Hats off to the team of photographers assigned to candidates campaigning for Thursday’s Iowa caucuses. Even the most spritely of them must by now be feeling a bit weary but while some of us have wallowed in festive sloth and gluttony, they have continued to come up with ways to keep this relentless media opportunity looking interesting. 

In Jim Young’s picture from the Iowa School for the Deaf, Senator Barack Obama appears to be manifesting an aura of some kind as he addresses the crowd.   

More light play from Keith Bedford who captures the shadow of fomer Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney as it falls on a photograph of President Ronald Reagan. 

Back with Obama, Jim Young captures a lovely moment as daughter Malia reacts to being kissed by her father at a rally at a Des Moines high school. 

Although there can be no doubt she was intended to be pictured from above, the first impression of Brian Snyder’s  image of Senator Hillary Clinton is that we are perhaps looking at a picture of a campaign poster, until we take account of the applauding hands at the bottom of the frame. 

Andy Clark takes advantage of what looks like a spontaneous moment in what must be an otherwise staged appearance by former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee again in Des Moines -

and then follows it up with an example of an effective ‘on-message’ way to mute any criticism of the band’s performance.