Why do the Carters look tiny compared to the Bidens in this photo?

It's true that people get shorter in their golden years, but this photo makes it look like Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter are starring in a remake of The Incredible Shrinking Man. To find out what's going on, The Guardian asked its resident photography expert, Carly Earl, to explain what's going on.

I'm sure Joe Biden is quite a bit taller than Rosalynn, but not by that much. The image is possibly distorted by using a wide-angle lens. 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. 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.