21 Candid Photos Of U.S. Presidents Caught With Their Guard Down

Published October 9, 2017
Updated March 12, 2024

Wonderfully weird photos of presidents who may not have realized there were cameras around.

Dressed in pristine suits, coached by a team of handlers, and constantly aware that there are cameras around, U.S. presidents are almost always the very picture of poise when they're in front of a lens.

This, of course, makes it all the more striking when some lucky photographer catches the president in a candid moment that reveals just how human these people are after all.

From Ronald Reagan in sweatpants to Teddy Roosevelt on safari, above are some of the most unusual presidential photos ever taken.


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author
Gabe Paoletti
author
Gabe Paoletti is a New York City-based writer and a former Editorial Intern at All That's Interesting. He holds a Bachelor's in English from Fordham University.
editor
John Kuroski
editor
Based in Brooklyn, New York, John Kuroski is the editorial director of All That's Interesting. He graduated from New York University with a degree in history, earning a place in the Phi Alpha Theta honor society for history students. An editor at All That's Interesting since 2015, his areas of expertise include modern American history and the ancient Near East. In an editing career spanning 17 years, he previously served as managing editor of Elmore Magazine in New York City for seven years.
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Paoletti, Gabe. "21 Candid Photos Of U.S. Presidents Caught With Their Guard Down." AllThatsInteresting.com, October 9, 2017, https://allthatsinteresting.com/weird-presidential-photos. Accessed September 5, 2025.