Craighead was born on September 25, 1976, in Connecticut where her parents owned a photo lab. As she grew up, Craighead said she "had always wanted to do something that involved traveling the world and living in hotels. And that involved photography."[4] She wanted to work in Washington, D.C.[4]
Craighead attended Belmont University and earned a BFA from Lesley University in 2002.[5][6] After college, she worked as a freelance photographer for the Boston Globe, Associated Press, and Getty Images. In 2005, she worked for David Bohrer, the official photographer for Vice President Dick Cheney.[4]
In 2017, Craighead was named the official White House photographer for Donald Trump.[11][12] The Trump administration employed a total of four photographers with different specialties including fashion, military, and administration.[4]
Craighead photographed Nancy Pelosi standing to address a seated Trump in an October 2019 meeting at the White House, which attracted media attention.[13][14] She later remarked that Trump liked to "control the lighting, the production, and the show basically", and that he preferred posed over candid photographs.[15]
After he left office, Trump used many photographs taken by Craighead to produce a book, but did not credit her work or that of other photographers.[16][17]
In addition to photographing politicians, she has also worked for corporations in the private sector.[4]
Craighead uses a stool while taking photos as she is 5 feet 2 inches (1.57 m) tall.[4]
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