Callie Shell for TIME

Callie Shell has photographed President Barack Obama countless times before, so it’s only fitting that she spent time with the Commander-in-Chief for TIME’s Person of the Year issue. See the photos on LightBox here.

Pictured: President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama descend the White House staircase to a packed audience attending a Christmas party.

President Barack Obama pretends to be caught in Spider-Man’s web as he greets the son of a White House staffer in the Outer Oval Office, Oct. 26, 2012. See more never-before-seen photos from the White House here.

Christopher Morris—VII for TIME

Jan. 17, 2012. President Obama unexpectedly runs into the First Lady on her birthday in the basement of the White House.

Brooks Kraft—Corbis for TIME

President Obama and his team have spent the last two weeks crisscrossing the country to make their final appeals to voters. Veteran political photographer Brooks Kraft has been there to document the campaign’s final days. See the photos here on LightBox.

Pictured: Oct. 25, 2012. President Obama attends a campaign rally in Tampa.

“We were on a freight elevator headed to one of the Inaugural Balls on Jan. 20, 2009. It was quite chilly, so the President removed his tuxedo jacket and put it over the shoulders of his wife. Then they had a semi-private moment as staff member and Secret Service agents tried not to look.”  —Pete Souza

In a TIME exclusive, Chief White House photographer Pete Souza offers his personal edit and recollections on President Obama’s first term.

See more photos here.

President Obama exits Air Force One upon arriving at the airport in Manchester, N.H.  

Photographer Callie Shell has documented President Barack Obama since 2004. Last week, she photographed Obama on the campaign trail in New Hampshire for TIME.

See more photos here.

Rebecca Blackwell—AP Photo

From the State of the Union and the Year of the Dragon to ballot boxes and backstage fashion, TIME’s photo department presents the best images of the week. See more here. 

Tomas Munita

A look into a collection of news photos of photos, where blissful instants are lost among a sea of uncertainty, and moments from the past are frozen in the present, stark in the contrast between then and now. See more here.

AP Photo

From a shooting in Belgium and Congo protests to the lunar eclipse, TIME’s photo department presents the best images of the week. See more here.