Political pictures are all about access, the better the access the better the pictures. Having an “in house” professional photographer can be as valuable as a gifted speech writer in shaping a message for political leaders.

In the US they have understood this for decades. The white house has employed an official photographer since the Kennedy administration employed Cecil Stoughton in January 1961.

At its very best an official photographer can leave an invaluable documentary body of work. Stoughton’s picture of LBJ being sworn in as president on Air Force 1 after the Kennedy assassination remains the only record of the Johnson administration’s tumultuous beginning. At its worst an in-house photographers work can become partisan PR and a false history.

Kevin Rudd’s office had staff who were dedicated to producing both video and still pictures for use on any of the many online platforms used to get “the message”out. They were not, however, professionals who had made their living shooting either still pictures or video prior to their employment on the prime ministerial staff.

Tony Abbott is the first Australian Prime Minister to employ a professional TV cameraman. This allowed the shaping of his weekly recorded video message which was slick and high quality. The message was put out without having to run the gauntlet in the press gallery or invite all those pesky cameramen and sound people into the PM’s inner sanctum. He could take as much time as he wanted in getting it right with no risk of the outtakes appearing somewhere online.

The TV cameraman has recently returned to TV land and the Prime Minister has employed a still photographer from a major metro daily to replace him. Whether he will be able to leave a professional body of documentary work (he is a talented shooter) as a record of his prime ministership or merely a bunch of PR files remains to be seen. The danger is that the official photographs become the only source of images at the expense of the photographic professionals from the many organisations represented in the gallery. Time will tell.