Dexter Photographer Says Meeting President Obama Was 'Dream Come True'

Not many people get to rub elbows with the President of the United States, but for Dexter resident Anne Savage, it's becoming almost second nature.

Savage was recently tapped by the Organizing for Obama committee to serve as an official White House photographer for fundraising events.

"I can be considered a vendor for the Democratic Party," she said. "When they have an event, it's just a matter of calling me and I go."

While details of her role cannot be published due to national security issues, Savage said she has photographed everyone from First Lady Michelle Obama to Vice President Joe Biden and the president himself.

Unlike public rallies open to the press, as a fundraising photographer, Savage gets a back seat to closed events where supporters of the president donate to the campaign and meet with Obama or other Democratic candidates.

"I consider it a huge honor," she said. "These fundraising events can be high dollar. It's really important they hire a photographer that they can count on."

The pressure, she said, can sometimes be overwhelming.

"About two minutes before Michelle Obama walked into the room the first time I was on assignment, I thought I was going to throw up," she said. "Once you get used to being in the same room with the first lady, you calm down because you see that she and the president are just normal, down-to-earth people."

That's one reason why Savage said she and her husband, Chris, who publishes the political website Eclectablog, have thrown their full support behind Obama.

"What you see is what you get from President Obama," she said. "He is authentic and he listens to the stories people tell him. He likes helping people."

Savage said she met Obama personally at two separate fundraisers in 2012. During a visit to the Henry Ford Museum, the president's assistant introduced her to Obama, who signed a mosaic that Savage created using 6,000 faces of supporters during the 2008 campaign. The photo was published in the December issue of TIME magazine.

This summer, Savage met Obama for a second time, who informed her he still had the mosaic at the White House.

"Not only only did he remember who I was, but he told me he still had the mosaic. That is the highest compliment you can pay a photographer," she said. "It's a dream come true to get to say that I met the president."

When she's not photographing the president, Savage can be found freelancing for Eclectablog and offering photography services to other local and state candidates.

Adam Zemke, a candidate for Michigan's 55th District in the House of Representatives, contracted with Savage to photograph several campaign photos earlier this year.

"She's absolutely phenomenal," Zemke said. "She's very efficient and professional. She's everything you want in a photographer."

While she has no doubt Obama will win a second term in November, Savage said she is always on the lookout for more work.

"The political scene is a roller coaster," she said. "There's always something going on."

Her next project involves creating an awareness campaign for pit bull-type dog breeds.

"I'm a big pit bull advocate," she said. "It's not the dogs that are aggressive, it's the owners."

Savage said she is working on a studio to photograph dogs to show people that they aren't violent breeds.

For more information on Anne's photography, visit her Facebook page online.