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Barack Obama's Photographer Shares His Favorite Candid Photos Of 2016

From an impromptu dance-off to quiet moments in the Oval Office, the talented photographers captured it all.
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Senior Photo Editor, HuffPost

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The president prepping with his national security staff before a teleconference with European leaders on Feb. 23.
Pete Souza/The White House

Here we are ― nearing the end of President Barack Obama’s second term. 

It’s hard to imagine concisely rounding up the crazy presidential year that was 2016, but the amazing chief White House photographer Pete Souza has done just that in a post on Medium Friday. 

Souza selected the images he found to be most revealing of Obama, the first family and Vice President Joe Biden that White House photography staff took through the year. 

From a spontaneous dance-off to quiet moments of reflection in the Oval Office, the talented photographers captured it all. 

We don’t know what the next administration will bring in regards to photo talent, but it’s going to be tough to match Souza and his team. 

See a selection of the best photos below and read more insight from Souza in his post on Medium. 

Pete Souza/The White House
Obama listens to his introduction by Mark Barden, whose 7-year-old son, Daniel, was killed during the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut on Jan. 5, 2016. Later, as he made remarks in the East Room, he began to cry as he recalled the horror of the shootings. He called it the worst day of his presidency.
Pete Souza/The White House
The president with first lady Michelle Obama reacts to getting beat at Rock Paper Scissors during a Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service event at Leckie Elementary School in Washington, D.C., Jan. 18.
Pete Souza/The White House
In the midst of a snowstorm, Obama works at his desk in the Oval Office on Jan. 22.
Pete Souza/The White House
Obama reacts as his putt falls just short during an impromptu hole of golf with staffers Joe Paulsen, left, and Marvin Nicholson after the U.S.-ASEAN Summit at the Annenberg Retreat at Sunnylands in Rancho Mirage, California, on Feb. 16.
Pete Souza/The White House
Obama watches the first lady dance with 106-year-old Virginia McLaurin in the Blue Room of the White House prior to a reception celebrating African American History Month on Feb. 18.
Pete Souza/The White House
The president prepping with his national security staff before a teleconference with European leaders on Feb. 23.
Pete Souza/The White House
Obama dances in the Outer Oval with personal aide Ferial Govashiri on March 16
Pete Souza/The White House
During an exhibition baseball game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cuban National Team in Havana, Cuba, Obama and President Raúl Castro of Cuba spontaneously join in "the wave" that others in the crowd had started on March 22.
Pete Souza/The White House
The president and first lady dance with renowned tango-dancers Mora Godoy and Jose Lugone in Buenos Aires on March 23.
Pete Souza/The White House
Air Force One arriving at Los Angeles International Airport on April 7.
Pete Souza/The White House
Obama crawls on the ground with Communications Director Jen Psaki's daughter Vivi on April 14.
Pete Souza/The White House
Obama meets Prince George at Kensington Palace on April 22.
David Lienemann/The White House
Biden boards a C-17 serving as Air Force Two while leaving Baghdad, Iraq, on April 28.
David Lienemann/The White House
The vice president chases children and members of the press with a super soaker during the 2016 Biden Beach Boardwalk Bash at the Naval Observatory Residence in Washington, D.C., on June 4.
Pete Souza/The White House
Obama chats with David Axelrod's granddaughter Maelin in the Oval Office on June 22.
Amanda Lucidon/The White House
MIchelle Obama participates in a roundtable discussion with Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, actress Freida Pinto and students in support of the Let Girls Learn initiative, at a high school in Unification Town, Liberia, on June 27.
Pete Souza/The White House
Obama blows out candles after Biden surprised him with some birthday cupcakes on Aug. 4.
David Lienemann/The White House
Biden family members head to a ceremony for a road near Camp Bondsteel U.S. Army base in Kosovo, which the Kosovan government named after Joseph R. “Beau” Biden III as a sign of gratitude for his contributions to the country. Pictured (from left) are Hunter Biden, Hallie Biden, Natalie Biden, Dr. Jill Biden, the vice president, Hunter Biden and Valerie Biden Owens on Aug. 17.
Pete Souza/The White House
As Govashiri continues working, Obama watches a virtual reality film on Aug. 24 that was captured during his summer trip to Yosemite National Park.
Pete Souza/The White House
While visiting service members receiving therapy at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Obama joins Master Chief Petty Officer David Halland and his family in a yoga therapy session at the National Intrepid Center of Excellence on Aug. 26.
Pete Souza/The White House
Obama pauses while talking with a writer from National Geographic during his Sept. 1 visit to Midway Atoll in the North Pacific Ocean.
Lawrence Jackson/The White House
The first lady goes shopping at a CVS Pharmacy in preparation for life after the White House during a segment taping for "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" in Burbank, California, on Sept. 12.
Pete Souza/The White House
Obama snaps a photo of former President George W. Bush and former first lady Laura Bush with the Bonner family after the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 24.
Pete Souza/The White House
Obama poses with a Lego man sculpture during the South by South Lawn event hosted at The White House on Oct. 3.
Pete Souza/The White House
Actor Bill Murray putts into a glass in the Oval Office after stopping by to be honored as the recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor on Oct. 21.
Pete Souza/The White House
Obama flexes for Walker Earnest, son of White House press secretary Josh Earnest, during Halloween festivities at The White House on Oct. 31.
Pete Souza/The White House
The president speaks to the White House staff in the Oval Office the morning after the 2016 Election on Nov. 9.
Pete Souza/The White House
The White House staff built a snowman and placed it outside Obama's window in an end of the year prank on Dec. 16.

