Arts
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 journeyTransitioning from the Chanute Tribune to the Chicago Sun-TimesFinding his way to Washington to work for Ronald ReaganLooking for those moments that really showed what the president was likePutting pictures into the media ecosystem in different erasTraveling around the world with Reagan vs. ObamaLearning experiences that came from working at National GeographicBeing on the ground in Afghanistan before the troops arrivedBuilding a rapport with Barack Obama in D.C.Maintaining professional emotions during very significant historical momentsUnderstanding the importance of having visual documentation of the presidencyJuggling the responsibilities of running the office and being the president’s photographerAddressing the challenge of painting the proper picture of Obama’s 8-year presidencyWorking on the Shade Project and how people are responding to itAdvice for new photographers from Pete’s years of experienceLinks to resources:National GeographicKeep up with Pete’s work on Instagram and check out his book, Shade: A Tale of Two PresidentsTo donate to the ASMP archives go to: https://www.asmp.org/asmp-foundation/Support the show (https://www.asmp.org/asmp-foundation-donations/)