WASHINGTON — In any major crisis involving speed, judgment and getting reliable information, the first question any president needs to decide is this: Who is invited to the meeting to discuss the strategic options?

So the photograph of President Trump’s group of advisers at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Thursday night — released by the White House and edited “for security” in the words of Sean Spicer, the press secretary — was immediately scrutinized for what it said about who has the commander in chief’s ear at a critical moment. And of course, what you see may depend on what you are looking for. Or, in this case, whom.

Does Stephen K. Bannon’s position on the outer ring reflect his recent removal from the principals committee of the National Security Council, or does his presence, and that of the adviser Stephen Miller, suggest a change in title but not in influence? What about the presence of the only woman visible in the room, Dina Powell, a former aide to President George W. Bush and a longtime friend of Ivanka Trump who was recently brought on as a deputy national security adviser? And why would the commerce and Treasury secretaries be involved in a Tomahawk strike? (Answer: Because they were at the resort to meet Xi Jinping, the Chinese president.)

For those debating the meaning here, it is important to remember that pictures can be overinterpreted. The defense secretary, Jim Mattis, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Joseph F. Dunford Jr., were joining by secure video conference; the photo shows the back of a screen.