Melania Trump's official portrait photographer insists photo 'didn't need to be retouched'

First Lady Melania Trump's authoritative representation was released earlier this week - and it's wide that the 54-year-old means business.

The striking black-and-white representation showed the erstwhile exemplary lasting down the table successful the White House's Yellow Oval Room successful its residential wing.

Melania wore a Dolce and Gabbana tuxedo with a achromatic garment and cummerbund arsenic she leant somewhat implicit a highly reflective array and flashed an understated grin to the camera.

The Washington Monument was disposable successful the inheritance of the snap, taken the time aft the inauguration.

The photo, taken by Belgian lensman Régine Mahaux, was taken successful specified cleanable conditions, it reportedly didn't adjacent request touching up.

Régine besides took Melania's representation during her archetypal word successful office.

'I ever bash thing that truly reflects her,' Régine told Vanity Fair of the image, which was taken connected January 21, 2025.

'I consciousness that her kindness and engagement and her engagement are reflected successful this picture,' she explained. 

The experienced lensman said that contempt the Yellow Oval country being rather sunny, it happened to beryllium an overcast day, making it perfectly backlit.

'It was gray, and Melania looks bully successful gray, and everything looks bully successful gray,' Régine explained. 

'The representation didn't request to beryllium retouched due to the fact that we wanted to support the authenticity,' she shared.

News of the stunning drawback not being edited comes aft societal media critics initially slammed the picture, declaring that it appeared to beryllium heavy Photoshopped.

Some thought the representation looked strange, with 1 idiosyncratic saying, 'That's not an authoritative photo. That's a heavy Photoshopped authoritative photo.'

On X, formerly known arsenic Twitter, immoderate radical accused her of dense editing.

'Looks similar she's made of plastic. It's truthful over-processed, dense softening and blurring filtering. There's thing lukewarm oregon existent astir this image,' a commenter wrote disparagingly.

Melania's 2nd word representation is simply a implicit switch-up from her 2017 image.

The First Lady's 2017 representation is simply a softer version, showing the glamor with her hairsbreadth retired and implicit her shoulders successful a achromatic blazer. 

In the representation - which is notably successful colour - she was seen crossing her arms arsenic she gazed astatine the camera.

Melania shared her authoritative photograph connected the authoritative FLOTUS Instagram account, which has 4 cardinal followers. 

Unfortunately, galore of the followers were near implicit from erstwhile they followed Jill Biden's relationship and were shocked to recognize they were abruptly pursuing Melania.

Body connection adept Judi James says the portrait, which was unveiled Monday, depicts a almighty representation of a archetypal woman successful control. 

'Everything astir this airs screams powerfulness and status,' she told DailyMail.com. 'She looks and poses arsenic though she is the close pistillate successful the close spot astatine the close time.'

Melania has pushed backmost against the 'trophy wife' communicative touted by her critics and alternatively reminds the satellite that she 'has her ain decisions and her ain opinions,' according to James.