Today’s guest, former White House photographer Pete Souza, is a bucket-list item for me.
I started Behind the Shot because I am a fan of great photography, or more specifically great photographers. Through the over six years I have been doing the show, I have had a range of guests, in a range of genres, from legends, to people I wasn’t aware of before asking them to be on the show. While I have discovered many amazing creatives through doing this podcast, when I started there were a few specific people I hoped would someday be on the show. Joe McNally checked off one of those boxes last year when he came on for the show Master of Light, and again when he helped with the show on the Best Photo Advice You’ve Been Given. Scott Kelby has now been on a few times, with Insights From Scott Kelby and Timeless Photography. Trey Ratcliff stopped by twice, for Raise Your Dynamic Range and Documenting Burning Man, Christie Goodwin did Fireworks, Ed Sheeran: Memories We Made, and also helped with the Best Photo Advice You’ve Been Given show, and Rick Sammon, David Bergman, and Don Komarechka each have been here too many times to list.
Well, today checks off the name I never thought I would get, and excited doesn’t begin to cover what I am feeling.
Often described as the White House photographer for the eight years of the Obama administration, Mr. Souza’s career, and influence on the industry, is so much more than that. Pete Souza is a best-selling author, speaker and freelance photographer. His actual title during the Obama years was Chief Official White House Photographer and the Director of the White House photo office. That job alone would instill fear in most photographers, but Souza has done it more than once! He was also the Official White House Photographer for Ronald Reagan.
As an author, Pete has written some of the definitive books related to White House photography. His book, Obama: An Intimate Portrait, was published in 2017, and debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list, and to date it is one of the best-selling photography books of all time. His 2018 book, Shade: A Tale of Two Presidents, also debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. Shade is a portrait in Presidential contrasts, telling the tale of the Obama and Trump administrations through a series of visual juxtapositions.
His most recent book, The West Wing and Beyond: What I Saw Inside the Presidency, was published in September 2022. This book lets us behind the scenes of the West Wing — and into the Oval Office, the Situation Room, aboard Air Force One, and beyond — in intimate detail.
Based on his best-selling books, Souza became the subject of a documentary film, The Way I See It, in November 2020. If you haven’t seen it, I can’t recommend it enough. It is absolute fantastic. The film takes an unprecedented look behind the scenes of two of the most iconic Presidents in history, Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan, as seen through Souza’s eyes and camera. As Official White House Photographer for both these Presidents, Souza was an eyewitness to the unique and tremendous responsibilities of being the most powerful man in the world. The film also reveals how Souza transformed from a respected White House photographer and photojournalist to a searing commentator on the importance of having someone with empathy and dignity in the office of the Presidency.
In addition to the national political scene, Souza has covered stories around the world. After 9/11, he was among the first journalists to cover the fall of Kabul, Afghanistan, after crossing the Hindu Kush mountains by horseback in three feet of snow. While at the Chicago Tribune, Souza was also part of the staff awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 2001 for explanatory reporting on the airline industry.
As an educator, Pete Souza is Professor Emeritus of Visual Communication at Ohio University, and as a lecturer he is in high demand. He has lectured on his photography at the Smithsonian Museum of American History, Carnegie Hall, Harvard University, FaceBook, and in Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, India and the United Kingdom. He has appeared on CBS Sunday Morning, Dateline NBC, ABC’s 20-20, NBC Nightly News, Morning Joe, Face The Nation, Fox News Sunday, The 11th Hour with Brian Wiliams, All In with Chris Hayes, and The Today Show.
His photographs have also been part of group exhibits at the National Archives, Smithsonian Museum of American History, Corcoran Gallery of Art, the Newseum, and the 92nd Street Y in NYC. He currently has two traveling exhibits, “Obama: An Intimate Portrait” and “Two Presidents: Obama and Reagan”.
Pete Souza is one of, in my opinion, the most important photographers of our day, and his award list – that’s too long to include here – backs me up on that. His work is the dictionary definition of storytelling, and capturing that precise moment in a way that lets us all feel like we witnessed something important, or special, or just plain amazing.
I will most likely be so nervous during this show that will forget to say this to him, so let me say it here… Pete, thank you. Your work inspires us to be better photographers, to better understand the craft and process, and to see our collective world differently.
It’s an honor to welcome acclaimed photographer Pete Souza to the show to discuss his life as a White House photographer, and his image “Hair Like Me”, which he described to me as “a candid and unexpected moment of an ordinary situation but now is symbolic of the Obama presidency”.
Connect with Pete
Website: petesouza.com
Instagram: @petesouza
Twitter: @PeteSouza
Pete’s Books
The West Wing and Beyond: What I Saw Inside the Presidency: petesouza.com
Shade: A Tale of Two Presidents: petesouza.com
Obama: An Intimate Portrait: petesouza.com
Documentary Film Based on Pete’s Books
The Way I See It: focusfeatures.com
Pete’s Photographer Pick – Look through who he follows on Instagram:
@PeteSouza: instagram.com/petesouza
Steve’s Whiskey Pick
Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel 2021 Special Release Coy Hill High Proof: jackdaniels.com
