The official photographer of Ghana's president is under fire

pulse-ghana admin

February 16, 2017 5:45 PM

Criticism appears to have culminated after the release of badly exposed photos from the presidency after the visit of the UK’s Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson to the Flagstaff House on Wednesday February 15.

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Social media reaction followed the release of badly exposed photos from the presidency after the visit of the UK’s Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson to the Flagstaff House on Wednesday, February 15, 2017.

The photos released on Facebook and Twitter by the Flagstaff House included Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, Foreign Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, and the British High Commissioner to Ghana, John Benjamin.

In an interview with Pulse.com.gh, photographer Kobby Blay said this is not the first time the presidency has released bad photos.

“[It is not the first time] I have raised this issue. It is on the [Flagstaff House] Facebook page. This is not a onetime thing. I have observed that in the photography that is being produced from the presidency.

"In the recent photo that I complained about, you see that there was some amount of spaces [between] the subjects, and it was so wide, they looked very small. And when you look at the foot of Jon Benjamin, it was cut away. So, the alignment in itself was poor.

"And our president has been moved away [from the centre of action]. Nobody wants a bad photo of himself and history won’t forgive us if we end up producing bad photos. We wouldn’t be around to tell the story but the photos in itself should do everything.”

He quoted former President Barack Obama’s official photographer Pete Souza who said in an interview with Time Magazine: “I think it’s important to have [a] visual record for people and generations to come, to get a sense of not just what the presidency was like but what [the President] was like as a person.”

Souza's photos of Obama's time in office showed him as a personable character in the midst of tough times in the Oval Office.

Kobby Blay called for an orientation and an upgrade of gear for the president's team to improve the portrayal of the president to the rest of the country. He further commended former President John Mahama's team for what he described as good work in this area.

Blay is a nurse and has been a photographer alongside over the last four years. He runs the health blog GhanaHealthNest.com, which won Best Blog at the 2015 Ghana Blogging and Social media Awards.

pulse-ghana admin