The Obama presidency through the lens of White House photographer Pete Souza

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Friday, October 21, 2016
An image of President Obama from behind as he meets NASCAR driver Kyle Busch and his team to honor Busch's 2015 Sprint Cup Series championship.
President Obama receiving updates on Hurricane Matthew over the phone in 2016.
This touching image shows President Obama embracing Representative John Lewis in Selma, Alabama in 2015, during the 50th anniversary of the historic Civil Rights march.
A photo of the president from behind as he toured Egypt in 2009.
The president enjoying a drink from a coconut in Laos in 2016.
The president tilting his head to get a close-up view of the adorable daughter of Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes in 2015.
President Obama taking a break between meetings in China in 2016.
President Obama running with his dog Bo in the White House's East Wing.
The president monitoring Hurricane Irene in 2011.
The President banging a gong at a Buddhist temple in Laos in September 2016. Souza noted that the gong was loud.
An image of Michelle Obama and Barack Obama at the Prague Castle in 2009, with focus on the first lady's hands as the president signs the castle's guest book.
President Obama reaching to present the Medal of Valor to 6'7" Donald Thompson of the Los Angeles Police Department in 2016.
President Obama and food personality Anthony Bourdain enjoying beers in Hanoi, Vietnam in 2016.
President Obama hanging out with the 2016 U.S. Olympic Women's Gymnastics Team as the first lady  smiles in the background.
An image of the president from behind as he speaks with participants following a meeting about the Zika virus in 2016.
President Obama kneels down alongside Prince William to greet the British royal's son Prince George in 2016.
Two images of the president taken at the same angle with the same lens in 2015. The top image shows the president during a meeting, and the bottom during a on his birthday.
The president sitting alone during a break at the G7 Summit in Japan in 2016.
The president listens on as Lin-Manuel Miranda of "Hamilton" fame performs at the White House in 2016.
President Obama lounges in a rocking chair, given to him by the UConn women's basketball team after their 2016 NCAA Championship.
The Obamas with former president George W. Bush, Laura Bush, Vice President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden, at a memorial service to honor fallen police officers in 2016.
President Obama smiling as he meets a toddler while visiting the Marine Corps Air Station in Iwakuni, Japan.
President Obama with his hand outstretched towards Souza's camera while on the floor of the House of Representatives in 2010.
President Obama looking at items on his desk, illuminated by light coming in through the window in 2016.
President Obama wipes away a tear after calling for new gun measures in January 2016. The president became emotional when he spoke about the victims of the Sandy Hook shooting.
President Obama walking with former first lady Nancy Reagan at the White House in 2009.
The president holding an engraved hockey stick from the Stanley Cup champion LA Kings at the White House in 2015.
The president gets on all fours to play with the child of a former White House official in the Oval Office in 2016.
President Obama reflected in a mirror as he speaks with the former host of "The Daily Show," Jon Stewart in 2015.
This dimly-lit image shows the president in an interview with Steve Inskeep of NPR in the White House's Cabinet room in 2015.
Pope Francis meets the Obama family's dogs in the White House's Blue Room in 2015.
The president getting ready to toss a football in 2016.
A cute and humorous photo of President Obama looking at a tiny alligator in Everglades National Park in 2015.
An image of President Obama from behind standing next to Japan's prime minister as they look at President Lincoln's second inaugural address at the Lincoln Memorial in 2015.
"55? Are you sure. My granddaddy told me you were 44," Souza wrote on Instagram when sharing this image of the president with an adorable girl.
A portion of President Obama's face is visible in this corner of this image as he signs basketballs in 2015.
A koala looks directly at Souza's lens at the G20 Summit in Brisbane, Australia in 2014.
President Obama while on the "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon" in 2016.
The president looking deep in thought with Secretary of State John Kerry before a NATO Summit in 2014.
President Obama walking on the South Lawn of the White House while waving at a crowd.
Pete Souza captured an image of President Obama capturing an image at Yosemite National Park in California in 2016.
The president preparing for his bilateral meeting with the Australian prime minister in 2014.
Souza's photo here in 2014 gives an idea of what President Obama sees while delivering an address to the nation.
President Obama showing off his best tango moves in Argentina in 2016.
The president looking at a portrait of John F. Kennedy during the Obama family's first weekend in the White House in 2009.
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The Obama presidency through the lens of White House photographer Pete SouzaAn image of President Obama from behind as he meets NASCAR driver Kyle Busch and his team to honor Busch's 2015 Sprint Cup Series championship.
Pete Souza, Chief Official White House Photographer

President Barack Obama's two terms in office have been documented in detail since 2009. But even counting all of the media photographers and citizens who capture images of Obama on a daily basis, Pete Souza has gotten the most intimate images of our 44th president.

Souza has served as the Chief Official White House Photographer since Obama was inaugurated in 2009. He has covered Obama's time as commander-in-chief in impressive detail.

Throughout Obama's time as president, people have been able to enjoy Souza's photos on his social media platforms, with many of his images of the president receiving over 10,000 likes. The photographer will often explain his photography process in detail, providing context to what Obama was doing or experiencing at that moment and how he captured a specific image.

In 2015, Souza wrote at length about how he captured an iconic shot of the president waving as he boarded Air Force One, with his hand placed perfectly in a rainbow. "I guessed right where the President would land when he waved, with his right hand framed right in the middle of the rainbow. But the sun was no longer illuminating the President, so it was more of a semi-silhouette."

Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

Souza also provided in-depth context to this recently-posted image of Obama, sitting out of focus at a desk as first lady Michelle Obama stands in front of him with her arms around her back.

From Souza's caption: We were on our first overseas trip in April 2009. As the President signed the guest book at Prague Castle, I framed the First Lady's hands in the foreground as she watched. I went back and forth with the focus point, first on the President and then on the First Lady's hands. In the end, I liked the latter one better.

Souza also shares images of the president in tense and difficult moments. This 2011 image shows Obama, head resting in hand, as he monitors Hurricane Irene, which caused massive damage and dozens of deaths along the east coast.

But Souza's photographs of Obama's presidency have also been heartwarming and humorous, showing that just because he is commander-in-chief, doesn't mean that he can't have a playful side. In this image, Obama can be seen playing with the daughter of Ben Rhodes, the Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications and Speechwriting.

And here Obama flashes a big grin as he holds a koala at the G20 Summit in Australia.

"When people ask me how I do what I do, I often recite the words of Bob Dylan: 'I was just doing what I could with what I had where I was,'" Souza wrote."That kind of sums up my approach to my job as the President's photographer."

As the president's second term comes to a close in January, so will Souza's time with Obama in the White House, leaving behind a distinguished legacy of intimate photos and stories brought to life.