Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 643 › Conversation 643-002
Nixon & Atkins on Photography and White House Oval Office
Friday, December 24, 1971 · 4:20 PM–11:59 PM ET · Oval Office · 6 min
AI Summary
President Richard M. Nixon met with White House photographer Oliver F. Atkins and others to conduct a formal portrait session in the Oval Office. The participants focused on technical aspects of the shoot, including lighting, film speed, and posing techniques designed to project a relaxed and positive presidential image. The discussion centered on coaching Nixon to provide specific expressions, such as a "campaign look" and a wide-open grin, for the photography team.
- Richard M. Nixon
- Oliver F. Atkins
- Photography
- White House Oval Office
- Public Relations
- Presidential Image
Audio
Transcript (AI-generated)
This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.
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I'm Dr. Ron Zegler, and we decided we like a smiling president and a fun-loving president, so we're going to make them both late.
We'll make them just a little tumble, and then we'll make a couple of smiles, like, you know, like he's here.
And, Carl, you can click on that trigger now.
We can try to come up like that.
That's nice.
Let it go.
All right.
We're going to knock out about ten people like that.
Now, get away like that.
We're going to let the president in.
We're just about ready.
Give me a little smile.
Come on.
Come on.
That's right.
Come on, let me see those teeth.
Good, good.
All right.
Right again now.
That's right, right again.
Right to here.
I know it's tough to do, but you're a smart guy.
I'm not smart.
I'm not serious.
My president, the way I see it, is a happy president.
Here we go, Carl.
There you go.
Here we go.
Right there, yes.
Now, don't worry.
Give him more of a campaign look this time.
We're going to go out and give him a visit.
We're in a pretty good position to give it to him now.
Yeah, he's right behind you.
Take him out.
Good.
He's at high speed, so move him, John.
Now, here we go again.
Give me a nice wide-open grin this time.
That's it.
Come on.
Hard to cancel.
All right, one more time.
All right, once again, right here.
Good smile now.
Here we go.
Come on, open it up.
There we go.
All right.
Change the microphone.
Rest a minute, sir.
All right.
4-12-8-9.
See if you got it, Mr. Schroeder.
Here you go.
That's a daylight station.
I don't have any other time.
I think it would be over by 4 o'clock.
We'll get on, and I'll be driving around the floor at about 3 o'clock.
All right.
Now we just lose one of your legs.
Here, that's fine.
All right, all right, all right.
Now, I'm going to be on this side.
All right, fine.
Let me just check this coat here.
Now, the eyes on the left.
We'll try about four or five soft shots, but not too soft.
Just a little twinkly, I see.
Raise the eyes and tackle my head where it's spinning out there.
All right.
When you're ready, I'll stand by.
When you're ready, tell me.
You're ready?
All right.
All right.
Tell me when you're ready.
I'm ready.
All right, tell me.
Good.
All right.
The same thing, Carl.
And watch the top, the peak of the smile.
I'm going to try three to four smile shots when you're through, Mr. President.
Just think of that.
All right, then.
I'll give you that nice, good, present-fixing smile.
We'd love to see that.
Write it all back in there.
I'm going to write on it both immediately.
Mr. President, I can't watch it anymore.
I gave him a smile.
Now this time, Mr. President, I'm going to have you look out toward my hand.
I'm going to hold the chin.
I want those eyes up.
Those eyes up to here.
And a smile.
I want to raise your eyes a little up like that.
Now here, give me a nice smile now.
Right there.
All right.
We're going to get you out on the old call.
All right.
There we go.
So, we're going to have to do that.
We've got to get on board.
We've got to get on board.
We've got to get on board.
We've got to get on board.
We've got to get on board.
We've got to get on board.
We've got to get on board.
And then she had to deny it, so.
But of course, by the way, they denied the parole.
Jerry Warren died, so it was a child, a child's death.
That gives me the experience.
Thank you very much, sir.
Do you want to put it off?
Keep it off.
I don't want to get on the side of my car, sir.
All right.
That's all you have.
Thank you.
Good luck.
Thanks for your trouble.
Thank you.
All right, so we're doing both Ed and Trisha, and David and Julie.
All right, let me go down and see how that goes.
I'll be down here.
Let's go.
NARA Description
On December 24, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, Oliver F. ("Ollie") Atkins, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:20 pm and 11:59 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 643-002 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 643-2
Date: December 24, 1971
Time: Unknown between 4:20 pm and 11:59 pm
Location: Oval Office
The President met with Oliver F. (“Ollie”) Atkins and unknown men.
[The recording began at an unknown time while the conversation was in progress]
Photograph session
-Posing
-Atkins's previous conversation with Ronald L. Ziegler
-Ziegler's and Atkins’s views
-Smiling
-Smiling
-Speed of film
-Lighting
-Time of day
-Daylight Savings Time
-Posing
-Timing
-Smiling
-Coco-lobo II
Helen Thomas
-Rumor
-Unknown journalists
-Atkins
**********************************************************************
[Previous archivists categorized this section as unintelligible. It has been rereviewed and
released 05/03/2022.]
[Unintelligible]
[643-002-w001]
[Duration: 27s]
Helen A. Thomas
-Rumor
-Denial
**********************************************************************
Season’s greetings
The President's family
-Yellow Room
Presentation of gifts by the President
-Cuff links
-Golf balls
The President left at 4:28 pm.
Forthcoming photograph session
-Edward R. F. and Tricia Nixon Cox
-[Dwight] David, II and Julie Nixon Eisenhower
-Preparations
Atkins and the unknown men left at an unknown time before 11:59 pm.Also recorded on December 24, 1971
- 017-020 3:45 PM · 13 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 3:45 pm to 3:58 pm.
- 017-021 3:58 PM · 23 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:58 pm and 4:34 pm.
- 643-016 4:28 PM · 2 min — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:28 pm and 11:59 pm.
- 017-022 4:34 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, Edward C. Nixon, and Gaye Lynne (Woods) Nixon talked on the telephone from 4:34 pm to 4:39 pm.
- 017-023 4:39 PM · 4 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:39 pm and 4:41 pm.
- 017-024 4:41 PM · 13 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Donald H. Rumsfeld talked on the telephone from 4:41 pm to 4:55 pm.
- 017-025 4:55 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:55 pm and 4:57 pm.
- 017-026 4:57 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 4:57 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 643-002, December 24, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/643-002 (accessed October 2, 2026).