ATLANTA (CNN) -- The old saying, "a picture is worth a thousand words" was never more evident than this morning at the House Judiciary Committee hearing where former Justice Department official Monica Goodling prepared to testify about the Bush administration's dismissal of U.S. attorneys. So many news photographers flooded the committee room that the hearing was temporarily delayed.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Michigan, asked several times for photographers to move away from the front of the witness table. Looking at the throng of photographers crouching on the floor and snapping away, Conyers said there needed to be a "reasonable appearance of a Judiciary Committee hearing. And this is unreasonable."

Noticing the lack of movement, Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, the ranking Republican on the panel, said to Conyers, "I don't think the folks with the cameras have been listening to what you've been saying."

The chairman asked at least five times for people with cameras to clear the area in front of the table, finally saying "do we need a Webster's Dictionary for everyone in front of the witness table?"

Photographers ultimately moved to the sides of the room, clearing the area between Goodling and lawmakers and allowing the hearing to get underway.