Former White House photographer remembers legacy of First Lady Michelle Obama

CHICAGO -- Photographer Amanda Lucidon had a front row seat to the life of First Lady Michelle Obama.

The former White House photographer sat down with ABC7 Thursday to talk about her book "Chasing Light: Michelle Obama through the Lens of a White House Photographer."

We took a look at most memorable moments of former First Lady Michelle Obama that make us Chicago Proud.

Amanda Lucidon served as an on-staff photographer during President Obama's second term.

Out of four years of photographs, just 150 made it into the final publication of her book "Chasing Light."

"I just picked pictures that evoked some sort of emotion. I love pictures that have an element of surprise or that provide a new layer of Mrs. Obama and the work that she's done," Lucidon said.

So many moments of highs and lows in her four years with the Former First Lady but there are just a few snapshots that stick with her most.

"There is a picture of Mrs. Obama surprising a bunch of turnaround arts students," she said. "The kids erupted with joy and I loved the picture because there are so many different faces and everyone's reactions and there is a boy with a blue tie on and any time I have a bad day I just look at his picture and his expression means so much to me."

"This picture she's by herself because it was the night of the San Bernardino shooting and he was back at the Oval Office giving a statement and I think this is a picture of her that symbolizes her as a beacon of hope for our country and symbolizes resilience," said Lucidon.

Lucidon says in the four years with Mrs. Obama there are two lessons she learned that will last a lifetime.

"One is to not be afraid to fail. She said that time and time again," Lucidon said. "Another lesson that I learned from her is to not see the challenges that we face in life as our weaknesses, see them as our strengths."

Lucidon said she got the job when Chief Official White House Photographer Pete Souza remembered a few of her passion projects she worked on outside of her newspaper photography.

Amanda Lucidon held a book signing Thursday evening at the Harold Washington Library.