Melania Trump’s Photographer Says Portrait ‘Didn’t Need to be Retouched’

melania trump white house official portrait 2025

The photographer behind the official portrait of First Lady Melania Trump says that the image “didn’t need to be retouched.”

On Monday, the White House revealed the official portrait of First Lady Melania Trump.

The black-and-white portrait, captured by Belgian photographer Régine Mahaux, shows Melania standing with her hands gently placed on a reflective table in the Yellow Oval Room of the White House.

Mahaux also captured the official White House portrait of Melania as first lady in April 2017. However, the two images are strikingly different — with Melania’s first image shot in color and more in-keeping with traditional portraits for a First Lady.

In an interview with Vanity Fair, Mahaux reveals that her goal when capturing Melania is to “always do something that really reflects her.”

“I feel that her kindness, and involvement, and her engagement are reflected in this picture,” Mahaux tells the publication.

First Lady Melania Trump’s official White House portrait in 2017

Melania’s portrait was taken just a day after her husband took the oath of office. But Mahaux tells Vanity Fair that she does not remember when or how, specifically, Melania asked her to capture her official portrait.

“She’s a very secret woman, and I like that,” Mahaux explains. “She’s not gonna send me an email and ask [me to take her portrait]. It was just on the way, and then we decided to do it. I don’t recall a special date when we talked about it.”

‘Everything Looks Good in Gray’

Mahaux also says that Melania’s portrait was taken in such perfect conditions, that the image didn’t need touching up.

The photographer, who has been shooting the Trump family for several years, says that despite the Yellow Oval room being quite sunny, it happened to be an overcast day, making it ideally backlit.

“It was gray, and Melania looks good in gray, and everything looks good in gray,” Mahaux says.

“The picture didn’t need to be retouched because we wanted to keep the authenticity.”

Pete Souza — who served as White House photographer for both of President Barack Obama’s terms, as well as Ronald Reagan — tells Vanity Fair that Mahaux’s photo was well-lit.

The former White House photographer agrees that it was a break from the traditional look of the portraits.

“I’m surprised it’s in black and white,” Souza says. “It seems like it’s an unusual choice in this day and age, we live in a color world. That’s the thing that struck me the most.”

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