Have you heard of Chief Official White House photographer Pete Souza‘s predecessor? His name is Eric Draper, and he’s a photographer who spent eight years serving as George W. Bush’s White House Photo Director and personal photographer.
Read more…

As President Obama’s four-year term in office comes to an end, TIME magazine caught up with his official photographer Pete Souza for thoughts on his career so far. It’s a pretty fascinating read:

Souza recalls one meeting that he missed because it had been rescheduled unbeknownst to him. “I was a little upset with the President’s secretary for not telling me that they had moved the meeting up, and [the President] heard us talking and he said, ‘What are you talking about? You were in that meeting.’ He’s so used to me being there that he thought that I had been in the meeting that I wasn’t even in. So I took that as a compliment.”

His access to Obama’s inner circle and day-to-day routine stems from the trust he built during their relationship prior to the presidency. “I’m there to seriously document his presidency. I’m not looking for cheap shots, and I think that’s the kind of relationship any White House photographer should have with the President they’re covering,” he says. “That they have a level of access and trust that will lead to important photographs for history.”

They also asked Souza to submit an edit of more than 100 photos that provides a nice overview of some of his best shots.

Pete Souza’s Portrait of a Presidency [TIME Lightbox]

Image credit: Photograph by Pete Souza/The White House