ASMP member photographer, and past Chief White House photographer to President Barack Obama, Pete Souza, speaks with ASMP Executive Director Tom Kennedy. Pete went to K-State where he started his photography journey with the school’s newspaper. After quite a journey, he found himself as the White House photographer for both President Ronald Reagan and President Barack Obama. In this episode, Tom and Pete talk about Pete’s time at the school paper, to teaching, to the Sun Times, to National Geographic, the Oval Office and everything that came in between.

In this episode, we talk about…

Pete’s inspirations that set him on his photography journey
Transitioning from the Chanute Tribune to the Chicago Sun-Times
Finding his way to Washington to work for Ronald Reagan
Looking for those moments that really showed what the president was like
Putting pictures into the media ecosystem in different eras
Traveling around the world with Reagan vs. Obama
Learning experiences that came from working at National Geographic
Being on the ground in Afghanistan before the troops arrived
Building a rapport with Barack Obama in D.C.
Maintaining professional emotions during very significant historical moments
Understanding the importance of having visual documentation of the presidency
Juggling the responsibilities of running the office and being the president’s photographer
Addressing the challenge of painting the proper picture of Obama’s 8-year presidency
Working on the Shade Project and how people are responding to it
Advice for new photographers from Pete’s years of experience

Links to resources:

National Geographic

Keep up with Pete’s work on Instagram and check out his book, Shade: A Tale of Two Presidents

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