Case Study - Johnny Corcoran

The future is looking picture perfect for 34-year-old Johnny Corcoran, a talented full-time photographer and a former student with National Learning Network’s Roslyn Park College.

Flicking through Johnny Corcoran’s impressive portfolio of work, it might be difficult to believe that this talented photographer has only recently set up his own business as a professional photographer, but it’s no surprise that he’s in such demand.

In fact, this year alone, Johnny will be photographing no fewer than 15 weddings. That’s an awful lot of brides to keep happy. But it should prove to be no problem to Johnny, whose professional, calm and sociable manner alleviates the concerns of even the most anxious bride-to-be. And, according to Johnny, all of the bookings for this year come from the most effective marketing campaign of all – word-of-mouth.

In addition to weddings, Johnny also captures other family occasions such as engagement parties, birthday parties and wedding anniversaries. He also finds time to teach photography to deaf students and to use his considerable computer skills to retouch images for other photographers, a process that has the capacity to make us all look like members of the Hollywood A-List.  

However, despite such obvious natural talent, Johnny wasn't always a photographer. In fact, his first profession was as a graphic designer, something he trained for at Roslyn Park College.

“I had become deaf following a serious case of meningitis as a baby. All my schooling was at a deaf school and, when I finished there, I was unsure what to do. At the time, a lot of my school mates were going to Roslyn Park College, so I went along too and enrolled in the graphic design course.

“Graphic design was something I really enjoyed, at least initially. Following my graduation I spent a decade in the industry, working in a variety of different businesses. However, it soon became obvious that despite the best intentions of employers and clients, my deafness was becoming an issue. So much of the contact with clients was over the phone, and using fax and email seemed to slow the whole process down too much. It led to frustration for everyone and I became disheartened. I needed a new beginning, but just didn’t know what to do.

“I’d always had an interest in photography, more as a hobby than anything else. One day in 2005 I decided to purchase a new camera with some money I’d saved. It was a big investment and it made me think that perhaps I should start to pursue photography as a career. I called into the local FÁS centre on my way home from the shop and saw that there was a position left on Roslyn Park College’s Digital Photography course. It was fate. I went for an interview the next day, and returned as a student to Roslyn Park College shortly afterwards.

The photography course was great. It taught me a lot about the equipment a photographer uses and how to get the most out of working in a studio. My experience in graphic design certainly helped, and I found that I was able to help my classmates when it came to Photoshop and some of the other computer programmes.

“Because of its flexibility, I was able to work ahead in the course and I completed my FETAC exams in just six months – which was pretty quick. However, I stayed in the college for the remainder of the course in order to get the maximum benefit and experience.

“Fate came knocking again when within a week of me starting the course, I was approached by a family friend to take her wedding photos. I must admit, I was terrified. But it was too good of an opportunity to turn down. I mentioned the job to a fellow photography student in Roslyn Park College who had some experience of weddings and she kindly offered to come with me on the day and show me the ropes. That’s what I loved about Roslyn Park College – everyone was always very open to helping others and sharing their knowledge.

“Despite my nerves, the wedding went very well and the bride was delighted with her photographs. So too were her friends – over the past few years, I’ve photographed the weddings of five of them!”

Due to the fact that photography relies much less on the written word, the difficulties Johnny encountered as a deaf graphic designer are a thing of the past. But his training in this area didn’t go to waste because, in addition to wedding albums, Johnny uses his skills to produce personalised wedding calendars, DVD slideshows, key-rings and even small hardback books of photographs specifically for the parents of the happy couple.

Given this level of service, it’s no wonder that Johnny’s wedding bookings are growing by the day and the future is certainly looking bright for the talented Dublin-based photographer who’s assured of his own ‘happy ever after’.

You can check out Johnny’s website at www.johnnycorcoran.ie

This article originally appeared in Rehab News (Summer 2010)