And provides an important public defense.

This Washington Post story may be behind a paywall, but if you have a chance to read it, don’t miss it!

It’s an interview with photographer Christopher Evans, whose photos of Trump’s inner circle have been reverberating through the online world since they were published. His direct defense of the use of photographic realism as a journalistic tool is amazingly refreshing!

The Vanity Fair photographer who disrupted Trumpworld’s polished imageEvery line, spot, blemish and blood vessel was captured by Christopher Anderson’s lens. What was he thinking?

In the Post’s interview, Anderson described his style as a way to “circumnavigate the stage-managed image of politics and cut through the image that the public relations team wants to be presented, and get at something that feels more revealing about the theater of politics.”

CNN put it this way: “As a photojournalist, he’s also not in charge of how his subjects present themselves, who their makeup artists are, or when they might be booking cosmetic procedures. Unlike a commercial photographer who might smooth out every imperfection, his job is to reveal, not conceal.”

From the Post interview.

The images are really arresting. What is your response to people who say that these images are unfair? There’s been a lot of attention about Karoline Leavitt’s lips and [what appear to be] injection sites.

I didn’t put the injection sites on her. People seem to be shocked that I didn’t use Photoshop to retouch out blemishes and her injection marks. I find it shocking that someone would expect me to retouch out those things….

Specifically in the context of Vanity Fair, though, where the prevailing aesthetic is creamy and dreamy, it stands out.

Vanity Fair is a magazine that has its feet in two worlds, right? One is the journalism world, and one is the celebrity entertainment machine. Obviously, celebrity portraits on the cover of Vanity Fair are not really about journalism in the way that you and I think about journalism. But then there’s the other side of Vanity Fair, which is real journalism. I’m surprised that a journalist would even need to ask me the question of “Why didn’t I retouch out the blemishes?” Because if I had, that would be a lie. I would be hiding the truth of what I saw there.

If you have trouble reading the Post’s story, here are other similar interviews that are not behind a paywall.

“Vanity Fair Photographer Defends Shooting Karoline Leavitt’s Lips Up Close After Portrait Appeared to Show Filler Injection Sites,” People, December 17, 2025.

“What these close-up photos of the Trump administration really say,” CNN, December 17, 2025

“Vanity Fair photographer defends close-up pictures of Trump aides in Wiles profile,” The Hill, December 18, 2025.