Official Portrait of First Lady Michelle Obama - pic

[Kadie]

This February 2009 photo released by The White House Feb. 27, 2009, shows the official portrait of first lady Michelle Obama taken in the Blue Room of The White House in Washington.

[Booster]

1. What a beautiful woman. A great picture.

[geardaddy]

2. Beautiful!

Kick and Rec'd

[Taverner]

3. Great pic

But is it me, or does it appear TJ is leering at her?

[psychmommy]

59. he's checkin out the 1st lady booty.

saying they didn't make them like that back in my day. hahahaha

[Taverner]

62. She's a hottie, that's for sure

I feel somewhat bad saying that, being (1) she's married to a guy I respect and (2)she is so much more than her hotness...

But DAMN she's hot!

[whopis01]

72. That's bad.... funny but bad.... lol... n/t

[roguevalley]

73. graceful, at ease, beautiful. what a great picture.

[BurtWorm]

4. The best bare arms of any first lady in memory.

Smart as a whip, too. :hide:

[Captain Hilts]

7. That's REALLY true!

[Arugula Latte]

20. No kidding. I always tell my husband "I want Michelle's arms."

Well, I guess she's using them and all, but, still, I want them. :)

[Earth Bound Misfit]

26. This video helped convince me that Barack Obama

was "The One".

What a terrific lady. We might be witnessing the start of the "dynasty" the Clinton's envisioned.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqCYFpUAJ2Q

[alsame]

5. Love it! Elegant and classy. eom

[Captain Hilts]

6. Not her best, actually. I like the dress a lot. I'd like to see the whole photo shoot...

because I'll bet there are some good ones.

It's not her friendliest smile.

Great hands too.

[roody]

8. Why does she have to lean on the table?

[Captain Hilts]

13. Women's dresses don't have pockets, so it's hard to look casual without doing something like that.

I think it's a great pose. MUCH better than hands clasped together in front, etc.

Check the Eleanor photograph above. It's good to lean. That's her grandfather, TR's father. Politically interesting that she - and not TR's kids - got the painting.

[Sal Minella]

19. Check out this Sargent portrait:

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=&imgrefurl=http://emptyeasel.com/2007/05/17/john-singer-sargent-portrait-paintings-of-the-wealthy/&usg=__UQVABli2sMc4ytIBFC1vO2LQzJM=&h=744&w=380&sz=189&hl=en&start=6&tbnid=9yyKEqE6sCNtJM:&tbnh=141&tbnw=72&prev=/images%3Fq%3DSargent%2Bportrait%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG\

Also this one:


I don't think she's leaning.

[fed_up_mother]

47. When photographing a subject

It helps if

a) The subject is interacting with another subject in the photo or

b) The subject is interacting with an object in the photo or

c) The subject is interacting with the camera

And I'm sure there's something else, but I forgot. :)

In this case, we have "b" and "c" to make the portrait more dynamic.

[tridim]

9. She looks great as usual, but the composition is horrible

Did they really intend to give her a Marge Simpson hairdo?

[Captain Hilts]

25. It's actually more a spherical Kay Graham, Capt. Janeway 'do. nt

[tridim]

29. Look at the blue drapes behind her.

[demodonkey]

75. They are growing out of her head! She's beautiful but the picture is not well composed. nt

[bumblebee1]

76. That may be.

At least Michelle isn't wearing the drapes. There'll be no "Barack, I saw it in the window and I just had to have it."

[dana_b]

38. the flower in front of her hand

I know it's a petty thing, but it seems silly to miss that.

[Captain Hilts]

41. It makes it look spontaneous to me. nt

[dana_b]

42. fair enough n/t

[Captain Hilts]

44. Your comment is why I'd like to see the entire product of the shoot.

I'll bet the 'between' takes photographs when she's not posing are the best.

[dana_b]

58. you're probably right

I prefer non posed shots too. I can usually see more of the "person" in those type of shots.

[glinda]

64. Agreed. Flower a distraction.

[fed_up_mother]

50. I'm not that impressed with their official White House photographer, sad to say

Much better than me - LOL - but at this level I expect even better.

I think it's a great photo of her, but her placement could be better.

[960]

10. She is elegant and gorgeous.

I love the way she looks, but I don't like how the drape behind her forms a column with her.

[BobRossi]

11. Yowsa!

Hot!

[alfredo]

12. Oh my

[Lars39]

14. I like it! Looks like she just paused there on the way to go do something...

showing she's a very active First Lady. :)

[MzNov]

17. she looks great, but a more feminine background would have been nice

are there any portraits of other first ladies in the WH?

[Lars39]

22. Maybe that's why I like it...it looks like my photography skills at work. :^)

[Captain Hilts]

23. Huh? I don't think I understand 'more feminine' background...

and why she needs one. Please to explain.

[MzNov]

33. My personal preference as an art student

there are many portraits of First Ladies hung throughout the White House. I would love to know if there was a particular reason they chose the Blue Room for Michelle's picture. She doesn't really need anything. My observations only.

