{{Short description|American photographer and filmmaker}} {{Use American English|date=April 2026}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}} {{infobox officeholder | name = Daniel Torok | office = Chief Official White House Photographer | image = Daniel Torok Portrait.jpg | caption = Official portrait, 2025 | president = Donald Trump | term_start = January 20, 2025 | term_end = | predecessor = Adam Schultz | successor = | party = Republican | website = | birth_date = | birth_place = 1982 (age 43-44) New York City, U.S. | branch = United States Coast Guard | occupation = {{hlist|Photographer|filmmaker}} }} '''Daniel Torok''' (born 1982) is an American photographer and filmmaker. He is serving as the chief official White House photographer since 2025, during the second presidency of Donald Trump.
==Biography== Torok is a native of New York.<ref>{{Cite web |title=SSP Analysis: Reflections on Presidential Portraits as Trump and Vance Make Theirs Official |url=https://southshorepress.com/stories/669251103-ssp-analysis-reflections-on-presidential-portraits-as-trump-and-vance-make-theirs-official |access-date=2025-08-29 |website=South Shore Press |language=en}}</ref> Prior to his career in media creation, in 2004, he served in the United States Coast Guard.<ref name=":0" />
Torok was a filmmaker before he became a photographer. In 2012, he cast the music video for the song "Same Love" by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlVBg7_08n0&t=3s</ref> The next year, he directed a documentary film titled ''The Otherside'' about the Seattle hip-hop scene.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Growcoot |first=Matt |date=2025-01-24 |title=Who is Daniel Torok? Trump's New White House Photographer |url=https://petapixel.com/2025/01/24/who-is-daniel-torok-trumps-new-white-house-photographer/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250212104510/https://petapixel.com/2025/01/24/who-is-daniel-torok-trumps-new-white-house-photographer/ |archive-date=February 12, 2025 |access-date=2025-01-28 |website=PetaPixel |language=en}}</ref>
In 2025, he became the chief official White House photographer under United States president Donald Trump. Trump's inaugural portrait was Torok's first time using studio lighting.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Growcoot |first=Matt |date=2025-01-21 |title=Photographers React to Donald Trump's 'Wildly Edited' Official Portrait |url=https://petapixel.com/2025/01/21/photographers-react-to-donald-trumps-wildly-edited-official-portrait-daniel-torok-photo/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250201004141/https://petapixel.com/2025/01/21/photographers-react-to-donald-trumps-wildly-edited-official-portrait-daniel-torok-photo/ |archive-date=February 1, 2025 |access-date=2025-01-28 |website=PetaPixel |language=en}}</ref> Torok took inspiration for the inaugural portrait from Trump's 2023 mug shot<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-01-17 |title=Decoding Donald Trump's new official portrait |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy4mmrr7j8mo |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250130104116/https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy4mmrr7j8mo |archive-date=January 30, 2025 |access-date=2025-01-28 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref> and lit Trump from below to make use of catch light.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Thomas |first=Eric |date=2025-01-24 |title=From Eisenhower's swivel to Trump's glare, presidential portraits strike different poses • Kansas Reflector |url=https://kansasreflector.com/2025/01/24/from-eisenhowers-swivel-to-trumps-glare-presidential-portraits-strike-different-poses/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250210040241/https://kansasreflector.com/2025/01/24/from-eisenhowers-swivel-to-trumps-glare-presidential-portraits-strike-different-poses/ |archive-date=February 10, 2025 |access-date=2025-02-10 |website=Kansas Reflector |language=en-US}}</ref> Torok also took Trump's presidential portrait in June 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Aton |first=Francesca |date=2025-06-04 |title=The White House Drops a New Presidential Portrait of Donald Trump |url=https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/white-house-drops-new-presidential-portrait-donald-trump-1234744242/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250604192356/https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/white-house-drops-new-presidential-portrait-donald-trump-1234744242/ |archive-date=June 4, 2025 |access-date=2025-07-12 |website=ARTnews.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-06-03 |title=Trump's fresh White House portrait sparks interest amid controversy over National Portrait Gallery leadership |url=https://www.fox13news.com/news/trumps-fresh-white-house-portrait-sparks-interest-amid-controversy-over-national-portrait-gallery-leadership |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250712214416/https://www.fox13news.com/news/trumps-fresh-white-house-portrait-sparks-interest-amid-controversy-over-national-portrait-gallery-leadership |archive-date=July 12, 2025 |access-date=2025-07-12 |website=FOX News |language=en-US}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{commons category-inline}} * [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5510019/ Daniel Torok] at IMDb
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Torok, Daniel}} Category:Living people Category:1982 births Category:21st-century American photographers Category:White House photographers Category:Second Trump administration personnel Category:United States Coast Guard enlisted