Graham Shearer

Bio

One Australia’s most revered photographers, Graham Shearer's path to success sounds like something out of a romance novel but it’s a true blue Aussie success story. Born and Raised in Perth, WA. As a hobby Graham photographed his family, landscapes and surfers but couldn't have dreamed of a career in photography. To his parents horror, he dropped out of his accounting studies and went travelling. Meeting his future wife, Patricia Merk, a French model on holiday in Bali, Graham began travelling with Patricia, working as a male model and shooting test shots of model friends. His first paid assignment was in Tokyo for a Japanese fashion magazine. In the early 80’s Graham and his now wife, Patricia Mark moved to Sydney and quickly rose up the ranks as a photographer. Patricia became fashion editor of Dolly magazine, with Graham her go-to photographer. Under the leadership of a prodigious young editor, Lisa Wilkinson, the magazine was an extraordinary success. Before long Graham was the most in-demand fashion and portrait photographers in Australia and across the globe. He photographed supermodels (including Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Elle MacPherson), actors (Nicole Kidman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Keanu Reeves, Christopher Lambert, Kim Basinger, etc) and brands such as Qantas, Loreal Paris, Rolex and Moet & Chandon. Magazines Graham worked for include iconic US publications Vanity Fair, Interview and Vogue, Italian Elle, UK’s Tattler, France’s Madame Figaro. Graham’s strength lies in his ability to capture natural beauty with effortless, refined and timeless style. Combine that with his infectious enthusiasm and it’s an irresistible combination. Yours truly got his start in the business when Graham spotted me as a young grommet in 1984 and put me front and centre in Dolly magazine for a few years. This a candid conversation in which we discuss everything from Graham’s approach to his craft, working with ’The Body’ at the height of her career, to dropping his daks mid-shoot with The Duchess of Kent.