Lawrence Jackson (photographer)

Lawrence Jackson is an American photojournalist. He is an official White House photographer, covering the vice presidency of Kamala Harris. He also served as an official White House photographer for the Obama administration.

Lawrence Jackson
Photographer to Vice President
Assumed office
January 20, 2021
Vice PresidentKamala Harris
Preceded byPostion Established
Personal details
BornRichmond, Virginia, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Spouse(s)Alicia Jackson
EducationJames Madison University (B.A.)
Known forWhite House photography
Websitewww.jacksonimages.com

Early life and education

Jackson was born in Richmond, Virginia. He attended George Wythe High School where he worked for the high school newspaper.[1][2] He earned his bachelor's degree in photography from James Madison University in 2009.[1][3] While attending college, he was photography editor for The Breeze. After graduation, he worked as an intern for Landmark Communications.[2]

Career

Jackson's first full-time photography job after graduation was for The Virginian-Pilot. In December 2000, he joined the Associated Press (AP) as staff photographer. First based in Boston, he covered sports and also worked in South Korea. In 2002, he moved to Washington, D.C. to work at the AP's Washington bureau. In Washington, Jackson covered national politics and Washington sports.[1]

Obama administration
One of the first photographs Jackson took, upon joining the Obama administration, was of White House ponds dyed green for Saint Patrick's Day.
Barack Obama, as photographed by Jackson, on 21 January 2013, as the President pauses to look back at the crowd attending his second inauguration.

On 2008 election night, Jackson went to Lafayette Square in DC, where thousands had gathered to celebrate Obama's election win.[1] He shot the celebration for the AP. During the impromptu event, Jackson interacted with college students who were reveling in the Obama win.[4] Inspired by the experience and his appreciation for Barack Obama, he decided to apply to be a photographer for the Obama administration.[1][5] In a 2019 interview with WYNC, Jackson said if it Hillary Clinton would have become president, he would have not applied for the job saying "that's no knock against her. It just shows how much I appreciated him and thought his message was important."[5] Pete Souza called Jackson and reviewed his portfolio with him at a coffee shop in Arlington, Virginia.[4] He offered the job. However, he hesitated, concerned about the salary, which was lower than his AP salary. He was concerned it could not support his wife and two children. However, his wife, Alicia, convinced him otherwise, offering to go back to work herself.[4]

Lawrence started in March 2009. His first assignment was to photograph the ponds of the White House which were dyed green to celebration Saint Patrick's Day.[4] Jackson was the only African American photographer in the Obama administration.[6] During his eight year tenure, he traveled to 42 countries and shot half a million photographs.[1][4]

Work between administrations

Jackson became a freelance photographer after working in the White House. In October 2019, he released a book documenting his time in the Obama administration called Yes We Did: Photos and Behind-the-Scenes Stories Celebrating Our First African American President. Obama provided the foreword for the book.[1] He also worked as a photographer for the Obama Foundation.

During the 2020 Democratic Presidential primary, Jackson worked for Pete Buttigieg and Elizabeth Warren, documenting their time on the election trail.[7] He was a staff photographer to Harris on the Biden-Harris Campaign.[8]

Biden administration

On January 15, 2021, Jackson was named as an official White House photographer, again, joining the administration to document the work and life of Kamala Harris.[7]

Personal life

Jackson is married to Alicia Jackson.[9] They have two children.[4]

Works
  • Yes We Did: Photos and Behind-the-Scenes Stories Celebrating Our First African American President. New York: TarcherPerigee (2019). ISBN 0525541012

References
  1. Williams, Kesha (December 13, 2009). "Photographing history: Richmond native Lawrence Jackson returns home with book about his years as President Obama's official White House photographer". Richmond Free Press. Archived from the original on December 5, 2020. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  2. Ziu, Christina (March 23, 2017). "JMU alumnus photographed Obama presidency". The Breeze. Archived from the original on December 7, 2020. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  3. "From SMAD Major to White House Photographer". James Madison University News. January 23, 2020. Archived from the original on December 7, 2020. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  4. Burnett, Rebecca (January 3, 2020). ""Yes We Did": Former White House photographer remembers Obama Administration". WDVM 25. Archived from the original on November 29, 2020. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  5. "Picturing Obama: Eight Years of Photographing the First Black President". WNYC. October 30, 2019. Archived from the original on December 6, 2020. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  6. Donahue, Joe (November 5, 2019). ""Yes We Did" New Book By White House Photographer Lawrence Jackson". www.wamc.org. Archived from the original on December 5, 2020. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  7. Valentine, Victoria L. (January 19, 2021). "Lawrence Jackson: Black Photographer Will Document Historic White House Tenure of Incoming Vice President Kamala Harris". Culture Type. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  8. "Lawrence Jackson: Black Photographer Will Document Historic White House Tenure of Incoming Vice President Kamala Harris". Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  9. Gillette, Sam (October 22, 2019). "Obama Photographer Shares Candid Photos of Former First Family at Work & at Home in White House". PEOPLE.com. Archived from the original on December 7, 2020. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
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