Photographer who took Bernie Sanders mittens snap says shot is ‘not that nice’: ‘I’m not going to put it in a portfolio’

‘It’s not a great composition,’ says AFP photographer Brendan Smialowski

Bernie Sanders sits in the bleachers on Capitol Hill before Joe Biden is sworn in as the 46th US president on 20 January 2021, at the US Capitol (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

The photographer behind the viral image of Bernie Sanders wearing mittens at Joe Biden’s inauguration says the photo – despite shooting to international fame – is “not that great”.

Brendan Smialowski, who works at the news agency Agence France-Presse, was the one who snapped the iconic image of Sanders sitting in a practical parka and woolen mittens, arms and legs crossed, at the US Capitol on Inauguration Day.

The photo sparked a wave of memes and a reaction from its subject himself, who has now sold meme sweatshirts for charity.

Asked in a recent interview with Rolling Stone what his first thought was in reaction to the image, Smialowski said: “The picture itself is not that nice. It’s not a great composition. I’m not going to be putting this in a portfolio.”

Smialowski said he took two photos in that moment – and thought the second one was technically better than the one that went viral. 

“But I sent [the famous one] because the moment – his posture, his pose – is a little better,” the photographer added.

“But the composition was garbage. It was messy, but it was a better moment. I always say that in photojournalism, composition comes second to content.”