CORRECTION: A previous caption misstated that it was Obama exiting Air Force One in one of the photos above.

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Before You Go

Barack Obama's Best Official White House Photos
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President Barack Obama holds the daughter of former staff member Darienne Page Rakestraw in the Cross Hall of the White House on April 3, 2015. (credit:Pete Souza/The White House)
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Obama poses for a selfie with Bill Nye (left) and Neil DeGrasse Tyson in the Blue Room prior to the White House Student Film Festival, Feb. 28, 2014. (credit:Pete Souza/The White House)
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Obama walks with Lincoln Rose Pierce Smith, the daughter of former Deputy Press Secretary Jamie Smith, in the Oval Office on April 4, 2014. (credit:Pete Souza/The White House)
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Obama hugs Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) after his introduction during the event to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday and the Selma to Montgomery civil rights marches at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, on March 7, 2015. (credit:Pete Souza/The White House)
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Obama gets help from students after posing for a photo at Dillingham Middle School in Dillingham, Alaska, on Sept. 2, 2015. (credit:Pete Souza/The White House)
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Lisa Monaco, assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism, pretends to punch the president with her cast in the Oval Office on March 5, 2015. (credit:Pete Souza/The White House)
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Obama winks as he tells a joke about his place of birth during the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in Washington, D.C., April 28, 2012. (credit:SAUL LOEB via Getty Images)
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First lady Michelle Obama snuggles against President Barack Obama before a videotaping for the 2015 World Expo in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House on March 27, 2015. (credit:Amanda Lucidon/The White House)
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Obama pets his dog Bo outside the Oval Office of the White House on March 15, 2012, in Washington, D.C. (credit:Pool via Getty Images)
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Obama, sitting next to 5-year-old Nick Aiello (L), sips his beverage while attending the Washington Wizards NBA basketball game against the Chicago Bulls in Washington, February 27, 2009. (credit:Molly Riley / Reuters)
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Obama blows a bubble from a bubble wand made with a 3D printer by 9-year old Jacob Leggette while touring exhibits at the White House Science Fair on April 13, 2016, in Washington, DC.. (credit:Win McNamee via Getty Images)
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Obama participates in an interview with Zach Galifianakis for "Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis" in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House on Feb. 24, 2014. (credit:Pete Souza/The White House)
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Obama spars with Jaren Paul Suber, a 14-year-old Make-A-Wish recipient from Rowlett, Texas, in the Oval Office on March 20, 2014. (credit:Chuck Kennedy/The White House)
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Graduate Robert McConnel asks Obama to strike a "James Bond" pose during the 134th Commencement Exercises of the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut, May 20, 2015. (credit:Kevin Lamarque / Reuters)
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Obama gestures to a departing guest in a hallway of the West Wing of the White House on April 29, 2015. (credit:Pete Souza/The White House)
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President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden participate in a Let's Move video taping on the Colonnade of the White House Feb. 21, 2014. (credit:Pete Souza/The White House)
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Obama greets neighbors after visiting a model home at the Nueva Villas at Beverly, a single-family housing development owned by local nonprofit organization Chicanos Por La Causa Inc. in Phoenix on Jan. 8, 2015. (credit:Pete Souza/The White House)
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Obama holds a baby while greeting patrons at The Coupe restaurant in Washington, D.C., Jan. 10, 2014. (credit:Pete Souza/The White House)
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Obama acts out a part of the story while reading from the book Where The Wild Things Are with first lady Michelle Obama (L) and his daughter Sasha (R) during the White House Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House on April 9, 2012, in Washington, D.C. (credit:Win McNamee via Getty Images)
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President Barack Obama hugs first lady Michelle Obama in the Red Room while Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett (L) smiles prior to the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) at the White House on March 20, 2009, in Washington, D.C. (credit:The White House via Getty Images)
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U.S. President Barack Obama says "Obama out!" at the White House Correspondents' Association annual dinner on April 30, 2016. (credit:Yuri Gripas/Reuters)
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