Bigger fish, like that largemouth are designed so that the attachments of their internal organs don't have to bear much load, because of the fish's buoyancy. Apparently, when a bigger fish is out of the water you can minimize this load by supporting the fish with both hands, fingers spread, each hand one third of the way from the end. I've been plenty guilty over the years of having fish photographed by lipping them, but I'm trying to learn. I love to keep fish like crappie and walleye on occasion to put in the freezer, but I like to release really superior specimens from a genetic standpoint. I think the guys who caught the bass should be commended for releasing the fish, and can't really be blamed for a little "grandstanding" to get a better picture. I was being more facetious than anything. In a perfect world, if you're going to release a world record fish you would hold him horizontally and only have it out of the water for an extremely minimal period of time to maximize survival chances.
I'm kind of rambling, but I guess if you have a fish that you intend on releasing, and there are a hundred, or a thousand other fish in that water body just as good or better than the one you've got, it's different than if you're a pro bass fisherman who's holding what may be the best bass EVER and you personally hope to catch him again yourself.
This post gets the award for least said in most words.
