Pete Souza is an award winning American photojournalist, speaker, bestselling author, assistant photojournalism professor, former official White House photographer, and currently a freelancer. He was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts on December 31st, 1954. Graduating cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in public communications from Boston University, he later went on to receive his masters in journalism and mass communication from Kansas State. His career started in Kansas with the Hutchinson News and the Chanute Tribune in the seventies, he then was a photographer for the Chicago Sun Times in the early eighties. Souza covered photo stories for National Geographic, Life magazine, and other notable newspapers and magazines worldwide as a freelancer.
From 1983 to 1989, Souza was an official White House photographer for former U.S. president Ronald Reagan’s second term. He was behind the lense during many well known events, such as when president Reagan invited Michael Jackson to the White House in 1984 to present him with the Presidential Public Safety Communication Award. Souza also took one of the iconic images of Princess Diana dancing in the White House wearing the “Travolta Gown,” with John Travolta in 1985. After photographing Reagan’s second term in office, Souza stayed in Washington D.C., working for the Chicago Tribune Washington D.C., bureau. In 2001, just a few weeks after 9/11, Souza was on of the first photojournalists to cover the Fall of Kabul in Afghanistan. Souza, along with other staff with the Chicago Tribune, received a Pulitzer Prize in 2001 for their reporting on the airline industry. In 2004, he was the official photographer for Reagan’s funeral services.
It was around 2004 when Souza was asked to take photos of Barack Obama’s first year as a U.S. Senator. Souza actually met Obama on his first day in the Senate. He accompanied Obama on trips to Russia, Kenya, and South Africa. I think Souza’s “claim to fame” was in photographing the rise of Barack Obama’s presidency. His 2008 book, “The Rise of President Obama,” was a New York Times bestseller. Souza was an assistant photojournalism professor at Ohio University’s School of Visual Communication for a short period of time, before being requested to become the official White House photographer for the newly elected president Barack Obama. Obama’s presidential portrait, taken in 2009 by Souza, was the first presidential portrait taken on a digital camera. Souza’s photo-book ‘Obama: An Intimate Portrait,” was #1 on the New York Times bestsellers list in 2016, and is one of the best selling photography books of all time. Pete Souza is known for his humanizing, candid, and intimate photos of Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama during their presidencies. His most recent photo-book “Shade: A Tale of Two Presidents,” was also #1 on the New York Times bestsellers list.
Check out Pete Souza’s website for his image galleries, bio, upcoming events, and more at:
Follow Souza’s personal account on Instagram @petesouza
For photos taken during his time in the White House with former president Barack Obama, follow @petesouza44
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