smiles look genuine and unforced. I like the environmental character of the photo (except for the painting behind the heads), and I know how difficult it is to get African skin tone right, as Leibowitz has done. It is also a well-posed image, in the sense that everyone looks natural, as though they had assumed their position without direction from the photographer.</p>

<p>Yeah, I could chew this up in a PN critique. There are 'worms' on the President's right shoulder; there is a red thingie on Michelle's arm; the fingers are cut off. It seems that the point of clinical focus is on Sasha's eyes, rather than her father's... That's the problem with looking at things as a 'critter'. You can't see the damn forest for the bloody trees. Most ordinary folks probably see a warm family portrait of people who genuinely love each other. Of course, some will see the red thing as part of the Godless Order of Socialism Medal, while others will believe that the moire patterns on their monitor form a halo around the President's head.</p>

<hr>

<i>Mod note: Photo deleted.</i>

If you want a portrait you hire a portrait photographer.

<p>Ok fine..I'll be the first to say it.<br>

It's horrible...a P&S could almost capture this with light.<br>

The Pres's knees are cut off, lousy posing (doesn't flow), the background is extremely distracting, esp on the left side with a open door to some room...Sasha's pose is forced and looks uncomfortable.</p>

<p>Seriously, any amateur could have done a better job; but hey, ya' gotta' have a big name photog right?...That alone obviously makes the image spectacular in the eyes of people who regard "The Name" well before actual quality...nothing new here.</p>

<p>What's sad is that I'm sure the Pres and all the Washington mucky mucks praised her for such a fine portrait, feeding her already inflated ego.</p>

<p>I am a grade 10 photographer. The lowest. Even I can see it's many faults. Thre is better quality work is often in the forums here.<br>

Names not as famous but producers of top quality work which really this is not. Time to move on Annie and let the new young blood take over. It's a bit like seeing one of these well past their sell by date 'stars' on TV. An embarrasment to watch. Better leave whilst at the top than loose you reputation before you go.</p>

<p>@ Les Berkley</p>

<p>The Lenin thing is a Cheap Shot and it violates the stated terms of use for the photo!</p>

<p>"This official White House photograph is being made available only for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photograph. <strong>The photograph may not be manipulated</strong> in any way and may not be used in commercial or political materials, advertisements, emails, products, promotions that in any way suggests approval or endorsement of the President, the First Family, or the White House."</p>

<p>Moderator should remove the link to the altered photo</p>

<p>Cheers! Jay</p>

<p>It was HUMOR, okay? All those idiots calling Obama a 'Socialist'. So I had some fun. And the use of images for satirical purposes is protected by Supreme Court decisions, no matter what terms and conditions are attached.</p>

<p>Since PN is (essentially) private property, the moderators may, of course, remove the image if they wish.</p>

<p>That picture was in a word; boring.</p>

<p>Anyone down-playing this image clearly has zero historical context, no knowledge of Annie's style, and has their nose too deep in a copy of Photography For Dummies to understand what is going on here.</p>

<p><br />"Seriously, any amateur could have done a better job"<br />Better, in what way? According to how a portrait is supposed to look in your mind? A better snapshot, or a better traditional portrait? Fact is, YOU don't know what her assignment was. Photographs aren't always taken to please artists and other photographers, sometimes they are taken to satisfy a client, or the photographer themselves.</p>

<p><br />Likewise, you don't know how long she had to set this image up. She may have been told "Mr. Obama has a meeting. you have 2 minutes to take a portrait, starting now." She found the best light possible, got the exposure on (without fill flash) and that's it.</p>

<p><br />Yes, the composition is awkward. No, the background isn't blurred. Yes, the legs are cut off, the fingers are cropped, the daughter's hands are awkwardly hanging off Barack's shoulder, and in the mother's arm. Yes the doors are open in the background, and there's that weird chair back separating the family in the middle. And no, it won't help ol' Annie put a dent in her $24 Million debt. But that doesn't mean it isn't a good photo.</p>