Photographic Presidents

Defining the Chief Executive via flash powder and selfie sticks Lincoln’s somber portraits. Lyndon Johnson’s swearing in. George W. Bush’s reaction to learning about the 9/11 attacks. Photography plays an indelible role in how we remember and define American presidents. Throughout history, presidents have actively participated in all aspects of photography, not only by sitting for photos but by taking and consuming them. Cara A. Finnegan ventures from a newly-discovered daguerreotype of John Quincy Adams to Barack Obama’s selfies to tell the stories of how presidents have participated in the medium’s transformative moments. As she shows, technological developments not only changed photography, but introduced new visual values that influence how we judge an image. At the same time, presidential photographs—as representations of leaders who symbolized the nation—sparked public debate on these values and their implications. An original journey through political history, Photographic Presidents reveals the intertwined evolution of an American institution and a medium that continues to define it.

Presents a behind-the-scenes view of the presidency of George W. Bush, from meetings with troops in war zones to relaxed times with his family to important meetings with his inner circle.

From Pete Souza, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Obama: An Intimate Portrait, comes a potent commentary on the Presidency -- and our country. As Chief Official White House Photographer, Pete Souza spent more time alongside President Barack Obama than almost anyone else. His years photographing the President gave him an intimate behind-the-scenes view of the unique gravity of the Office of the Presidency -- and the tremendous responsibility that comes with it. Now, as a concerned citizen observing the Trump administration, he is standing up and speaking out. Shade is a portrait in Presidential contrasts, telling the tale of the Obama and Trump administrations through a series of visual juxtapositions. Here, more than one hundred of Souza's unforgettable images of President Obama deliver new power and meaning when framed by the tweets, news headlines, and quotes that defined the first 500 days of the Trump White House. What began with Souza's Instagram posts soon after President Trump's inauguration in January 2017 has become a potent commentary on the state of the Presidency, and our country. Some call this "throwing shade." Souza calls it telling the truth. In Shade, Souza's photographs are more than a rejoinder to the chaos, abuses of power, and destructive policies that now define our nation's highest office. They are a reminder of a President we could believe in, and a courageous defense of American values.

Virtually unknown to the public or historians, White House photographers have developed amazing access to the presidents of the United States over the past half-century. In this book, long-time White House correspondent Kenneth T. Walsh tells their stories, emphasizing observations about the presidents the photographers got to know so well along with other key figures close to those presidents—including the first ladies, members of Congress, and important world leaders. This book shows how official White House photographers have morphed into ultimate insiders within the American presidency, allowed to observe and take pictures of nearly everything Chief Executives do related to their job. The "photogs" have often become close friends with the presidents they have served. Using these bonds of trust and their own powers of observation, they created fundamental impressions and public images of the presidents through the art of photography. Acting not only as image makers but as visual historians, they have built pictorial chronicles of the presidency—intimate narratives of America’s leaders in public and private, showing how they dealt with everyday life as well as moments of great crisis and opportunity. From children playing in the Oval Office to decisions to send troops into harm’s way, images created by White House photographers can make or break a presidential administration as well as define an era.

The official companion to the "National Geographic" television special airingin November 2010, "The President's Photographer" is the intimate story of themen and women who are both visual historians and key links between the publicand the Presidents. Photos.

The definitive visual portrait of Donald J. Trump’s presidency, as seen through the lens of the Official White House Photographers Working with the trust and close confidence of President Trump, the Official White House Photographers are granted unprecedented freedom to accompany the First Family behind the scenes. Their images capture a side of the president unseen by the controlled gaze of the media. Now, these extraordinary photographs are shared with the nation. Selecting the finest images from the White House collection, Trump: A Presidential Portrait is a stunning all-access pass to the 45th presidency. These historic photos portray both the grandest and most intimate moments, offering an insider’s look beyond the gates of the White House, and behind closed doors of the Oval Office, the Situation Room, and Air Force One, as well as President Trump’s official trips across the nation and the world. Accompanied by quotations from the president’s speeches, Trump: A Presidential Portrait offers a unique window of many of the most consequential events of the Trump administration: the appointments of Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, the construction of the border wall, the White House Situation Room on the day of the raid that killed ISIS leader al-Baghdadi, the seventy-fifth anniversary commemoration of D-Day, and leadership of the nation's response to the coronavirus pandemic. We also see President Trump perform the solemn duties of the commander-in-chief: addressing the troops at military bases across the globe, awarding the Medal of Honor, visiting Arlington National Cemetery, bearing witness in the aftermath of natural disasters. And there are intimate, private scenes of the President and First Lady at the White House, as they entertain foreign dignitaries and share quiet moments with family. Featuring more than 250 photographs in gorgeous full-color,here is the first book to gather the official photographs of the Trump White House—and an essential visual documentary of American history. The photographs in this collection have been selected with care by the editors of William Morrow and reproduced to the highest standards.

On the morning of July 30, 1883, President Chester A. Arthur embarked on a trip of historic proportions. His destination was Yellowstone National Park, established by an act of Congress only eleven years earlier. No sitting president had ever traveled this far west. Arthur’s host and primary guide would be Philip H. Sheridan, the famed Union general. Also slated to join the expedition was a young photographer, Frank Jay Haynes. This elegant—and fascinating—book showcases Haynes’s remarkable photographic album from their six-week journey. A premier nineteenth-century landscape photographer, F. Jay Haynes, as he was known professionally, originally compiled the leather-bound album as a commemorative piece. As only six copies are known to exist, it has rarely been seen. The album’s 104 images are accompanied by captions written by General Sheridan’s brother, Colonel Michael V. Sheridan, who wrote daily dispatches that were distributed by the Associated Press. In his informative introduction, historian Frank H. Goodyear III provides background about the excursion and explains the historic and aesthetic significance of Haynes’s photographs. He then re-creates Arthur’s journey by reintroducing Haynes’s stunning images—along with Sheridan’s original captions—including views of the Tetons and other landmarks; portraits of President Arthur, General Sheridan, and fellow travelers engaged in activities along the route; and images of the Shoshone and Arapaho leaders who gathered to greet the visiting party. Published on the occasion of the reopening of the Haynes Photography Shop in Yellowstone, A President in Yellowstone offers a unique entry into the park’s storied past.