Joaquim Barreto was born in Lisbon, Portugal, in 1975. At the age of eleven, he and his family emigrated to Australia where he completed a Bachelor of Economics in 1998. Joaquim’s love for photography began when he bought a digital camera to take on a trip to Koh Sa Mui, Thailand, in 2000. At that time, he was working as a civil servant in the former Portuguese enclave of Macau, China, but photography quickly became his passion and in 2003, Joaquim decided to become a full-time photographer.

Joaquim now works and lives in London, UK, where he recently completed his Masters of Arts (Fashion Photography) at the London College of Fashion.