Goodbye 2015! Top moments from the White House

It’s quite a challenging feat to document the everyday happenings of the most important office in the world, but White House Chief Photographer Pete Souza and his team beautifully lived up to that challenge in 2015.

As we head into the final year of US President Barack Obama’s term, here’s a look back at the great images taken by the official White House photographers in 2015. 

Child’s play: “At the President’s insistence, Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes brought his daughter Ella by for a visit. As she was crawling around the Oval Office, the US President got down on his hands and knees to look her in the eye.” Photograph: Pete Souza/White House

Oh so in love: The First Lady snuggles up against the US president during a video taping for the 2015 World Expo in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House. Photograph: Amanda Lucidon/White House

Daddy’s girl: The president’s daughter Malia stopped by the Oval Office one afternoon to see her dad and, while they were chatting, she wiped something off from his face. Photograph: Pete Souza/White House

Larger than life: “It’s definitely true that former NBA player Shaquille O’Neal is a big guy. But I’ll admit that I used a wide angle lens and this angle to accentuate his size when he stopped by the Oval Office for a quick visit.” Photograph: Pete Souza/White House

Sharing history: Two days after the visit of Pope Francis, the President and First Lady hosted President Xi Jinping of China and Peng Liyuan for another state visit. Before the formal State Dinner, the US President showed President Xi and China’s First Lady the Gettysburg Address in the Lincoln Bedroom. Photograph: Pete Souza/White House

Hello, it’s me: During the autumn months, as the sun dips lower in the sky, the light in the Oval Office changes throughout the day. Here, late one afternoon, the sun illuminated the US President as he spoke on the telephone with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.” Photograph: Pete Souza/White House

She can kick ass! The US First Lady demonstrates her boxing skills during a #GimmeFive video taping.” Photograph: Amanda Lucidon/White House

Shooting hoops! “Although he doesn’t play competitive basketball anymore, basketball is still a big part of his life. He had just given a speech on education and college affordability at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, and when we passed through the gym on the way back to the motorcade, he took a few minutes to try and drain some three-point shots.” Photograph: Pete Souza/White House

Fun time: “While in Lawrence, Kansas, the US president stopped at the Community Children’s Center -- one of the nation’s oldest Head Start providers. The President sat next to Akira Cooper, right, and reacted to something she said to him. Photograph: Pete Souza/White House

Making history: Culmination of years of talks resulted in this handshake between the President and Cuban President Raúl Castro during the Summit of the Americas in Panama City, Panama. Photograph: Pete Souza/White House

Time for silence: Following the mass shooting at a church in Charleston, South Carolina that claimed nine lives, Obama pauses while giving the eulogy at the funeral of one of the victims, Reverend Clementa Pinckney, at the College of Charleston. Rev. Pinckney’s family is seated in the front row at lower left. Photograph: Pete Souza/White House

Love is in the air: “I was moving around trying to capture different scenes away from the stage during the event to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday and the Selma to Montgomery civil rights marches. When I glanced back towards the stage, I noticed the President and First Lady holding hands as they listened to the remarks of Rep. John Lewis. I managed to squeeze off a couple of frames before they began to applaud, and the moment was gone.” Photograph: Pete Souza/White House

A presidential birthday: US President Barack Obama surprises Anita Decker Breckenridge while she is in a meeting in Chief of Staff Denis McDonough’s office. Photograph: Pete Souza/White House

Lonesome traveller: When some of my friends heard that the US President had hiked the gruelling Koko Head Crater Trail, they sent me messages on whether I had made it to the top. The trail is 1,048 wooden steps, which climb more than 1,200 feet up the crater’s ridge. Some call it the ‘Stairmaster from Hell.’ I’ll admit that I was huffing and puffing up the trail, but to my friends, this photograph is proof that I indeed made it to the top with my boss.” Photograph: Pete Souza/White House

“Though there were many poignant moments of Obama and Pope Francis to choose from, but this frame, as they walked along the Colonnade, was one of my favourites because of the light and the way the US president was interacting with His Holiness.” Photograph: Pete Souza/White House