Melania Trump made at least $100,000 from 'positive story' photos

A series of high-stylised photos of Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, are earning the US First Lady a tidy sum of extra cash.

The portraits were taken between 2010 and 2016 by Belgian photographer Regine Mahaux and show Mr and Mrs Trump, with their son Baron, in luxurious surrounds.

Many of the images having been retouched.

But the photos contain a clause – under the Getty licensing agreement, any media outlets who use the images must do so only in positive stories about the Trumps, reports NBC News.

The photos have earned the First Lady between US $100,000 to $1m (AUD $130,000 to $1.3) in 2017, according to the revenue statement in President Trump's May financial disclosure.

While it's not unusual for celebrities to earn royalties from their images, it is unheard of for the wife of a sitting US president.

According to an investigation by NBC, at least a dozen organisations paid to use Mahaux's restricted images of the Trumps in 2017, resulting in indirect payment to the first family.

They include Yahoo News, NBC News, Marie Claire, and the Daily Mail.

A group portrait featuring Mr and Mrs Trump, and Baron, was used for the May image in the 2017 White House calendar that was on sale in the White House gift shop for $14. This year's calendar does not include any of the images taken by Mahaux.

One of the photos shows the First Lady sitting on her gilded bed, surrounded by Louis Vuitton suitcases and jewellery boxes while another depicts Melania driving her son in a luxury car. Most of the images were taken inside the family's New York home at Trump Tower.

The photographer also took Melania's official White House portrait, which is not subject to the controversial licensing agreement.

NBC reports news organisations most likely would have been unaware of the payments made by Getty to Melania Trump, but could have been aware of the positive coverage requirement.

Many of the news organisations have now removed the images.