Lawrence Jackson

Lawrence Jackson is an American photographer and photojournalist. He was 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. Before his work in government, he was a news photographer.

Early life and education

Jackson was born in Richmond, Virginia. He attended George Wythe High School, where he worked for the high school newspaper. He earned his bachelor's degree in photography from James Madison University in 1990. While attending college, he was photography editor for The Breeze. After graduation, he worked as an intern for Landmark Communications. Inspired by the experience and his appreciation for Barack Obama, he decided to apply to be a photographer for the Obama administration. In a 2019 interview with WYNC, Jackson said if 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." During his eight-year tenure, he traveled to 42 countries and shot half a million photographs. He was a staff photographer to Harris on the Biden-Harris Campaign.

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. They have two children.

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