“Have any conversation with Donna Trope and it will somehow wind its way back to sex. It lies at the heart of everything she does, every image she creates. If the legendary beauty photographer isn’t aroused on set, then she might as well not be on set at all. “One of my earliest beauty memories is watching my young stepmother getting ready for my father to come home,” she says. “Her hair and makeup were akin to that of a fashion shoot. They had a decidedly sexual aura. Her getting ready was almost ritualistic and I watched this, maybe as a voyeur, and was fascinated enough to remember it all my life.” —Dazed Beauty

Donna was born in Los Angeles and bred in London. Being self-taught, she drew from her own experiences and developed a look and a style. Donna Trope is an award winning, world-renowned photographer specialising in beauty images Her sexy, conceptual, ground breaking beauty shots went against the grain of what was considered commercially beautiful and are now the much imitated status quo. She has shot campaigns for clients such as Guerlain, Lancôme, Pantene, Rochas, Guinness, Christofle, France Telecom, Maybelline, Vichy, Revlon, Bic, Coty, Sephora, ITV, Boots, Bobbi Brown, Hennessey, Skims and Roger et Gallet. Her editorial clients include The Sunday Times, Vogue, Vogue Hommes, L’Officiel, GQ, Jalouse, Tush , Flaunt, Forme, Harper’s Bazaar, Glamour, In Style, Cosmopolitan, Dazed and Confused...

Donna’s work has been exhibited in galleries worldwide. She has photographs in the permanent collections of The Victoria & Albert Museum as well as in selected private collections. Donna Trope has been a master of beauty photography for decades. She has always used Polaroids on her shootings as a test before the final take on film, even in the digital era. Preciously stored away, there are over 25,000 of them now. Here is a short selection of them.