One is in the dining room for the
morning and one is the snug for the
afternoon. In my dining room, there
are actually three sets of windows, so
I will close the curtains on two sets of
windows to have a one directional
light source from one window and,
depending on the light and the
weather for the day, which window
is my best window. It’s nothing
complicated, it’s just a matter of
closing the other curtains! I like a
dark, moody style of photography,
but I will do it naturally by just closing
my curtains. I’ll then create more of
the moody image through Lightroom
editing at a later stage.Do you use any supplementary
lighting, like a softbox?
Nope. I’ve got artificial lights that Icomposed and yes, it’s a set, but at
the same time it’s about keeping it
as natural as possible – with some
crumbs on the table or a dropped
down napkin, or a fork lying upside
down, something that’s a bit more
normal and authentic.
That makes it look like an proper
table setting in anyone’s home?
Exactly. Everybody’s drawn to that.
Everybody is drawn to a table of food
that’s welcoming. I love a table where
people feel they can just pull up a
chair and sit down. I hope I get that
feeling across in my pictures – that
it’s just a feeling of ‘help yourself’.
Wanting everything as natural as
possible, does that extend to your
lighting? I’m guessing you use
window light a lot.
Yes, yes. I converted my dining room,
snug and kitchen area into a studio.
I have to be based as close to the
kitchen as possible because
there’s lots of running
backwards and forwards.
Oh yes, I can imagine...
I have two sources of window light
that I use at different times of day.
have used for one book cover and
that was it. It was for my American
publishers and it was a day that I had
to get them a white book cover.
That’s the only time I’ve ever
used an artificial light.So, there’s no flash at all in your
pictures? It’s all daylight?
It’s all daylight. And the strength of
the light source determines how
close to the window I’ll place my set.
If it’s a really bright day, I’ll diffuse it
with a large diffuser and move my set
a little further away from the light,
just to soften the shadows. If it’s
an overcast day, it will be a little bit
closer to the window. For me, it’s all
about the shadow and the negative
and positive light on the subject.Do you do your own styling?
Yes. I’m a one-stop shop. US
publishers are my main clients, so I’ll
be sent a manuscript of the book and
in my home in Surrey I’ll shop, cook,
style, photograph, edit the images
and then, finally, send them back to
the clients. At the same time, I’ll be
doing some recipe testing because
I also give them feedback on what
they’ve got so far.Above left: Stack
of pancakes.
Donna likes to
show the seasons
in her images,
with cherry
blossoms on
Pancake Tuesday.Camera: Nikon D750
Lens: 105mm f/2.8
Exposure: 1/250 sec,
f/3.5, ISO800
Above right:
Birthday carrot
cake. Seasonal
blossoms offset
the white from the
icing and curtain.Camera: Nikon D850
Lens: 105mm f/2.8
Exposure: 1/60 sec,
f/3.5, ISO200Right: Apple
tartlets taken in
really low light at
the end of the day.Camera: Nikon D750
Lens: 50mm f/1.8
Exposure: 1/13 sec,
f/5.6, ISO200$WWKHVDPHWLPH,ȇOO
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THE N-PHOTO INTERVIEW