11 minutes on the steps: How an AP photographer framed Trump and Xi’s red-carpet shot

WASHINGTON (AP) — Julia Demaree Nikhinson has been a staff photographer at The Associated Press for 2 1/2 years and is based in Washington. She was previously based in New York City, where she also interned in 2022.

Why I shot this photo

I took this photo on the last day of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit, when President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump accompanied Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, on a trip to view the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights at the National Archives Museum. For the visit, I was positioned outside the National Archives Museum while a colleague was inside.

How I made this photo

As is often the case with covering politics, hours of preparation went into about 11 minutes of photography. I set up a ladder on a riser across from the National Archives Museum at around 6:30 a.m. Trump’s and Xi’s motorcades arrived at 11:49 a.m. They were out of their vehicles at 11:50 a.m., and I took this photo at 11:51 a.m. They entered the museum at 11:55 a.m. and emerged at 12:03 p.m., and their motorcades were gone by 12:08 p.m.

I used a 70–200mm lens on my Sony Alpha 1 camera to capture the graphic red carpet on the sprawling steps while also having the ability to crop in on the interactions between the leaders. I was transmitting the images live from my camera to my editor, Paula Munoz, so this photo was on the AP wire minutes later.

Why it works

The state visit was Xi’s first to Washington in more than a decade. As the presidents and their wives walked up the steps of the National Archives Museum to view the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, they paused for a photo.

The photo works for two reasons: the red carpet laid out across the staircase of a public museum, with only the four people on it, and the interaction between the two couples. The Trumps are both primping themselves for the photo op, while Xi and Peng watch.

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