Relive Intimate Moments From Inside The White House In ‘The Way I See It’

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Pete Souza knows how to tell a story. However, he doesn’t use words, but rather images.

As the official White House photographer for two presidents, Souza offers an intimate look at men from opposing parties, Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama, who occupied the highest office in the land.

To truly understand Souza, his work, and his thoughts about politics, pull up the 2020 documentary entitled The Way I See It.

While Souza does talk about his work with the Reagans, the film features more of an inside look at his time with the Obamas, who he began covering during the former president’s first year as a Senator from Illinois. Souza admits that he’d never heard of Obama when he landed an assignment to photograph the politician at the Democratic National Convention in 2004.

But, to be fair, Souza wasn’t alone in his lack of awareness about the young politician, as not many people outside of Illinois and Washington had heard of Obama at that time.

Souza must have made a positive impression on the politician as he was invited into the White House to document Obama’s historic tenure as POTUS.

In the film, told through a mixture of video footage, voiceover and iconic still photos from Souza’s expansive archives, the photographer’s work to capture the essence of pivotal moments, as well as everyday candid instances, is explored.

Souza had the task of intimately documenting everything from Obama’s first steps into the Oval Office to his eventual departure from the White House, as well as pivotal historical moments including the raid on Osama bin Laden, the aftermath the Sandy Hook school shooting, and the memorial service for victims of the Charleston church shooting. Souza was also quite embedded with the Obama family, depicting Barack’s relationship with Michelle, as well as with his young daughters.

Not all of Souza’s photos were simply via the eye of the trained professional working without supervision as shown when he’s summoned by some of Reagan’s ‘handlers’ who all but stage a ‘photo op’ in which Ron and Nancy water a tree while Souza snaps away.

The majority of the film showcases Souza’s print work, with numerous photos flying on-screen at a pleasing rate, highlighting the exceptional way he captured true intimacy and uninhibited emotion, especially when the Obamas were the subject.

However, The Way I See It does take a political turn at times, with Souza explaining that while he was no fan of Reagan’s policies, he still felt the president did great work all the same.

And, his admiration for Obama is unmistakable, both in his photographs and in his references to the man.

Souza, who authored 2004’s Images of Greatness: An Intimate Look at the Presidency of Ronald Reagan, as well as Obama: An Intimate Portrait in 2017, has also put out Shade: A Tale of Two Presidents in 2018, in which he critiqued Trump’s first term as President.

In the book, Souza compares and contrasts the Obama and Trump administrations by presenting more than one hundred images of President Obama along with tweets, news headlines, and quotes from the first 500 days of Trump’s 2016 presidency.

Souza’s book tour for Shade figures in the latter portion of the film, during which he shares his thoughts about the political situation as it was unfolding at the time of the making of the film.

Given recent developments, it feels as though a follow up to this documentary would be welcomed. But, make no mistake, the passage of time hasn’t made The Way I See It any less poignant.

Now, with Donald Trump headed back the White House, Souza surely has some things to say about the current political situation in the United States, and will probably do so via his Instagram account, but what this documentary, and Souza’s work, shows, is that everything, in politics, and in life, really depends on the way you, yourself, visualize it.

TITLE: “The Way I See It”

RUNTIME: 1 hour 41 minutes

GENRE: Documentary

FEATURING: Pete Souza, Barack Obama, Ronald Reagan

DIRECTED BY: Dawn Porter

WHERE TO WATCH IT: Prime Video, Apple TV+