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MEET THE TEAM
Natalie
Managing Director
Leadership with a Global Vision
Natalie is the Owner and Managing Director of Fotoworks. She has over 30 years experience in the school photography industry. Her wealth of knowledge and passion for the business make her a dynamic leader who takes great care of her team.
She is also a globe trotter and is always planning her next adventure. Her travels have taken her to all corners of the world where she has made incredible connections that have also benefited the growth of the business – keeping Fotoworks on trend and innovative.
Mario
General Manager
Supporting Staff & Leadership
Mario's interesting background includes an Irish, Portuguese, Spanish, Indian, Scottish and Welsh heritage. He migrated to Perth from India when he was just 5 years old.
Mario has spent most of his career in the retail industry, managing teams since he was 18 years old, working his way up to a Regional Manager at Coles and then moving into People and Capability, becoming the Business Benefits Manager.
He has also spent 7 years both consulting and working with businesses on engagement and reward strategies and solutions for their team members and customers.
He loves cooking and would love to learn to paint and play the harmonica!
Michelle
Business Development
Michelle brings to the team over ten years experience in the education sector and spends most of her days out visiting schools. Having studied photography in school, she comes from the days of 35mm film and gained experience working in photo labs and as a portrait and wedding photographer. She has travelled the world meeting photographers and distribution partners at tradeshows for a manufacturer of high end photographic presentation products.
A huge lover of horses, she enjoys spending her weekends developing her horsemanship skills and any opportunity to spend time catching up with her family and friends, especially if it includes food!
Julie
All Care
Julie manages our entire Care team, making sure your photos are looked after through the whole process and come to you safe and sound. Julie has over 10 years experience in the school photography industry and cares about your child’s school photos as much as you do. Whether it’s a studio booking or a query with your order, she’ll be happy to help.
Julie moved to Perth over a decade ago and loves quality time with her family. She enjoys socialising with friends on the weekends, long walks on the beach with her puppy Roxy, a good glass of champagne, and some well-earned retail therapy.
Bree
School Care
Bree is our School Care Specialist, efficiently manages the scheduling and coordination of our school photo days. Bree grew up in the Pilbara and is particularly passionate about organising the Northern Country photography run. With over 10 years of experience in school photography and an additional 8 years managing a photo lab, she brings a wealth of industry knowledge to her role.
Outside of work, she enjoys spending time on camping and outdoor adventures with her husband Ben and Boxer dog Maxi.
Melissa
School Care
Melissa is a valued member of our School Care team who works alongside Bree. She takes care of sorting all the name data and works diligently to ensure that all the photo order envelopes are printed and ready to be delivered to each school in preparation for photo day.
Melissa is also a photographer outside of Fotoworks, having studied her Advanced Diploma at Tafe.
In her spare time, she loves taking photos but also loves drawing pet portraits for friends & family, making fun birthday cards while also dabbling in some hand embroidery and macrame... pretty much all things creative!
Chantelle
Lab Care
Chantelle is one of our two Lab Care gurus, editing and producing your photos day by day to make sure they are of a quality to bring you smiles that last. A self-proclaimed 'nerd', Chantelle loves to photoshop, and enjoys battling the challenges that working with printers brings nearly every day.
In her spare time, Chantelle loves going to electronic music festival gigs, travelling, hanging with friends, watching horror films, motion graphics and annoying her cat. She is also currently finishing off a degree in interactive design, a topic that she loves to think about and discuss at length.
SJ
Lab Care
SJ work with our Lab Care Team, ensuring your photos are at the highest quality and are ready to be sent to our Pack Care team with the utmost care.
SJ has been doing School Ball and Graduation photography for seven years. Her favourite photography aside from this is landscapes and pets.
SJ is rather handy on the tools and enjoys spending time in the garage, building a variety of items from recycled wood. Her favourite builds are small decorative boxes and coffee tables made from old bed frames with both new and recycled materials, mostly salvaged from road side collection and saved from landfill. Then, if not for her own home or friends, SJ sells the items online.
Caitlin
Print Care
Caitlin began in the school photography industry in 2018 as a photographer and now works with the Print Care team to ensure that all our school photos are produced to the highest standard. She also does a lot of work behind the scenes to keep our software running smoothly for the team and our customers.
Caitlin has experience in several photographic fields including pet portraits for rescue organisations, weddings, and maternity photoshoots – although these days she prefers the simplicity of taking her camera out with her dogs.
As our Sustainability Project Coordinator, she is dedicated to sustainability and her passion for the planet helps our team to ensure we are always improving our eco-conscious techniques and processes.
Thaline
Print Care
A passion for photography has followed Thaline since she was a child when she used to take photos of her family during holidays. She started doing courses in photography and experimenting with different cameras and lenses.
Originally from Brazil, Thaline moved to Perth in 2008 where she pursued her dream of becoming a graphic designer. She soon found photography was also useful in her graphic design work.
Thaline quickly adapted to her new environment and made Australia her second home. On weekends, she enjoys quality time with loved ones, including her Shitzu, Luna. Whether it’s going out with friends or relaxing at home with family, Thaline treasures every moment with them.
Carmela
We Care
Carmela leads our We Care Team, reassuring you by answering all your school photography questions.
Born in the Philippines, Carmela at an early age moved with her family to Australia where she grew up surrounded by farms and fields. At age 13 she was gifted a camera from her sweet loving parents and fell in love with all things photography.
Outside of work, she spends time with her family at game nights, watching her favourite sports team AC Milan on the tv, or expanding her knowledge reading any non-fiction book she can get her hands on, all while sitting with Duchess, her feline sidekick, who reigns supreme in her household. Hanging out with Duchess is one of Carmela’s highlights for her day.