Fun facts about the Blue Room:

What is the purpose of the Blue Room?
- Formal gatherings such as receiving lines
Where are presidential receiving lines often held?
- Blue Room
Who was the first president to order furniture for the Blue Room?
- James Monroe
Where did the original furniture for the White House come from?
- France
What five presidential portraits are in the Blue Room?
*The first four presidents to live in the White House
- Adams
- Jefferson
- Madison
- Monroe
* Plus Taft - who had his portrait painted in the Blue Room

[Captain Hilts]

35. I think I'm being dense. I still don't 'get' it. Is it the blue color?

[MzNov]

37. there's nothing to get. it's a personal preference

and I love the blue as a background. I'm talking history here. Usually there is always a historical background for anything that occurs in the WH. I have always been an avid lover of White House history, since Jackie.

[Captain Hilts]

31. Exactly! She's a Woman of Action. nt

[madokie]

15. What a wonderful and beautiful lady

our First Lady is

[AyanEva]

16. I love it!

I want that carpet and those chairs. I'll take the dress too, while I'm at it.

[opihimoimoi]

18. K&R...Beautiful...simply BEAUTIFUL

[SmileyRose]

21. President Barack Obama is a lucky lucky man.

[YOY]

24. She really does have a "feline" face.

Attractive yes, but kind of reminicent of classic TV's horror show hottie Vampira. (NOT A SLUR ON MICHELLE).

[grasswire]

27. I know this is going to be unpopular.

But I believe that bare shoulders and arms are not appropriate for certain occasions. Yes, she has beautiful arms. She probably has beautiful thighs, too. But certain occasions and the status of her place in history deserve more cover.

I love Michelle. But "official" and historical times call for a little more reserve.

[Captain Hilts]

34. Agree. She looks great like this, but I didn't expect bare arms at the Not State of the Union

speech.

I think they're okay here, though.

[AyanEva]

45. I wouldn't have worn sleeves either.

I hate sleeves. I mean, except for when I have to wear sleeves, like in the winter or something. But for a photo like that one, I would have picked a sleeveless dress too if I could. Less dowdy, imo.

[grasswire]

70. what is right and good for YOU...

....is not necessarily what is right and good for the First Lady and her image in the world and the history books.

[rvablue]

46. Showing one's arms is saucy or something? Please. It's 2009! n/t

[grasswire]

71. what the editor of Glamour had to say

“Oh my god,” Cindi Leive, the editor of Glamour magazine, exclaimed while watching the address, she said via email. “The First Lady has bare arms in Congress, in February, at night!”...And is she comfortable as she looks in those skimpy tops, or is she actually freezing?

I'm sure that the editor of Glamour is 2009.

[fed_up_mother]

51. I totally agree, but I'm sure there will be other official portraits.

[Captain Hilts]

55. Here's one that says....

ER: I'm bored silly doing this!

[Raffi Ella]

69. I agree with you.

Word for word, well said. In my opinion the fact that everyone is commenting on how "hot" she looks speaks to this sentiment.

[Vickers]

28. Is that Jefferson's portrait in the background?

:shrug:

She's looks beautiful.

[Captain Hilts]

32. Yes. nt

[firedupdem]

30. Great Photo. Not stuffy and old fashioned. I love a trendsetter.

She's her own person.

[dana_b]

40. definitely! and a beautiful one at that. n/t

[Last Stand]

36. Is it too early for Michelle Obama 2016?

She strikes me a step up from Hillary.

[DainBramaged]

53. What a wonderful idea, and her husband, the great Barack Obama

as her Chief of Staff

[malaise]

39. Beautiful indeed

You go girl!!

[Bread and Circus]

43. She looks wonderful

[annabanana]

48. She looks great. . . BUT I would have had her stand

to one side or the other of the curtain... perhaps in front of the window.

She is not well framed, and it looks more like a snapshot than a portrait.

[MiniMe]

52. Yes, it also has too much blank space on top and cuts off her legs

Not the best framing imho either.

[glinda]

65. She should have been slightly to the right of the curtain instead of it coming down through her body

[fascisthunter]

49. Wow!

[TankLV]

54. She is probably the most beautiful first lady we've had since Jackie...

and she could give Jackie a run for her money, too...

simply beautiful...

just one more reason that with every passing day, hour, minute, second, I get to smile more and more...

as opposed to the previous WAR CRIMINALS when with every passing moment was worse that the one before...

and a plus is that ALL the repukes at work are simply just SHITTING in their diapers...!!!

[Aristus]

56. DAY-UM!!!

:wow:

[kwassa]

57. The blue drape behind her kills the photo.

Michelle is very photogenic, and there are many great photos of her, but this is not it simply because the photographer was not looking at the setting and background. There is way too much headroom over her head, and the dark blue drape coming out of her head throws the photo off. It would have been much better if he had made a step to the left, and taken a picture of her against the wall with the Jefferson portrait.

[Cha]

60. Beautiful First Lady..

She's going to do so much for our Country in her own capacity.

[lamp_shade]

61. Oooooohhhh isn't she lovely!!

[samplegirl]

63. Stunning!!!!!!!!!

She looks magnificent!!!

[Vinca]

66. Wow! She's gorgeous.

[FrenchieCat]

67. She looks great........

will an actual painted portrait come from this, because if so, it will be delightful.

[Mad_Dem_X]

68. Beautiful. A classy, intelligent First Lady.

What a breath of fresh air!

[my2sense]

74. I love this photo

and I don't know why folks are so fixated on her arms. I'm glad she is not a stuffy First Lady - but real just like the rest of us.