Mark Brierley: 2018 and 2019 Architecture Winner
Mark Brierley entered his first Australasia’s Top Emerging Photographers awards with little expectation. “The first time I entered, a fellow photographer told me, ‘don’t expect to rank in the top 20,’ as this was a competition that was for the best of the best emerging photographers.” He had only decided to focus on architecture and commercial and begun to create a career out of it in 2017. He was Architecture runner-up in 2017 and won the category in 2018 and 2019.
“It was a great morale boost and helped me cement my place in the architectural photography world. It has helped me progress my business and helped me gain clients.”
What does he know now that he wishes he’d known when he started? “You’re ready now… Seriously, don’t wait. The best thing you can do is go out there and suck. Then learn from it. Understand what you did wrong and change it,” he says. “The only way to grow as a photographer or anything else is to fail over and over but learn each time and try to improve. Never give up, don’t let anyone tell you, you can’t do it. I’ve been told so many times how hard it is to make a career from photography. I refuse to listen to them, because if I did I wouldn’t be where I am.”
For Brierley, the great value of awards is that it makes you question your work.
