Biography

Born in Sydney, Australia, Gary Heery studied sociology and psychology at the University of New South Wales. In 1974 he moved to the US where he co-founded India America, a magazine chronicling Native American society and culture in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Two years later he moved to Los Angeles where he photographed album covers for Roy Orbison, Frank Zappa, Ray Charles, B.B. King and Joe Cocker. He also shot portraits of film and music stars for magazines including Life, Esquire, Rolling Stone and Interview. In 1981, Heery moved to New York, opening a studio in Soho where he photographed album covers for Madonna and Paul Simon (Graceland) and advertising campaigns for Swatch, Karl Lagerfeld and Sony.

Since returning to Sydney in 1987, Heery has worked in advertising and fashion with clients such as American Express, Pepsi, Westpac, Telstra, Toyota, Lane Crawford, Qantas and Coca-Cola. He has shot award-winning campaigns for the Australian Wool Board, Trent Nathan, Dove and Sony. He was a three-time finalist in the Citi Bank Portrait Prize at the Art Gallery of NSW, a finalist in the National Gallery Portrait Prize and was selected for the American Photographer Annual. He was the Sony ambassador for the release of the Alpha (D-SLR) 900 camera and is a much sought-after speaker at photographic seminars. His exhibitions and books include Nudes (1994), Zoo (1996), Grandiflora (2000), Twins (2005), Grandiflora Arrangements (2007), Horses (2009), Winged (2011), Undergrowth (2012), Gary Heery: Selected Works (2013), Bird (2015), X Portraits (2018), and Birdscape (2021).

Subjects

Books

1996
Zoo — Knopf

2000
Grandiflora — Viking

2005
Twins — Viking

2007
Grandiflora Arrangements — Lantern

2012
One Woman — Self-published

2013
Gary Heery: Selected Works 1976–2013 — Self-published

2015
Bird — Self-published

2016
The Wayside Chapel — NewSouth Publishing

2018
X Portraits — Self-published

Exhibitions

1991

Big Shots — Australian Centre of Photography, Sydney

1993

Nudes — Pod Theatre Gallery, Sydney

1996

Zoo — State Library of NSW

2011

Winged — Shapiro Gallery, Sydney

2012

Undergrowth — Shapiro Gallery, Sydney

2014

Gary Heery: Selected Works — Spitting Image

2015

Bird — Special Group, Sydney

2017

Archives — Black Eye Gallery, Sydney

2019

X Portraits — Olsen Gallery, Sydney

2021

Birdscape — Olsen Gallery, Sydney

Publications

Rolling Stone
Esquire
Life
Playboy
New West
Interview
Phaidon Books
Graphis Art Annual
American Photographer

Film

2015

Heery’s World — Directed by Liz Jones — Prime Video

Awards & Recognition

2003
Citigroup Private Bank Australian Photographic Portrait Prize — Finalist, Art Gallery of NSW

2004
Citigroup Private Bank Australian Photographic Portrait Prize — Finalist, Wayne Roycroft, Art Gallery of NSW

2005
Citigroup Private Bank Australian Photographic Portrait Prize — Finalist, Geoffrey Rush, Art Gallery of NSW

2007
National Photographic Portrait Prize — Finalist, Dad at 93 Years Old, National Portrait Gallery

2009
Head On Portrait Prize — Winner

2013
National Photographic Portrait Prize — Finalist, Robyn Nevin, National Portrait Gallery

2016
Australian Photobook of the Year Awards — Finalist, Bird

2021
Prix de la Photographie Paris (PX3) — Gold, Nature, Birdscape Series

2023
Prix de la Photographie Paris (PX3) — Bronze, Fine Art, Collage Series

2025
Tokyo International Foto Awards (TIFA) — Silver, Fine Art, Jay Malkoun

Speaking

2018
Aperture Australia

2019
Bank of America

2021
FUJIFILM Australia

Ambassaborship

Former Ambassador — Sony Australia
Former Ambassador — FUJIFILM Australia

The Unseasonal

Gary Heery: Selected Works 1976 - 2013

GFX Challenges