Shallow.. but odd... Trumps doctor WH Christmas photo?

[Old Crow]

48. I'll weigh in...

I do a fair amount of work with Photoshop and I've studied the photos carefully. My findings:

1. Those aren't the same images of Trump.
No one's borrowed the image from the Prince Charles photo and inserted it into the Xmas photo. Under close examination, you can see numerous differences in the angle of the shot, the direction the eyes are looking, the positions of the throats and chin, etc. I can understand why someone might think the photos are the same: Trump is famous among photographers for getting into the exact same pose and facial expression whenever he has a photo taken. It's canned and automatic; photographers hate it because it is impossible to get him to adopt any other pose than the "tried and true" one he's been using for decades.

2. I think Trump and Melania are, indeed, posing on those stairs; they weren't Photoshopped in.
If you look at the marble floor in front of them, you can see the reflection of their lower legs in the polished stone. It's unlikely that those reflections were added. Not impossible, of course, but unlikely -- if the reflections weren't there, no one would miss them, so I can't see someone putting in the effort, especially when adding another fake detail might make it easier to detect the manipulation.

3. Similarly, I'm not convinced Trump and Melania are too small for the photo.
That's a colossal staircase. I think most observers are thinking in terms of their staircase at home, don't have an appreciation for the palatial scale of the photo's architecture, and are making a bad call. If you want to see another example of how the Grand Staircase of the White House tends to dwarf people, take a look at this photo of JFK, Jackie, and guests walking through it.

Do I think the photo has had some Photoshop manipulation? Yes, definitely; particularly in the case of Melania. I'm just saying that it appears to me the two of them were, indeed, posing on that staircase. Also, for what it's worth, a HUGE amount of studio lighting was brought to bear for the shoot. At least two very large light boxes were placed at 45 degrees to the left and right, with another head-on. The boxes have softened all the shadows and that's one reason people are thinking the photo is faked.

My two cents.