They worked in shifts right up through the dwindling days of Clinton's presidency. Yet they keep their distance. Working alongside Farmer out of their cramped West Wing offices have been William Vasta, Ralph Alswang and David Scull. Farmer has been in charge since McNeely, formerly director of White House photography, left in 1998. She is the first woman and African-American to run the photo office.
Nobody shoots the same, but it all comes together.
But joining the White House photographers as the Clintons moved into the White House was a surprising career move for Farmer. The best vantage point for this rediscovery turned out to be from behind the camera. She had a perspective that participants often did not, simply because she could see the overall picture. Sometimes that is the story, what's going on behind you. You're watching the reactions of people around him.