Who is Daniel Torok? Trump’s New White House Photographer
Trump’s latest official portrait sparked plenty of discussion in the photo community. But exactly who is Daniel Torok? The new Chief White House photographer.
Torok’s Instagram page only shows posts beginning on December 15, 2024, with a picture of President Trump at the Army-Navy bowl game. What follows is a series of photos — mostly in black and white — of Trump holding rallies, posing with celebrities like Hulk Hogan, and pulling stunts on the campaign trail such as appearing in a McDonald’s Drive-Thru.
While clearly an accomplished shooter, there is precious little information about him online that reveals what he’s been doing for the past 10 years. Bizarrely, danieltorok.com redirects to an SNL X post skit about his inaugural Trump portrait.
A Facebook page credited to “DTorok Photo”, which he appears to be behind, has a few stunning landscape photos that were taken on film. The description reads that he captures “celebrities and landscapes” while adding he shoots on Hasselblad fim cameras as well as a Nikon D800. But that page hasn’t been updated since 2017.
Former Filmmaker
Torok entered the media world not through the medium of photography but through film. Torok is credited on the music video for rapper Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’s 2012 hit Same Love; a poignant song about the rights of gay and lesbian people.
That’s not Torok’s only experience in the rap world: he directed a 2013 film titled The Otherside — a documentary about the Seattle hip hop scene.
On his old website, Torok says he got into film at a “late age”, adding that “photography and music was his background.” Before he arrived in the world of media, Torok served in the United States Coast Guard.
“I used to work with him at the Pentagon. He’s a veteran. He earned an Emmy years ago as the Art Director for a Macklemore music video,” says Big Homie Rich who claims he knows Torok on a Reddit post. “I’m not a Trump fan, but Daniel is a talented photographer and stands by his work. We’ll see great work from him over the next few years.”
Torok’s Trump Portrait
But despite his past experiences — which also includes work with the BBC and Microsoft — being the Chief White House photographer will mark him out for eternity. He burst into people’s consciousness after the official portraits of President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance were released ahead of the inauguration on Monday.
Torok told photography YouTuber Jared Polin that it was his first time ever using studio lighting in this way before. Many noted the significance of using studio lights for the very first time on such a prestigious assignment: capturing the official portrait of the President of the United States.
Photographers debated Torok’s choice of lighting, which was undoubtedly dramatic. Torok intimates that Trump’s portrait, particularly his expression, is a direct nod to the president’s mug shot taken at Fulton County Jail in Atlanta.
The photographer explains that he took “an entire series of images and range of emotions” and the published one was everybody’s favorite. Torok reveals that ultimately it is the president who makes the final call.
PetaPixel tried to reach out to Torok for this article but did not receive any response.
Image credits: Header image by Daniel Torok and Gage Skidmore.
