Gallery: Congress Freshmen Photo Outtakes

This year’s 100 freshman members of Congress recently had individual portraits snapped by Christopher Leaman, staff photographer for the Washingtonian magazine. On Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, the gang gathered at Harvard’s Kennedy School for a conference, and Leaman managed to nab each and every one of them during coffee breaks for his portraits. For inspiration, he looked to Richard Avedon’s Portraits of Power and Nadav Kandar’s Obama’s People. These aren’t your typical glamour shots: Indeed, the pictures are as candid as one might expect from Congress’ frosh, many of whom had no previous political experience and were not the least bit concerned about their casual dress or disheveled appearance. The results are downright hilarious, and as some new members become public figures, we may never again see this same group of people look so unguarded on camera.