Barack Obama's Years As US 44th President

A temporary White House staffer, Carlton Philadelphia, brought his family to the Oval Office for a farewell photo with President Obama. Carlton’s son softly told the President he had just gotten a haircut like President Obama, and asked if he could feel the President’s head to see if it felt the same as his. Photographed on May 8, 2009.Pete Souza / The White House

Barack Obama has just two months remaining as the president of the United States, after serving eight years in office.
Official White House photographer Pete Souza spent those years by the president’s side, capturing more than two million moments, large and small.The resulting body of work documents the work and play that took place in the White House and beyond, with a number of iconic images that will live for years in history books.

This is a collection of forty-four of Souza’s images of the 44th US President

A temporary White House staffer, Carlton Philadelphia, brought his family to the Oval Office for a farewell photo with President Obama. Carlton’s son softly told the President he had just gotten a haircut like President Obama, and asked if he could feel the President’s head to see if it felt the same as his. Photographed on May 8, 2009.Pete Souza / The White House

Barack Obama has just two months remaining as the president of the United States, after serving eight years in office.
Official White House photographer Pete Souza spent those years by the president’s side, capturing more than two million moments, large and small.The resulting body of work documents the work and play that took place in the White House and beyond, with a number of iconic images that will live for years in history books.
This is a collection of forty-four of Souza’s images of the 44th US President.

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President Barack Obama delivers remarks during the event to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday and the Selma to Montgomery civil rights marches, at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, on March 7, 2015. (Pete Souza / The White House)

President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and their daughters, Sasha and Malia, sit for a family portrait in the Oval Office, on December 11, 2011. (Pete Souza / The White House)

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama share a private moment in a freight elevator at an Inaugural Ball in Washington, DC, on January 20, 2009. (Pete Souza / The White House)

President Barack Obama delivers his first major speech stating a commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons in front of thousands in Prague, Czech Republic, on April 5, 2009. (Pete Souza / The White House)

President Obama fist-bumps a U.S. soldier at Camp Victory in Baghdad. The President was treated to an overwhelming reception by the troops on April 7, 2009. (Pete Souza / The White House)

During a Super Bowl watching party in the White House theatre, the President and First Lady join their guests in watching one of the TV commercials in 3D, on February 1, 2009. (Pete Souza / The White House)

President Barack Obama, with Vice President Joe Biden, conducts a conference call with Rob Nabors, Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to discuss the federal government shutdown and debt ceiling, in the Oval Office, on October 15, 2013. (Pete Souza / The White House)

President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and Vice President Joe Biden join White House staff on the South Lawn of the White House to observe a moment of silence marking the 13th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, on September 11, 2014. (Chuck Kennedy / The White House)

President Barack Obama is applauded by Members of Congress, as he steps to the podium to deliver remarks on health care to a joint session of Congress, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on September 9, 2009. (Pete Souza / The White House)

President Barack Obama sits on the steps of the U.S. Ambassador’s residence in Paris before returning to Washington, on June 7, 2009. (Pete Souza / The White House)

The President visited Joplin, Missouri, following a devastating tornado. Here he greets Hugh Hills, 85, in front of his home. Hills told the President he hid in a closet during the tornado, which destroyed the second floor and half the first floor of his house. Photographed on May 29, 2011 (Pete Souza / The White House)

The President called me over to pose for a photo with a young boy who had fallen asleep during the Father’s Day ice cream social in the State Dining Room of the White House on June 14, 2013. (Pete Souza / The White House)

We had just arrived at the helicopter landing zone in Chicago on June 15, 2012, and instead of walking right to the motorcade, the President and First Lady walked past their vehicle to the edge of Lake Michigan to view the skyline of their home town. (Pete Souza / The White House)

In Afghanistan, there was virtually no light inside the helicopter as we flew from Kabul back to Bagram Air Field after the President had met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Flanking the President are General John Allen, Commanding General of U.S. Forces in Afghanistan, and U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker. Denis McDonough, Deputy National Security Advisor, is at left. Photographed on May 1, 2012. (Pete Souza / The White House)

President Barack Obama walks with U.S. Secret Service agents to Air Force One at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California, on May 8, 2014. (Pete Souza / The White House)

Light matters. The paper that the President was writing on provided some fill light as he worked at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office on October 18, 2013. (Pete Souza / The White House)

Much has been made of this May 1, 2011, photograph that shows the President and Vice President and the national security team monitoring in real time the mission against Osama bin Laden. Some more background on the photograph: The White House Situation Room is actually composed of several different conference rooms. The majority of the time, the President convenes meetings in the large conference room with assigned seats. But to monitor this mission, the group moved into the much smaller conference room. The President chose to sit next to Brigadier General Marshall B. “Brad” Webb, Assistant Commanding General of Joint Special Operations Command, who was point man for the communications taking place. With so few chairs, others just stood at the back of the room. I was jammed into a corner of the room with no room to move. During the mission itself, I made approximately 100 photographs, almost all from this cramped spot in the corner. Seated in this picture from left to right: Vice President Biden, the President, Brig. Gen. Webb, Deputy National Security Advisor Denis McDonough, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and then Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. Standing, from left, are: Admiral Mike Mullen, then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; National Security Advisor Tom Donilon; Chief of Staff Bill Daley; Tony Blinken, National Security Advisor to the Vice President; Audrey Tomason Director for Counterterrorism; John Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism; and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. Please note: a classified document seen in front of Sec. Clinton has been obscured. (Pete Souza / The White House)

The Obama family was scheduled to tour the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio before dinner on March 20, 2011, but when heavy fog rolled in, they canceled the visit. After dinner, they the fog had dissipated somewhat so they decided to make the drive up the mountain. It was quite clear when they arrived and then the fog started to roll back in. I managed to capture this silhouette as they viewed the statute one last time just before departure. (Pete Souza / The White House)

