The White House Photo Office
Documenting two administrations of Barack Obama
From 2009 until late 2013, I worked alongside a talented group of photographers, picture editors, and a photo archivist that made up the White House Photo Office. As a picture editor first, and then as the deputy director, I collaborated with just about every department in the White House during my years serving President Barack Obama and his administration.
The most important job of the White House Photo Office is to build and maintain an archive of images documenting the President and their administration, as mandated by the Presidential Records Act (PRA). As the first administration to have a completely digital photography team, we quickly established workflow and captioning standards for the entire staff to follow.
My wire service and magazine background served me well during my time at the White House as we needed to focus on both very short-term demands, as well as how our work would serve the public in decades to come. On average, some 3,000 images would be generated daily. However, on busy days the totals were more significant. During my tenure, the largest daily total was close to 12,000 pictures. As part of the editing team, I was responsible for ingesting photographers' images, editing and selecting photographs for use on different platforms, and curating features like Photo of the Day.
As the deputy director, I helped coordinate daily coverage, worked closely with the National Archives, oversaw the upgrade and transition to a new version of our digital asset management system, and worked on special projects, while also maintaining my role as a picture editor.
Chief Photographer - Pete Souza
Photographers - Samantha Appleton
Sonya Hebert
Lawrence Jackson
David Lienneman
Picture Editors - Al Anderson
Alice Gabriner
Rick McKay
Jenn Poggi
Jim Preston
Amy Rossetti
Digital Imaging Specialists/Editors - Shelby Leeman
Archivist - Janet Phillips
IT Specialist - Tim Harville
Office Administrators - Katy Bradley
Anna Ruch
Healthcare 2010
Year In Photos 2009
Year In Photos 2010
Year In Photos 2011
Year In Photos 2012
Year In Photos 2013