The Obama White House

On March 30, 2012, President Obama enters the South Portico of the White House after arriving on Marine One. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza.

The president on a conference call during a motorcade ride to Palm Beach International Airport in Palm Beach, Florida, on July 20, 2012. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza.

The son of a White House staff member asked to pat the president’s head to find out if their haircuts felt the same on May 8, 2009. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza.

Following an event in Dearborn, Michigan, on March 30, 2012, the president sits on the Rosa Parks bus at the Henry Ford Museums. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza.

The president meeting with his senior advisors in the Rose Garden on May 20, 2009. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza.

In January 2009, photojournalist Pete Souza became the chief official White House photographer for President Barack Obama as well as the director of the White House photography office. Souza, who was also the official White House photographer for President Reagan, began photographing Obama during his first year as a senator and in 2008 published The Rise of Barack Obama. He considers it his primary duty as the official White House photographer to “visually document” Obama’s presidency for the historical record. To that end, he photographs the president in a variety of situations including at meetings, on Air Force One, interacting with his staff and spending time with his family. Tonight the Leica Gallery in New York City will host “The Obama White House,” an exhibition featuring select images of President Obama by Souza. More behind-the-scenes photos from the White House can be seen at www.flickr.com/whitehouse.