Genuine? David Hume Kennerly on the Obama Elevator Photos

The Huffington Post has an interview with Pulitzer prize-winning photographer David Hume Kennerly about covering the Obamas on inauguration day.

One inauguration photograph that got a lot of buzz was by official Obama photographer Pete Souza, showing the Obamas nuzzling each other in an elevator (pictured here at left). We didn't realize until now that Kennerly was there and got a similar photograph (at right). Not only that but Callie Shell, who shoots for Time, was also in the elevator; her photos are viewable via her agency, Aurora Photos.

This seemed like a spontaneous moment between husband and wife, but surely the Obamas knew they were sharing an elevator with three photographers. So was it genuine, or political stagecraft? Here's what Kennerly told interviewer Eileen McMenamin:

"[People ask], 'How can this be a real intimate moment when there are all these people standing around?' And the fact of the matter is, people like the Obamas are used to having other people around all the time and that's how they're gonna have to live, pretty much. And so it is possible to have a tender moment even when other people are around - and the trick is not to influence it in some way. I mean, would that have happened if we hadn't been in there? Yes. So fortunately we were in there and we were able to take the picture. And as you can see from some of the other angles from Pete or Callie, there were Secret Service guys, there were aides, it was a huge freight elevator. There were probably 20 people in the elevator, but it was big so it wasn't like we were all on top of each other necessarily. It's just a real live moment."

You can read the full interview here.

Comments

[Trudy]

Intimacy doesn't only occur in solitude. Think about how many couples have no one around them and have a space between them that a semi could drive through. The connection is what is inside, not outside.

[Robert Christopher]

I agree. I see no difference in this than capturing an authentic moment at a wedding. I see this as real photojournalism.

[Jon]

Good picture by three of the best PJ's - Kennerly, Shell & Souza.

[Patrick Baldwin]

Interesting how different two photographers idea about "correct" colour can be.