The last thing David Foote ever wanted to do was take photos of people, and especially not federal politicians.
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As a kid building model aeroplanes, his passion was capturing shots of flights landing and taking off at Sydney Airport, which eventually led him into a career as a newspaper photographer.
But for the past 25 years, Mr Foote has had what he calls "a front-row seat" to the nation's political history, as photographer for the Australian Government Photographic Service, Auspic.
"You go through life making choices, and adapting to what is needed for your career, and where it takes you can be amazing," the Scottish-born Canberra resident said.
"Doing a job like this, you're in the inner-circle where it's like a different world altogether."
Photographing Australian prime ministers as far back as Bob Hawke, he's been up close with Prince Charles and Camilla, visiting presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, the Dalai Lama and even eavesdropping on a rare conversation between Julia Gillard, Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama and Cherie Blair.
His favourite photos capture behind-the-scenes stories and intimate moments with the nation's leaders, including with John Howard in Washington DC in the wake of the September 11 terror attacks, and Ms Gillard's visit to the Sultan Ahmed Mosque in Istanbul.
"When you watch people this closely, you get a sense of what they're going to do before they do it."
Some of the best photos of Mr Foote's career are collected in a new exhibition opening at Parliament House on Thursday.
Despite making six visits to the Oval Office and accompanying Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark, around Canberra in 2011, he said not every day brings historic work.
"Being the official photographer, we have to try to make politicians look their best, where news media photographers are trying to get the image of the day, be it positive or negative," he said.
"At the moment we're updating official portraits for MPs and senators, and there's a lot of handshakes, Question Time, architecture, and images of Parliament itself."
The Official Observer exhibition is on display at Parliament House, Canberra, until May 14.
