TRACEY JOHNSON

An Australian creative based in San Francisco, specializing in graphic design & photography for small businesses.

Hi


Thanks for stopping by!

A little about me to kick things off, I’m an Australian creative type living out a childhood Californian dream with my husband Dave & our dachshund, Lady. Photography is my first love followed by graphic design, having studied & worked within both fields.

My areas of interest lie with ethical makers & shakers, sustainability, education & community.

Currently working freelance, I’m open to contract, casual or part-time opportunities. If you’d like to work together or have any questions please reach out, I’d love to hear from you.

Stay safe out there!

✌︎

resume

After 10 years working in the photographic industry & upon completion of my graphic design studies I made the transition to self employment. I wanted to explore my own path, spend time working on a wider array of projects with a variety of clients & to get back to photography - for me.

I've enjoyed this chapter of my career, I’m grateful for the opportunities it’s brought me, the adventures it’s taken me on & the people I’ve met along the way.


Skills

  • Experienced in design for web, print & product

    Excellent communication, organization & analytical skills

    Detail oriented & focused on continual process improvement

    Applications — Figma, Indesign, Illustrator, After Effects, Premier Pro, Slack, Squarespace, Wordpress, Dropbox, Mailchimp

    Graphic Design Portfolio

  • Experienced in photographing editorial, events, product, travel, weddings & assisting on studio/location shoots

    Firm understanding of the technical aspects of photography

    Applications — Lightroom, Photoshop, Photomechanic, Capture One, Instagram, Unfold

    Tools — Canon & Fuji

    Photography Portfolio

  • Experienced in editing for advertising, architecture, events, portraits, product, travel & weddings

    Advanced knowledge in batching, color correction, compositing, deep-etching, filters/treatments & restoration

    Applications — Lightroom, Photoshop

    Tools — iMac, Wacom Tablet, also PC compatible

    Retouching Portfolio

  • I have obtained a wide range of management skills throughout my work history, starting as a customer service manager in retail, a store manager for a small print shop, an interim studio manager at a photography studio & also web management for clients in my freelance work.

  • Intermediate wheel throwing

    Intermediate slab building

    Glazing & glaze mixing

    Clay recycling

    Kiln load & unload

    Preparing & packing orders for shipment

    Receiving & organizing clay shipments

    Experienced in daily studio upkeep & maintenance

    Ceramic Work


Work History

  • GRAPHIC DESIGNER, PHOTOGRAPHER + RETOUCHER
    AUG 2015 - PRESENT

    Job tasks ⏤

    Graphic Design - design across web & print including branding, website & product

    Photography - content creation, documentary, events, fashion, product, travel, weddings & assists on studio/location shoots

    Retouching - advertising, architecture, events, fashion, product, travel & weddings

    Curation - selecting compelling images, providing ideas & solutions for content across a variety of clients & projects

    Web Management - management & maintenance of client websites ie. management of event listings

    Client Education - walking clients through the back end of their new websites & offering guidance where needed

    Research - for myself & clients in various subject areas

    Working for myself has allowed me to further develop my time management, organization & people skills.

  • STUDIO/ PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
    AUG 2023 - DEC 2023

    During my time at Yonder, a unique blend of production ceramics & private artist studio led by Linda Fahey, I gained invaluable experience & discovered my capacity to take on new challenges.

    While I ultimately decided that production wasn't the right fit for me I found great fulfillment in the role & am now a member of the studio.

    I remain dedicated to my personal ceramic art & am open to future opportunities in a ceramics studio, outside of production roles.

    Job tasks ⏤

    Prepping clay for artist work

    Handbuilding plates, vases, mugs & tiles

    Glazing & glaze mixing (under supervision)

    Kiln load & unload (under supervision)

    Preparing & packing orders for shipment

    Preparing & packing pieces for loan

    Receiving & organizing clay shipments

    Daily studio upkeep & maintenance

  • FOUNDER, DESIGNER + PHOTOGRAPHER
    AUG 2016 - MAR 2018

    A small side business that combined my two passion areas - photography & design. The Lost Journals was a product & service I created to archive life, beautifully. Custom made photo journals turning beautiful bodies of work, milestones & travels into a contemporary printed keepsake.

