--- description: Sean Spicer, Trump's press secretary confirmed Thursday that photojournalist Shealah Craighead will take over Pete Souza's mantle title: Meet President Trump's Official White House Photographer image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd8fc2f7a2f127e03/6988b787524fc00c58dfae16/gettyimages-632489938.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [LightBox](/tag/time-section-lightbox/) ## LightBox Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Meet President Trump's Official White House Photographer by [Olivier Laurent](/author/olivier-laurent/) ## Olivier Laurent Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 27, 2017 3:23 AM CUT  President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C. on January 23, 2017. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C. on January 23, 2017.Pool/Getty Images by [Olivier Laurent](/author/olivier-laurent/) ## Olivier Laurent Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 27, 2017 3:23 AM CUT Donald Trump will have an official White House photographer after all. Sean Spicer, Trump’s press secretary confirmed Thursday that photojournalist Shealah Craighead will take over [Pete Souza](http://time.com/4641578/barack-obama-white-house-farewell/ "undefined")‘s mantle after he [photographed all eight years](http://time.com/4637807/obama-pete-souza/ "undefined") of Barack Obama’s presidency. For weeks, it remained [unclear](http://time.com/4637153/trump-inauguration-white-house-photographer/ "undefined") whether Trump would appoint a personal photographer, a role that has been viewed as crucial for the preservation of history. It won’t be Craighead’s first stint in the White House though. In the past she has worked as Vice President Dick Cheney’s photo editor and the First Lady Laura Bush’s personal photographer. In 2008, she was the campaign photographer for Sarah Palin, who, she writes on her website, was “the first of many aspiring candidates to seek out her keen eye and un-intrusive presence.” She has worked for Florida governor Rick Scott and Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson among others. Her photos, she says, capture “the immediacy and impact of the political machinations of our nation’s Capitol.” Craighead did not return TIME’s calls for comment. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4642160/donald-trump-official-photographer/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4642160/donald-trump-official-photographer/"},"headline":"Meet President Trump's Official White House Photographer","datePublished":"2017-01-27T03:23:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:01:14.600Z","description":"Pete Souza's successor has been named","url":"https://time.com/4642160/donald-trump-official-photographer/","keywords":["LightBox","White House","photography","Donald Trump","Pete Souza","Inauguration 2017","trump inauguration"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd8fc2f7a2f127e03/6988b787524fc00c58dfae16/gettyimages-632489938.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivier Laurent","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/olivier-laurent/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd8fc2f7a2f127e03/6988b787524fc00c58dfae16/gettyimages-632489938.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President Donald Trump Signs Executive Orders","caption":"President Donald Trump Signs Executive Orders","creditText":"Pool/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-lightbox/","name":"LightBox"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4642160/donald-trump-official-photographer/","name":"Meet President Trump's Official White House Photographer"}}]}] ```