Photographer Releases Behind-The-Scenes Photos Of Barack Obama’s Family Years Before The White House

Oct 02, 2019 by apost team

Callie Shell is a photographer who got to meet the Obamas way before they became the First Family in 2009. 

In fact, Shell was able to witness Barack Obama’s rise from a senator in 2004 to President of the United States. 

Callie Shell from Gainsville, Georgia, recently published a book called  “Hope, Never Fear: A Personal Portrait of the Obamas”, featuring more than 100 intimate photos of Barack Obama and his family before they entered the White House. 

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Shell reportedly first met Barack in 2004, when he was still a young Senator. Shell told CNN that the day she met him, she was actually there to cover then-Presidential-candidate John Kerry’s rally. Obama, however, left a lasting impression on her when he first took the stage to introduce Kerry.

“When he walked out to introduce Kerry, the excitement for him was much higher,” she said. “People were really excited to see him.”

After meeting him, Shell expressed to both her Editor and her husband that Barack Obama would one day run for president.

Over the following years, she would follow the Obamas throughout their journey to the White House, with the family even allowing them into their home in Chicago. 

The book reveals Barack in intimate moments, showing the former POTUS rallying for the Presidency at the same time as rolling his sleeves up to wash the dishes with his daughters. 

“I think it's really important for people to see the journey it took for them to get to the White House — what they were like before they were rock stars, when they were sleeping on buses and there weren't hundreds of staff people around and Secret Service,” the photographer said.

What do you think of these never-seen-before photos? Let us know in the comments - and make sure you pass this along to your friends and family!