What's with the weird cropping on Obama's 'official presidential portrait' (from Wikipedia)?

[Cruzan]

Geez, first Roberts fucks up the inaugural oath, now this.

[tekisui]

1. What weird cropping?

[Cruzan]

2. Got only one shoulder

[tridim]

3. It looks fine to me.

Symmetry isn't a law in photography.

[Poll_Blind]

4. It's cause his other arm is Gettin' Shit Done!

PB

[Subdivisions]

9. Bwaahahahahah! Duzy nom.. Oh...wait... n/t

[Radical Activist]

20. lol

nice. Too busy to sit around for a picture!

[ComtesseDeSpair]

5. It's cropped perfectly. The flag balances the image.

[apnu]

12. Exacty, the "rule of thirds" is in play here vertically in this picture.

Obama is the right 2/3 of the photograph, and the flags balance the other. Nice.

[Radical Activist]

21. also what I thought. That way...

it doesn't look like a booking photo.

[GreenPartyVoter]

22. Yep. Seems a-ok to me

[supernova]

6. It has to fit in all those gov't issue frames

and you have to see the flag the US flag, obviously, and also I guess the presidential seal flag.

I'm sure it's for those reasons, no slight to the pres intended.

[AndyA]

7. I think it looks good.

And what an improvement over the one that will appear to the left!

[Lex]

8. The picture is balanced just fine.

nt

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

10. I Heard They Did It PURPOSELY Just To Piss Really Stupid People Off.

It's just a rumor, so I'm not sure if it's really true or not.

[Posteritatis]

16. Hee (nt)

[YOY]

11. Looks fine to me.

n.t.

[Freddie Stubbs]

13. It is the same as the official portrait:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/president_obam...

[Avalux]

14. He's leaning left!

[Poiuyt]

15. I don't care for the full frontal view myself

Portraits are usually more flattering when one side of the face is featured over the other

[Occam Bandage]

18. Right. Nobody ever confuses mug shots with glamor shots.

[Occam Bandage]

17. Not a professional photographer, I take it?

[Poiuyt]

19. Malia probably took it with her little digital camera!