Each time a new United States Supreme Court justice is appointed, a selection of news photographers is given rare access to take a group photo of justices who make up the nation’s highest court.

The photo, which has been dubbed by photographers as the “class picture,” is interesting in two respects: it is the only time the public sees all the justices seated together and since reporters are not allowed into the room, little is known about what happens when the picture is made.

Photographers are given precisely two minutes – timed by a stopwatch – to make an image that likely won’t be updated for another several years (the last time the nine justices sat for a group photo was in 2010, after justice Elena Kagan was appointed by President Obama). But unlike photographing prominent figures on the other red carpet, photographers must remain as poised as their subjects. They do not vie for the justices' attention – they work those precious two minutes as best they can.

The nine members of the U.S. Supreme Court pose in their robes in New York City in 1917. Standing from left are, Justice Louis D. Brandeis, Mahlon Pitney, James C. McReynolds and John H. Clarke. Seated from left are, William R. Day, Joseph McKenna, Chief Justice Edward D. White, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and, W. Van Devanter. (AP Photo)

Members of the Supreme Court of the United States are shown in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 13, 1930. Standing from left are, Justices Harlan F. Stone, George Sutherland, Pierce Butler, and Owen J. Roberts. Seated from left are, Justices James C. McReynolds, Oliver W. Holmes, Chief Justice Charles E. Hughes, Willis Van Devanter and Louis D. Brandeis. (AP Photo)

Supreme Court Justices gather at the court for a formal portrait in Washington, Nov. 1, 1991. From left are, Clarence Thomas, David Souter, Antonin Scalia, Sandra Day O’Connor, Chief Justice William Rehnquist, John Paul Stevens, Harry Blackmun, Byron White, and Anthony Kennedy. (AP Photo/Ken Heinen)

Members of the U.S. Supreme Court pose for their group portrait in Washington, Dec. 3, 1993. Standing, from left: Associate Justices Clarence Thomas; Anthony M. Kennedy; David Souter; and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Seated, from left are: Sandra Day O'Connor, Harry Blackmun; Chief Justice William Rehnquist; John Paul Stevens; and Antonin Scalia. (AP Photo/Marcy Nighswander)

Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court pose for a group portrait Thursday, Nov. 10, 1994 at the court in Washington. From left, front are: Associate Justices Antonin Scalia, John Paul Stevens, Chief Justice William Rehnquist, Associate Justices Sandra Day O'Connor and Anthony Kennedy. From left, back row are: Associate Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, David Souter, Clarence Thomas and Stephen Breyer. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

With the addition of the Supreme Court's newest member, Justice Samuel Alito Jr., top row at right, the high court sits for a new group photograph, Friday, March 3, 2006, at the Supreme Court Building in Washington. Seated in the front row, from left to right are: Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, Associate Justice John Paul Stevens, Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts, Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, and Associate Justice David Souter. Standing, from left to right, in the top row, are: Associate Justice Stephen Breyer, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Associate Justice Samuel Alito Jr. Alito who took his seat on the court Feb. 21, replacing Sandra Day O'Connor, who made history in 1981 as the first woman to join the Supreme Court. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

With the addition of the Supreme Court's newest member, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, top row, right, the high court sits for a new group photograph, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2009, at the Supreme Court in Washington. Seated, from left are: Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, Associate Justice John Paul Stevens, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, and Associate Justice Clarence Thomas. Standing, from left are: Associate Justice Samuel Alito Jr., Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice Stephen Breyer, and Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court gather for a group portrait at the Supreme Court Building in Washington, Friday, Oct. 8, 2010. Seated from left to right are: Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Standing, from left are: Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice Stephen Breyer, Associate Justice Samuel Alito Jr., and Associate Justice Elena Kagan. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

AP’s veteran White House and Capitol Hill photographer J. Scott Applewhite first snapped the group portrait in 1981 during the Reagan administration, when Sandra Day O’Connor became the first woman appointed to the court. The setting hasn't changed much since then, but the court’s demographics have; some 36 years later, the court includes three women, one of whom is Latina, and an African-American.

Last week, Applewhite again took the class picture, this one including the newest justice, Neil Gorsuch. Listen below as he shares key details about the session's logistics and his considerations as a photojournalist. The length of the audio clip is the same amount of time Applewhite and other photographers are given to photograph the justices.

AP photographer J. Scott Applewhite watches for lawmakers in the corridors of the U.S. Capitol, July 30, 2014. (Photo courtesy Doug Mills/The New York Times)

Text by Emily Leshner

Photos J. Scott Applewhite

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