    Job tasks ⏤

     Collaboration with several creatives (photographers, copy writers, web developers)

     Product research, development, design & photography

     Packaging design

     Website modification & maintenance: template adjustments, backend troubleshooting, integration of third party systems ie. ecommerce, mailchimp & plugins

     Established a seamless ordering method integrating outside systems for file upload, client customization, layout proofing & shipping

     Formed a membership program for professional photographers

     Instagram & Facebook curation to act as an extension of the website, celebrating photography, photographers & the product

     Graphic design - website, stationary, album design, newsletters (mailchimp) & welcome packs

     Blog copy writing

    @thelostjournals

  • GRAPHIC DESIGNER + RETOUCHER
    MAR 2013 - AUG 2015

    During my time at Milque, an award winning Australian wedding & portrait photography studio, I worked my way up from freelance second shooter to full time head of graphic design & retouching.

    Job tasks ⏤

    Consistently retouched large quantities of images to Milque's aesthetic for multi-channel distribution

    Established an image selection process & filing system

    Produced all design collateral across print, web, advertising, packaging & presentations

    Created photography style guides to effectively train new photographers

    Album image selection, quality control & design

    Trained staff in retouching to assist during peak wedding season

    Photographed events, products & weddings

    Interim Studio Manager

    I learned a lot from my role at Milque, met many brilliant creatives, some of which I have continued to work with during my freelance journey.

  • RETOUCHER + LAB TECHNICIAN
    FEB 2012 - MAR 2013

    Employed at Silver Rose Photography, one of Australia's largest school photography companies as Senior Lab Technician & Retoucher I performed a number of tasks.

    Job tasks ⏤

    High volume color correction: batch processing & automated scripts to create consistency across multiple photographers

    Contrast, exposure & white balancing adjustment

    Retouching - compositing & unwanted item removal

    Agfa D-Lab printing & maintenance

    Large scale printing

    Order packaging

    silverrose.com.au


Education

  • DIPLOMA OF GRAPHIC DESIGN

    Brisbane, Australia
    CATC Design College
    Feb 2012 - Feb 2015

  • CERTIFICATE IV IN PHOTO IMAGING

    Brisbane, Australia
    Southbank Institute of Technology
    Jun 2008 - Jun 2011

  • INTERMEDIATE THROWING

    San Francisco, California
    Sunset Clayhouse (2023)


    INTRODUCTION TO WHEEL

    San Francisco, California
    Sunset Clayhouse (2022)
    Clay by the Bay (2019)

  • Bribie Island State High School, Australia
    Graduated 2001


Exhibitions


SUMMER IN THE SUNSET: SEALEVEL GROUP EXHIBITION

September 2025, San Francisco, CA


MOSTLY FIGURATIVE: YONDER GROUP EXHIBITION

August 2024, San Francisco, CA


References


Downloads

Yours to take home!

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Shout outs

Tracey created visual presence for my brand which included website, logo and stationery. She is a rare combination of utmost professionalism, creativity, attention to the tiniest details, admirable personal qualities and excellent taste. Tracey was always one step ahead suggesting and implementing brilliant ideas I never even thought about. She was also very attentive to all of my suggestions and precise with finding the best solutions. The process of working with Tracey and the result itself far exceeded my very best expectations.
— Daria Davydova | CERAMICS ARTIST
Tracey created the logo, website & printed marketing materials for my business Poof! The Mess. Her attention to detail was remarkable, so much so that she made me excited for my business! She is very knowledgeable and aware of what will grab future clients’ attention.
— Alex Melendez | Poof! The Mess
Tracey is an incredibly talented professional who I love working with. Her work is outstanding, she has incredible attention to detail and always delivers work above and beyond expectations.
— Liz James | Soda wedding photography
Tracey is always a pleasure to work with and worked closely with our team to interpret and deliver the brief. Her creativity and commitment to getting the right shots really shines through in the finished product.
— Nick & Nicole Ferrier | Ferrier Furniture
Tracey is my first choice retoucher for many of my most high-end clients who’s demands are often for perfection delivered immediately. With this understanding Tracey has always delivered the highest quality work on or ahead of schedule, which is something we cherish as photographers when managing clients and projects on several fronts.
— Aaron Jamieson | Aaron Jamieson Photography
Tracey is RAD – We cannot recommend her enough. She’s super dooper talented/creative/amazing!!
— SHANNON KELLY | JESSIE DAINS PHOTOGRAPHY
Tracey has helped me since 2016 - in this time she has designed two book covers, illustrated numerous diagrams, redesigned my website, prepared brochures for the training courses and designs all templates for my email marketing. High quality work, always easy to work with and cooperative.
— Gordon Young | Food Industry Engineering
Tracey is an unrivalled professional and it is was a pleasure working with her. She always responded promptly to my email requests for assistance with course brochures and marketing. Nothing was too much trouble.
— Dennis Forte | Dennis Forte & Associates

Contact

Let’s do this.

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