Alex Brandon

• Name — Alex Brandon • Birth Name — James Alexander Brandon • Born — June 22, 1961 • Occupation — Photojournalist • Education — University of Missouri • Mother — Phyllis Dillaha Brandon • Awards — Three Pulitzer Prizes

James Alexander Brandon was born on June 22, 1961, to Phyllis Dillaha Brandon, a journalist who famously covered the Little Rock Central High School desegregation crisis. After graduating from the University of Missouri, Brandon began working as a photographer at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. In 1987, he covered a three-month expedition to Mount Everest. Beginning in 1993, Brandon worked for the Times-Picayune in New Orleans. During that time, he covered two Super Bowls, the United Nations mission to Bosnia and Albania, military training exercises, and Gulf Coast hurricanes, including Katrina. For the latter, he was part of the team at the Times-Picayune that was awarded two Pulitzer Prizes. His work photographing and rescuing people from their flooded homes in the Lower Ninth Ward was covered in the National Geographic Hurricane Katrina Commemorative Collection He began work at the Associated Press in 2006, working in New Orleans, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. He traveled with Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, and since joining the AP staff in Washington, frequently travels with the White House, State Department, and Department of Defense. He was part of the team awarded the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography for his photographs of the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests in Washington, D.C.. On August 18, 2026, he was named Chief White House Photographer for the Associated Press.