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I’m on the Irish Times! – About my Deaf Business
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Im on the Irish Times today (24-01-12)
‘Don’t let people tell you that you can’t do it’
Johnny Corcoran, who became deaf after getting meningitis as a child, took a while to find a suitable career but is now a successful wedding photographer,
BEING A wedding photographer is a big responsibility. It comes with a sense of expectation on the part of the bride and groom who want the biggest day of their lives to be captured in a professional manner and to reflect the joy and expectation that they feel at the start of their marriage. It is a responsibility that Johnny Corcoran takes seriously. He has forged a career in the competitive world of photography despite being deaf as a result of meningitis he contracted as a toddler. Originally from Ballybrack, Co Dublin, Corcoran did a two-year photography course through Rehab. “I was just learning how to use the camera, understanding when a lens is suitable for different uses like portrait and landscape and so on. I also learned how to use studio flashes and light meters.” Corcoran can hear sounds but he needs to see a person to lip read and understand words. When speaking about his present career and about the difficulties of being a photographer who is deaf, he says phlegmatically, it is “as hard as it is for anyone else I suppose. I work hard to be the best photographer I can.” Corcoran says the secret to a harmonious relationship with bride and groom is to be organized and prepared.
“I always visit the venue before the wedding day so I have ideas for what pictures I can get, where to get the group shots, or what to do if the weather is good or bad,” he says.
“When I meet the bride and groom before the day, I get an idea of what they want. “On the day itself, it is often the wedding party or the families that can be difficult to get together so I rely on the best man or the matron-of-honour to do the running about. Once I have everyone together I can get the shots I need.” Corcoran concentrates not only on the formal wedding shots which are the staple of any wedding album, but also the relaxed, informal pre-wedding shoot where the subtle detail and the happy atmosphere are often best captured. Corcoran has always been gifted in terms of art and design: he won a Texaco art competition when he was a child.
“I always visit the venue before the wedding day so I have ideas for what pictures I can get”
After he left school, he did a graphic design course at Roslyn Park College (the training and employment wing of the Rehab Group). He spent a decade in the graphic design industry, but found his deafness too much of an issue for his clients.
In 2005, he decided to switch careers. He bought a new camera with money he had saved. Luckily, at the tune. there was a place on Roslyn Park College’s digital photography course.
He retrained as a photographer at the same college getting a Fetac certified photography qualification. During the course he learned about Photoshop and about studio lighting. He got his first wedding through friends and has never looked back.
“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,” he says. Corcoran uses his skills to produce all sorts of wedding mementoes, from personalized wedding calendars, slideshows, on DVD key-rings and even small hardback books of photographs specifically for the parents of the happy couple.
He also does portrait photographs and among those who have posed for him have been Andrea Corr, Robbie Keane and Jed ward. His work was honored recently with a Hidden Hearing Heroes Workplace Award. He said the award has given him confidence to keep moving forward with his business and, like many other self-employed people, his goal is to grow his business. When asked what advice he would give to the public about dealing with deaf people, he says: “Just be more aware, remember to not cover the mouth when speaking or turn away.”
His advice to young people who are deaf and are making their way in the world is “believe in yourself and be positive. “Don’t let people tell you that you can’t do it just because you are deaf,” he says.
clami79 wrote:
well done once again, ur work Is beautiful
aww thanks a million! :)
That’s a super article and an inspiration to any deaf person, never mind a hearing person.
Well done Johnny, you have had a great run lately, here’s to another
good year in 2012!
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