A picture is worth a thousand words. And pictures of a president are worth millions of Instagram followers and book deals. At least that’s the business model of Pete Souza.
For eight years, Souza served as chief official White House photographer for President Barack Obama. Now that his old boss has started hitting the lucrative lecture series, Souza has announced his own retirement project.
Souza is curating more than a million Obama photos, picking out the best shots for his forthcoming book, “Obama: An Intimate Portrait: The Historic Presidency in Photographs.” The photo album will hit shelves this November and the Beltway coffee tables of nostalgic politicos shortly after.
For $40, the publisher promises “moments of national import,” like the iconic photo of Obama in the situation room during the Osama bin Laden raid, and “unguarded moments” of the president with his wife, kids and celebrities. A fancier, more limited edition will retail for $200. But the book’s not just for bleeding-heart liberals.
Souza is legitimately good at what he did. Bipartisan for a while, he photographed Reagan throughout his time in the White House and then took point during the president’s funeral in 2004. Then he chronicled Obama’s rise from the Senate to the White House, eventually taking the first ever presidential photograph with a digital camera.
More than anyone else, Souza is probably responsible for introducing the Obamas to Americans. Through his camera the nation saw Obama as president, father and husband. No doubt, posterity will learn about the 44th president through his pictures. And that’s why Souza’s punditry is such a shame.
Rather than let his elegant work speak for itself, Souza has made headlines, and drummed up free publicity, by criticizing the current administration. He’s got a troll for everything, it seems.
When rumors swirled about Melania Trump’s relationship with her husband, he posted a photo of the Obama couple. When Trump wouldn’t release the White House’s visitor logs, he posted a photo of Obama’s walking through security to return to the presidential residence with the caption “Hmm. Bet he was noted in the visitor logs.” And when protests were raging against Trump, he posted a photo of Obama sipping tequila.
Those antics might be good for a laugh, but they breed cynicism. It’s hard to see his snark as anything more than an advertising strategy, and that distracts from his very good body of work.
Philip Wegmann is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
