WA's snapper to the stars
He's worked with some of the biggest names in fashion and showbiz, from film icons * Naomi Watts *, * Eric Bana *and *Keanu Reeves * to 90s supermodels *Linda Evangelista *, *Elle Macpherson * * *and *Naomi Campbell *.
And famed *Perth *-raised photographer *Graham Shearer *also has quite the knack for discovering promising talent.
In the early 80s while working for Dolly magazine, Shearer came across an aspiring 16-year-old model, who encompassed anything but the commercial fashion look with her freckled skin and red, corkscrew curls.
Determined to make others realise her star potential, Shearer approached Dolly's magazine editor at the time, *Lisa Wilkinson *. Soon enough a fresh-faced *Nicole Kidman *landed one of her first magazine covers.
Along with Kidman, *Miranda Kerr *also became one of Shearer's now hugely successful proteges.
"I shot her before she was famous," Shearer explained to _AAA _while back in Perth recently. "I've shot a lot of girls on their debut. Then a lot of them went to New York and, like Miranda, they only come back to Australia for special jobs."
Years later, Shearer came across another unique beauty - Perth- raised supermodel *Gemma Ward *.
Although he was instantly taken by Ward, it took some convincing for the fashion industry to embrace her ethereal, wide-eyed look.
"I did Gemma's first shots in Sydney," he said. "But the magazine didn't want to use the shots; they didn't like her look. But my wife and I, we loved this girl. It's one of those things where you know that this girl is going to be famous and no one else sees it."
Ward went on to achieve phenomenal global success that saw her dubbed Australia's "it girl" of fashion and also landed her on Forbes' list of the World's 15 Top-Earning Supermodels.
"Gemma became so unattainable," Shearer proudly recalled. "Then she went into acting and now she's had a baby. It's fascinating to see how far she's come."
Looking at Shearer's own rise to international success, it is one worthy of a riveting biography. The self-proclaimed "hippie surfie" stumbled into the fashion world by chance after meeting his now wife, former French model *Patricia *, while living in Bali in the 1970s.
Patricia had been holidaying on the Indonesian island at the time and had convinced him to follow her back to her base in Tokyo, where he wound up working as a male model.
"Then I had friends there who were models and they always needed new (photographic) shots taken so I started experimenting doing that.
"So I just went straight into it and I made mistakes but I learnt a lot from it."
Word of Shearer's photographic talent quickly spread and within a year he was working on a string of high-fashion shoots for Vogue, Elle and Harpers Bazaar.
Now one of *WA *'s most successful international photographers, it's safe to say the elusive snapper has many highlights spanning his stellar 30-year career.
But one experience that always springs to mind is working with model-
turned-actress *Kim Basinger *.
"At the start the publicist was saying to me 'She doesn't smile, she doesn't look at the camera, she doesn't do sexy', and I had to shoot her for a magazine cover," Shearer said. "We only had two hours to get the shots . . . but by the end of the shoot she was my best friend, asking me all these questions. She was really nice."
Back in WA to shoot his upcoming underwater photography show, Shearer enlisted the help of Perth modelling agency Vivien's to scout for local talent.
"I'm doing a series of underwater shots for an exhibition I've been working on for a while now," he said. "I've teamed with Vivien's while I'm here, because I've worked with one of their models before."
"It's just away from fashion but it's creative in a way because it's more fine art and I think it's a great avenue to go into - using all the vehicles and knowledge I have and putting it somewhere a little different."
VANESSA WILLIAMS
'I did
Gemma's first
shots in Sydney but the magazine didn't want to use the shots; they thought it was too
extreme.'
