david allio

For the professional photographer on a political assignment access is a key component to success.  When it comes to major political debates, there are three major elements – the spray, the spin room, and the live debate hall.

The spin room is where surrogates, and occasionally the actual candidates, explain what the candidate said or meant following a debate and it is the easiest access of the three restricted photo areas.  The spray typically allows one photographer per media outlet to the front of the debate hall during candidate introductions – a very quick in-and-out photo op.  Photography during the live debate is the toughest credential.  Access is typically restricted to one photographer from each of the elite worldwide media outlets.

CNN Debate Set | ©2012 David Allio for Corbis

Working a live debate is very similar to a boxing match.  Yes, there may be a lot of verbal sparring in a political debate, but rarely is there physical contact.  However each candidate, much like a boxer, has a series of “tells.”  These “tells” are physical signals that the candidate is about to make a gesture or body language motion that may be unusual or important to the photographer.  Candidates typically start in a neutral stance and may hold that minute after boring minute as they repeat their talking points.  Then abrubtly, here comes a photo op.

Sometimes the gesture may last a split second and never be seen again.  But, some candidates will repeat a gesture for effect.  The trick is to learn each candidate’s “tell”in order to be ready for that special moment.

These photos from the CNN debate were all created with a Nikon D3 camera. The white balance was custom set to 3230K. The debate set photograph was created using an AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm 1:2.8G ED lens set at 17mm. The exposure was 1/320th of a second at f/4 with a film speed of 3200 ISO. The individual candidate photos were exposed through an AF-S Nikkor 400mm 1:2.8 G ED lens. The exposure data was f/3.2 at 1/400th of a second and a film speed of 3200 ISO. A monopod was used for support and the VR vibration reduction was on.