Connor
Pack Care
Born in the UK, Connor moved to Perth in 2012. He is new in 2023 to Fotoworks, on a part time basis.
In his other career, he's actually a chef and his mum's favourite dish is his breakfast bruchetta! Connor's long term ambition is to own a food truck with his own twist on modern cuisines.
Another musician on the Fotoworks team, Connor plays guitar and is a passionate music and song writer, uploading the music he creates in his own home studio to public music websites. Having always desired to break into music, Connor planned to release a song at age 24.
An avid tattoo fan, his own collection is personal and meaningful and includes his lucky number - 24. Online gaming is also high on his free time agenda!
Elton
Lead Photographer
Elton is our lead photographer with extensive experience in the field. His expertise and dedication are highly valued and he's always happy to teach and share his knowledge.
Characterised by his familiar cap, he has been with the company many years and is well known in the schools we photograph.
In his youth, Elton dreamed of being a superstar basketballer – with the legendary MJ – His Airness -Michael Jordan, being his hero. Now he is a dedicated father and family man who enjoys coaching his daughter's team.
Musyani
Photographer
Musyani is an incredibly hardworking photographer who puts his best effort into every job. He’s travelled all over WA with our team and is loved by all. He comes from a background in directing and producing film and television television in Ghana, which lead him to work at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, and the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
Born in Zambia, Mus is proud of his African heritage and enjoys wearing the native attire. He also loves the beach and fishing during leisure time.
Tim
Photographer
Arnold
Photographer
Tim was born in Indonesia but grew up in New Zealand. He graduated from the Auckland University of Technology (AUT) at the beginning of 2022 with a Bachelors of Creative Technologies, after which he then moved to Perth.
Tim worked previously as a photographer in the travel and tourism industry. He also has experience in real estate work and events but his favourite thing to photograph is landscapes.
Tim has a love of travel, as most photographers do! His favourite countries visited is a tie between Iceland and Norway. Travelling his home country of New Zealand is a top favourite.
John
Photographer
Growing up amidst the vibrant atmosphere of the film industry, courtesy of his parents’ involvement, John felt an ignited passion for visual storytelling. In 2005, he pursued his dream career and calling as a Cinematographer, which has given him the opportunity to traverse the diverse landscapes of Australia and capture it through a camera lens.
Outside of his work, he also finds immense joy in coaching his children’s sports teams, channelling the same dedication and enthusiasm he brings to his craft into shaping the next generation on and off the field.
Arnold
Photographer
Arnold has been a keen photography enthusiast of for years, but only started professionally in 2021 as a food photographer.
Apart from photography, Arnold loves listening to and playing music. He listens to most genres, but pop, funk, and fusion jazz are at the top of his list. Some of his all time favourite bands are Bruno Mars, Backstreet Boys, and Four Play. In his spare time he will pick up his most cherished instrument - the electric bass guitar.
While not overly brand loyal, he prefers to play Yamaha basses over other ones.
Daniel
Photographer
Daniel was born and raised in Perth’s northern suburbs and began to experiment with photography as a kid, finding great delight in the medium at a young age.
With a background in literary studies and media, Daniel enjoys a variety of creative forms including literature, electronic and ambient music, and film. More recently, he has been exploring documentary filmmaking as a means of personal expression and hopes to further cultivate his skills in this field.
In his down time, he loves playing with his dog, Ringo, and maintaining his nano fish tank that sits atop his desk. He is also an enthusiastic home cook, and loves to make soups and pastas.
Scarlet
Photographer
Arnold
Photographer
Scarlet was born and raised in Perth, she has been doing all things photography since high school. Despite exploring other career path like working at a law firm, her heart has always been with capturing moments through her lens.
Beyond her love for photography, Scarlet finds solitude in music, particularly enjoying endless loops of Taylor Swift's music. As a devoted Swiftie, some of her favourite albums include "Reputation", "Midnights", and “1989”. With Swift's re-recordings and upcoming new releases still to come, she’s thrilled to be fully immersed in her Swiftie era.
Scarlet’s ultimate dream is one day scoring tickets to one of Swift's concerts.
Campbell
Photographer
Campbell, a big fan of movies and photography, brings the magic of film into every picture he takes. From his days learning at TAFE where he completed a Diploma and Advanced Diploma of film and TV, to his time at Curtin University, he's soaked up lots of ideas from the movies he loves.
Besides taking photos, Campbell enjoys chatting with people and making new friends. He's always up for a good conversation about films or anything else. When he's not behind the camera, he's hanging out with Leira, his rescue Great Dane, who adds lots of fun to his life.
Campbell's passion for both movies and photography inspires him to find new ways to tell stories, whether through pictures or words. As he keeps exploring this world, Campbell looks forward to capturing more moments and sharing them with others.
Verma
Photographer
Verma’s photography started when she was introduced to bird watching; tracking endangered bird species for IUCN’s (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List in Borneo. From there, she continued to do environmental photography often writing about the environmental impacts. Since moving to Perth, she worked as a real estate photographer and continues to work on her children and family portrait photography as well as sports photography, specialising on water sports.
On weekends, you can often find her on a rigid inflatable boat (RIB) with a camera in one hand while hanging on to the boat at high speed, photographing sailing regattas. She is also a competitive sailor, often racing on a sailing yacht both on the Swan River as well as the ocean.
Shruthi
Photographer
Shruthi and his wife recently moved to Perth 6 months ago and shortly after moving joined Fotoworks as a portrait photographer.
Prior to moving he was a multidisciplinary photographer in Sri Lanka shooting anything in between product photography to wedding photography and commercial photography in his down time.
Having just moved to Australia he and his wife are on a mission to travel all around WA and slowly THE WORLD. Apart from photography he plays the guitar and loves music and everything about it!
