Why do Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter look so small next to the Bidens in this viral photo?

US president and first lady met the Carters at their home in Georgia last week

This oddly shot photo showing the Bidens looming over the Carters has gone viral. AP

The internet is having a field day after an oddly shot photo of US President Joe Biden and wife Jill, along with former president Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn, went viral.

Posted on Tuesday, the photo shows the Bidens at the former president's home in Georgia last week.

“We’re pleased to share this wonderful photo from the @POTUS and @FLOTUS visit to see the Carters in Plains, Ga.! Thank you President and Mrs. Biden!,” The Carter Centre, a foundation run by the former first family, posted on Twitter.

But the picture, in which the Bidens seem abnormally large in comparison to the Carters, immediately caused a stir online.

Scroll through our gallery of other awkward US presidential photo-ops below:

In November 2016, newly-elected US president Donald Trump and the outgoing Barack Obama met for the first time in the White House. The two men had wildly criticised each other during the preceding presidential campaign, but said they had an 'excellent' meeting before posing for awkward photos for the press. AFP

A viral photo German chancellor Angela Merkel posted of her and other world leaders standing over a seated Donald Trump at the G7 summit in 2018 was likened to a Renaissance-era artwork. In the photo, Trump, arms folded and eyes glaring, is surrounded by a group of world leaders and their advisers, including Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, French president Emmanuel Macron and British prime minister Theresa May. Twitter

At the historic inauguration of US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, one man and his mittens owned the internet. Senator Bernie Sanders rolled up to Capitol Hill wearing a beige coat paired with mittens and a face mask and stood out amid a sea of glamorous outfits. This shot of him bundled on a socially distanced chair immediately launched hundreds of memes. AFP

In November 2019, while campaigning in Iowa, then former vice president Joe Biden chomped down on his wife Jill's finger as she spoke on stage. Jill Biden was wildly gesturing as she spoke, barely missing her husband's face at several points, which led Joe to lean forward and bite the tip of her index finger. Getty Images

A rogue fly at the US vice presidential debate in October 2020 was at the centre of attention, stealing the spotlight from the candidates and igniting memes. During his debate with Kamala Harris, Pence was speaking passionately about law enforcement when a fly appeared on his head, diverting all the attention for more than two minutes. It didn't help that the small black insect was starkly visible against Pence’s grey hair. AFP

In March 2017, a photo of Kellyanne Conway, Counsellor to the President, sitting with her feet up on the couch in the famed Oval Office, went viral. While many slammed Conway for being disrespectful, she later clarified that she was positioned that way so she could take a photo. 'I was being asked to take a picture in a crowded room with the press behind us, and I was asked to take a certain angle and was doing exactly that,' Conway told Fox News later. 'I certainly meant no disrespect. I didn't mean to have my feet on the couch.' AFP

Pope Francis and Donald Trump have wildly opposing views on things, and have not been afraid to share them. So when the pair came face-to-face at the Vatican in 2017, this photo, which went viral, seemed to encapsulate that shared feeling. The stone-faced Pope lightened up in latter photos. AP

At another G7 Summit in 2019, then first lady Melania Trump was caught on camera looking smitten by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with a forlorn Trump in the frame. The photo immediately led to the hashtag #MelaniaLovesTrudeau trending on Twitter the next day. AP

At the Association of South East Asian Nations Summit in the Philippines in 2017, then president Donald Trump struggled to join hands literally with other Asian leaders for a photo-op. The internet, as always, had a field day as images and clips of the awkward moment went viral. AFP

At the 2009 G20 Summit in Pittsburgh, moderator US President Barack Obama introduced his wife to then International Monetary Fund managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn. The photo, which appeared to show Obama restraining Strauss-Kahn, went viral later as sexual abuse allegations against the IMF chief broke. Strauss-Kahn resigned from his position in 2011 following the allegations. AP

Actress Meredith Salenger, who shared the new photo on Twitter, said the Carters' home looked like a dollhouse, and that the Bidens were from Gulliver's Travels.

"We voted for Biden because he's a decent human being with sound policies but also because he and Jill are giants who will crush you if you make them angry," one user joked.

Another Twitter user said the Carters looked like miniatures in the photo:

There was even a Lord of Rings reference:

While the Bidens are not much taller than the Carters, the image is a result of distortion caused by using a wide-angle lens, according to Guardian photographer Carly Earl.

"When taking photos in a smaller space you often don’t have room to move far enough back to get everyone in the frame, so you use a lens that can take it all in," she explains.

"Unfortunately, if you use a lens that is really wide, while also standing very close to the subjects, it will distort the photo, making those close to the camera appear giant while shrinking those further away."

The use of a strong flash could also have contributed to the optical illusion.

Former first lady Rosalynn Carter walks US President Joe Biden and US First Lady Dr Jill Biden out after they visited former president Jimmy Carter on April 29, 2021, in Plains, Georgia. AFP

"Although President Biden is kneeling much farther in front of Rosalynn Carter, the flash reduces shadows, a key part of what allows objects to have depth," The Washington Post explains. "The resulting effect is that Biden and Rosalynn Carter appear to be side-by-side on the same plane."

The Bidens are not much taller than the Carters in real life, Jimmy Carter's biographer Jonathan Alter clarified.

Jimmy Carter, 96, is reportedly 176.7 centimetres, while Rosalynn, 93, is 167.6cm. Joe Biden is 179.8cm and Jill Biden is reportedly 170.6cm.

Some on Twitter offered their own edited version of the photo:

Those who wish to create similar optical trickery do not need special gear, photographer Earl explained.

"If you have an iPhone 11 or 12 you actually can use the wide-angle setting in the camera on the phone to capture a wider field of view. So just ask whatever former president you encounter to step back slightly, then get yourself in front, and snap," she said.

"If you’ve got a professional camera with interchangeable lenses, you can get an even more dramatic result. If you use a lens with a focal length of, say, 10-15 millimetres, you can make yourself loom over a Potus (or their friends and family members)."

The Bidens' stop in Plains was part of a swing through Georgia to mark the president's first 100 days in office, according to the Associated Press. The private meeting brought together the oldest sitting president and the longest-lived former president in history.

“We sat and talked about the old days," Biden said of his visit.

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Read more: 

The Pence Fly and red-eye: how unlikely appearances stole the vice presidential debate

Who are America's First and Second families? Meet the Bidens and the Harrises

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