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama dance together during the Governors Ball in the East Room of the White House, on February 21, 2010. (Pete Souza / The White House)

President Barack Obama, along with Cabinet Secretaries and Members of Congress, watch a shot during a basketball game on the White House court on October 8, 2009. (Pete Souza / The White House)

Ella Rhodes, daughter of Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes, is lifted by the President in her elephant costume that she was wearing for a Halloween event at the White House on October 30, 2015.
(Pete Souza / The White House)

We had arrived back at the Westchester County Airport in New York, headed back to Washington on September 16, 2010. Because of the configuration of the helicopter, everyone had to board before the President. So he waited for a few minutes in the motorcade, illuminated by the interior light, until everyone was situated. (Pete Souza / The White House)

The Obama family was introduced to a prospective family dog at a secret greet on a Sunday. After spending about an hour with him, the family decided he was the one. Here, the dog ran alongside the President in an East Wing hallway on March 15, 2009. The dog returned to his trainer while the Obama family embarked on their first international trip. I had to keep these photos secret until a few weeks later, when the dog was brought ‘home’ to the White House and introduced to the world as Bo. (Pete Souza / The White House)

We were doing an event at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, on April 18, 2012. Before speaking, the President was looking at some of the automobiles and exhibits adjacent to the event, and before I knew what was happening he walked onto the famed Rosa Parks bus. He sat in one of the seats, looking out the window for a only few seconds. (Pete Souza / The White House)

Underneath a picturesque sky, the President boards Air Force One prior to departure from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on July 21, 2015. (Pete Souza / The White House)

The President had just met with the U.S. Olympics gymnastics team on November 15, 2012, who because of a previous commitment had missed the ceremony earlier in the year with the entire U.S. Olympic team. The President suggested to McKayla Maroney that they recreate her ‘not impressed’ photograph before they departed. (Pete Souza / The White House)

I was on the second helicopter which landed minutes before Marine One, and then photographed the President’s helicopter as it descended into a landing zone outside of Petra, Jordan, on March 23, 2013. (Pete Souza / The White House)

President Barack Obama with First Lady Michelle Obama meets Prince George as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge watch at Kensington Palace in London on April 22, 2016. (Pete Souza / The White House)

We were at the G7 Summit in Krün, Germany. Chancellor Angela Merkel asked the leaders and outreach guests to make their way to a bench for a group photograph on June 8, 2015. The President happened to sit down first, followed closely by the Chancellor. I only had time to make a couple of frames before the background was cluttered with other people. (Pete Souza / The White House)

I ran up the steps of the Lincoln Memorial ahead of the President and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan to capture this scene of the two looking towards the Washington Monument on April 27, 2015. (Pete Souza / The White House)

President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and Malia Obama, center, watch the Fourth of July fireworks from the roof of the White House on July 4, 2014. (Pete Souza / The White House)

The President greets nine-month-old Josephine Gronniger, whose father, Tim Gronniger, brought his family by the Oval Office for a family photo on July 17, 2015. (Pete Souza / The White House)

A Ford truck was stationed nearby the podium while the President delivered remarks on the economy at the Ford Kansas City Stamping Plant in Liberty, Missouri, on September 20, 2013. After the speech, I positioned myself near the truck guessing that the President might lean over the hood of the truck to shake hands with Ford employees. Instead he opened the passenger door and slid over to the driver’s seat so he could get even closer to the employees. (Pete Souza / The White House)

We had just arrived aboard the Marine One helicopter on the South Lawn and the President was walking into the White House on March 30, 2012. I had seen this scene several times but had never been able to quite capture it the way I wanted. Here, finally, arriving at night, I was able to frame him walking into the light of the Diplomatic Reception Room, with the added bonus of his shadow being cast from the television lights off to the left. (Pete Souza / The White House)

President Barack Obama hugs Donna Vanzant, the owner of North Point Marina, as he tours damage from Hurricane Sandy in Brigantine, New Jersey, on October 31, 2012. (Pete Souza / The White House)

I almost tripped coming down the stairs trying to make this photograph as the President turned the corner at the bottom of the stairs coming into this beautiful light casting shadows and and his silhouette at the Parliamentary Resource Center in Naypyitaw, Burma, on November 13, 2014. (Pete Souza / The White House)

The President and former President Bill Clinton are bathed in blue light as they talk backstage prior to participating in the Clinton Global Initiative Healthcare Forum in New York City on September 24, 2013. Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, right, waits to introduce them. (Pete Souza / The White House)

President Barack Obama puts his toe on the scale as Trip Director Marvin Nicholson tries to weigh himself during a hold in the volleyball locker room at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas, on August 9, 2010. (Pete Souza / The White House)

President Barack Obama exits a 787 Dreamliner to greet workers and deliver remarks at the Boeing-Everett Production Facility in Everett, Washington, on February 17, 2012. (Pete Souza / The White House)

President Barack Obama reacts to a photograph during an interview with David Letterman during a taping of the “Late Show with David Letterman” at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York, on September 18, 2012. (Pete Souza / The White House)

President Barack Obama signs a photograph as he greets people on the tarmac upon arrival at Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans, Louisiana, on July 25, 2012. (Pete Souza / The White House)

President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and the First Family are joined by former President George W. Bush, former First Lady Laura Bush, Rep. John Lewis, D-Georgia, former foot soldiers and other dignitaries in marching across the Edmund Pettus Bridge to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday and the Selma to Montgomery civil rights marches, at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, on March 7, 2015. (Pete Souza / The White House)

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld knocks on the Oval Office window to begin a segment for his series, ‘Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee,’ on December 7, 2015. (Pete Souza / The White House)