The Way I See It

Images matter. That’s what Pete Souza learned in his job as a White House photographer under two transformative presidencies, those of Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan. When he went to work for Obama as Chief Official White House Photographer, he set a goal “to create the best photographic archive of a president that had ever been done.” He achieved that with images that became famous — collected in his book Obama: An Intimate Portrait — such as the one taken in the Oval Office of a five-year-old Black boy touching President Obama’s hair. During the decades Souza spent in photojournalism and in the White House, he kept his opinions to himself. But when Donald Trump became president, Souza couldn’t hold back. He surprised himself, becoming an Instagram superstar by posting photos that placed Obama in stark contrast to Trump on countless issues — race, health care, gun control, climate change, LBGTQ+ equality, and more. Souza compiled them in the book "Shade: A Tale of Two Presidents". (Toronto International Film Festival)